Natural disaster

serious engineering disaster in human’s history. Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was the first nuclear power plant built inside Ukraine by the former Soviet Union, which was considered as the most secure and reliable nuclear power plant in the world. It consisted of four same reactors which was known as model RBMK-1000 and each capable of generating 1 gigawatt of electricity. The power plant provided a total of 10% of Ukraine’s electricity when the accident happened. The disaster occurred on April…

that to protect and provide for himself. In doing so however, he has created nuclear weapons and energy. From experiments with radium in the late 1800s, to the creation of weapons of mass destruction during World War Two and finally the more recent disasters from nuclear power plant meltdowns. Man has started out with good intentions, but in so doing, he may have doomed himself. In 1896, radioactivity was discovered by Henri Becquerel (Nobelprize.org). Upon its discovery, scientists started…

lead to engineering disaster. For some engineers who hold the speed as the highest goal, they had left several sever disasters caused by flaws in their engineering design; from their unforgettable experience, engineers put more thought in to the design before crews start construction. For example, engineering students can learn from some well-known catastrophes involved Tacoma Bridge’s collapse, Space Shuttle Challenger explosion disaster, and the most well-known nuclear disaster, the Chernobyl…

The Location of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant During the early morning of April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear disaster occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is located in the Ukraine, and is about 20 km south of the border of Belarus. Surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant are the cities of Pripyat and Chornobyl. Pripyat is about 3 km away and had a population of about 49,000, while Chornobyl is 15 km southeast of the complex with a…

Bomb Nuclear energy is currently one of the major energy sources in the world right now. It is the world’s third most utilized fuel currently, only behind fossil fuels and hydroelectricity (“Nuclear Power Today”). However, it also has the highest disaster potential out of all the energy sources currently in use. This was made evident by the fallout of the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi in Japan (“Nuclear Exodus”). This has led to the resurfacing of arguments and demands of environmental…

the settlement between the government of India and Union Carbide prompted by a class-action lawsuit allowed victims and families to be compensated for the disaster. Union Carbide was under no obligation to understand or interfere with how the Indian government would distribute those…

that is immediately told is trusted and accepted by the masses. Unfortunately, this lack of scrutiny can lead to the spread of incorrect information being passed off as facts. It can take years to correct public perception, and as the Hillsborough Disaster of 1989 shows us, the consequences for groups of people can be disastrous. In the case of Hillsborough, the misinformation came directly from the police, and was reiterated by authority figures in both the political and soccer worlds. This…

"). Little did they know of the disaster that struck at 1:23 a.m. at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Nadezhda Petrovna Vygovskaya, a survivor of the event recalls “I can still see the bright-crimson glow, it was like the reactor was glowing. This wasn 't any ordinary fire, it was some sort of shining.” During the night graphite reactor number 4 had exploded and was releasing seven tons of dangerous radiation into the surrounding area (Borrero).…

Fukushima Nuclear Disaster The Fukushima nuclear disaster was caused by chain of events early March of 2011. On the morning of the 11th there was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast of Japan. The Tohoku earthquake caused a 128 meter tsunami which hit the eastern coast of Japan. During the events of the earthquake and tsunami the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant suffered heavy equipment failures. These equipment failures lead to three of six reactors melting down and another…

Engineering Disasters As talented as engineers may be, it is inventible that during their career they might make a mistake. As humans, it is known that one is not perfect and is more than capable of making the wrong decisions. There are a few engineers who were so closed minded and arrogant that their actions have lead to engineering disasters. Some of those engineers were in control room 4 on the faithful night of April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (Zero Hour Disaster at…