The Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which occurred on April 26, 1986, was caused by excessive heat accumulation inside the nuclear reactor core, causing one of the reactors to explode. The whole disaster was caused by a failed safety test. In the minutes before the collapse, the people working were doing everything they could to prevent the collapse. The meltdown was caused by a sudden increase in pressure and heat due to not enough rods in place to prevent excess water from entering the reactor. The excessive amount of water admitted to the reactor prevented the reactor from heating the water to create steam which powered the turbines. The short-term effects of the disaster were deaths from radiation sickness. Those who were exposed to radiation, but so much so that it would not kill them, suffered long-term effects such as scarring and health problems. On the environment, the effects were drastic. The entire Chernobyl area is now radiated beyond the point where anyone can live there, even more than 30 years later. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The collapse, in my opinion, could have been avoided. I feel this way because there were more qualified people who could have performed the safety test in the morning. The meltdown was caused by the excessive amount of water introduced into the reactor. The excessive amount of water caused a build-up of heat and pressure causing the reactor to explode. If this had been done in the morning, the test probably would have gone well. But since they did it in the middle of the night, the risk was greater that something would go wrong. Firstly, there would have been more staff on site if the test had been carried out during the day, so there would have been more people to talk to if there were any problems. As I said before, I think this disaster could have been avoided. I think the government could have handled the situation better, mainly because at first they tried to cover it up. If they hadn't covered it up, they could have asked other countries for help. With the help of other countries, they could have cleaned up all the nuclear waste and disposed of it properly..