Chernobyl: Five Fast Facts
![The sealing membrane for the new Chernobyl enclosure has been delivered to the site. Photo courtesy SSE ChNPP.](https://cdn.ans.org/cafe/2017/04/Sealing-Membrane-March-2017-c-SSE-ChNPP.jpg)
The sealing membrane for the new Chernobyl enclosure has been delivered to the site. Photo courtesy SSE ChNPP.
1. The Chernobyl Accident Wasn't a Nuclear Explosion. The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant reactor no. 4 in April 1986 did destroy the reactor itself as well as the roof of the reactor building, but the explosive forces involved were, first, a steam explosion inside the complex reactor, followed almost immediately by a hydrogen gas explosion similar to those that occurred at Fukushima. No "nuclear yield" was involved-the forces were, instead, explosive expansion of steam and chemical.