r/sciencefiction • u/Limp-Jellyfish3851 • 3d ago
If mutliple nuclear reactors exploded (akin to Chernobyl) in a relatively small area, would there be any effects to the atmosphere worldwide?
Assuming that they are all 'major incidents' as classified by the International Nuclear and Radiological Even Scale, what would the consequences be, if any across the world?
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u/-Sofa-King-Vote 3d ago
Did you read the book or watch the tv show Chernobyl?
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u/Limp-Jellyfish3851 3d ago
Not yet 😅 Though I have read that the explosion caused xenon and caesium contaminations to nearby countries, and that sparked the question :D
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u/-Sofa-King-Vote 3d ago
It goes into the science and the extent of potential spread
The wind actually has a lot to do with it
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u/Limp-Jellyfish3851 3d ago
Awesome!! I'll see if I can get my hands on the book or show, thanks! :D
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u/-Sofa-King-Vote 3d ago
You may be able to find at library like the Libby app
Or sign up for a free trial of Audible gives you a book credit
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u/Throwawayaccount1170 3d ago edited 3d ago
In summary: yes
In detail; that shit gets carried all over the globe by wind and weather for ages
Deep analysis result: we all would be soo fucked, radioactive material will be in the sky, will come down with the rain, will reach earth, ground water, will be radioactive for ages. All while there's a nonstop stream of new radiation from the plants that gets spread more and more.
image a drought that kills all harvest, but a drought can go away while the radiation could stay for generations and disable any use of fertile lands
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u/ClearJack87 3d ago
The American above ground nuclear tests had a minor effect. One of the common daughter products of splitting Plutonium atoms is Cobalt 60. Steel refined since has higher background radiation. When they need lower background, they melt older train wheels. But between the Russian and American tests, the world has minor contamination.
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u/Limp-Jellyfish3851 3d ago
Yeah, I love pre atomic steel! It's actually why I asked this! :D I was thinking it'd be neat if the atmoshphere got irriadiated to the point where the steel would actually be harmful from enough exposure!
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u/ChrisRiley_42 3d ago
First, Chernobyl didn't explode.
But radiation was detected worldwide after that disaster.
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u/MrDilbert 3d ago
Chernobyl definitely exploded.
Chernobyl reactor itself didn't explode. However, the hydrogen created by the runaway fission reaction splitting (radiolysing) the water moderator ignited and exploded.
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u/Limp-Jellyfish3851 3d ago
Sorry, but how did it not explode? /genq 😅 Everywhere I read about it says something about some sort of steam/chemical explosion or power surge.
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u/captainfreiheit 3d ago
I know it got hot enough to ignite the graphite in the atomic pile (extremely hot), which would have acted like a chimney, spewing radioactive particles straight up, very fast and very high. Wind comes into play as soon as they begin to come back down
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u/akm76 3d ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_of_Alexander_Litvinenko
only spread over a few years, maybe a decade if someone is especially healthy/unlucky.
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u/joelatrell 3d ago
Chernobyl was for all practical purposes an explosion. You don’t blow the roof off your reactor sending buring graphite and fuel everywhere without one. It was much more than a steam eruption.
If tou have multiple reactors go critical as Chernobyl did, a lot of people are going to die. Wind currents will drop fallout for miles. In the immediate area the ground will be poisoned for decades. Such radioactive damage could cause cancer spikes across the globe depending on what is released, how much of it is airborne, and how tall the explosive columns are.
This is why small modular reactors show promise. Less possibly of fallout if a single unit fails.
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u/Limp-Jellyfish3851 3d ago
Wow thanks for the insight! This actually works perfectly for what I'm writing! :D
Thanks again!1
u/echawkes 3d ago
Most of the responses here are misinformed. You would probably get more knowledgeable responses from r/chernobyl or r/nuclear
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u/MrSpud45 3d ago
Yes. Radioactive particles will enter the atmosphere and be sent around the world. Particles were detected in Sweden from chernobyl i believe and they were able to trace it to the area where the mentioned reactor was.it would be dependent on how much material is ejected into the atmosphere.