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Chernobyl At 40: The Reactor Test That Became a Global Nuclear Warning
A failed safety test at Chernobyl on April 26, 1986 triggered one of history’s worst nuclear disasters and exposed how secrecy, design flaws, and operator error can turn a local accident into a continental crisis.
Key Takeaways
- Chernobyl Reactor 4 partially melted down during a power-loss test on April 26, 1986.
- The scale of the danger was not fully understood outside the Soviet system for weeks.
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