Exercises on the nuclear accident at Chernobyl

It is correct to say that the main cause of the accident that occurred with reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, in Ukraine, was due to:

a) to sabotage carried out by the US secret service.

b) to a terrorist attack by Al-Qaeda, which dropped a plane over the plant.

c) to overheating of the reactor, due to failures in the hydraulic cooling system.

d) to the earthquake that devastated the Eastern European region in 1986.

e) to a missile fired by NATO against Ukraine.

(Enem) The Chernobyl nuclear accident brutally reveals the limits of humanity's technical-scientific powers and the “reverse gears” that “nature” can reserve for us. It is evident that a more collective management is necessary to guide science and techniques towards more human ends. [GUATTARI, F. The three ecologies . São Paulo:Papirus, 1995 (adapted)].

The text deals with the technical-scientific apparatus and its consequences for humanity, proposing that this development:

a) define your projects based on collective interests.

b) be guided by economic interests, prescribed by the logic of the market.

c) prioritize the evolution of technology, appropriating nature.

d) promotes the separation between nature and technological society.

e) has its own management, with the objective of better appropriation of nature.

Read the text below and then mark the correct alternative:

The first-hour relief workers in Chernobyl received such high doses that their death can be attributed with certainty to the accident. But for all people who have suffered, at the time or after, medium or weak doses, things are more complex. In principle, an epidemiological survey could retrospectively assess the excess of malignancies that affected affected populations over the normally expected rate. But this research could not be done correctly in Chernobyl, as the most affected populations, firefighters and people who could be displaced were dispersed across the territory of the Soviet Union, and no follow-up could be carried out. (DUPUY, Jean Pierre. “The Chernobyl catastrophe twenty years later.” Advanced Studies 21(59). USP. 2007.

From Jean Pierre Dupuy's text, we can say that:

a) the Soviet Union did not bother to mitigate the damage caused by the accident.

b) the number of victims is much higher than what is stated in the official report.

c) there was no contamination from other Ukrainian cities.

d) there was no contamination from other areas of the Soviet Union.

e) the number of direct victims is much lower than what the official report says.

One ​​of the measures undertaken by the Soviet Union in order to minimize the effects of the explosion of reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was:

a) transport the radioactive material to another plant.

b) release the radioactive material into the river near the plant.

c) build a thick layer of reinforced concrete, called a “sarcophagus”, on top of the reactor area.

d) demolish the other reactors so that there are no new explosions.

e) land radioactive material in Siberia.

Letter C

The accident with reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant took place on April 25, 1986. The main cause was a failure in the cooling system of said reactor. This failure occurred because of a technical error by scientists who were doing a test on the ability of the cooling system to operate at a low power level. The reactor overheated because of the error and exploded, spewing large amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere.

Letter A

After the Chernobyl nuclear accident, the world was on alert for the dangers of nuclear power plants use. If this type of energy already generated fear because of the atomic bombs, after Chernobyl, fear gained another face. The author of the text, Félix Guattari, took the example of this accident to warn about the uses of technology and what they mean for humanity as a whole.

Letter B

Dupuy warns that the indirect victims of the accident in Chernobyl can reach numbers much higher than those in official reports. However, it is difficult to count such victims, as they were dispersed over several territories.

Letter C

The main measure adopted by the Soviet Union to inhibit the effects of the Chernobyl explosion and prevent further explosions was to seal the reactor with reinforced concrete. The sealing work lasted about 7 months, given the difficulties in carrying out the action. The thick layer of concrete was called “sarcophagus”. Before the seal, dozens of helicopters flew over the reactor and dumped a few tons of lead and sand with the initial aim of restricting nuclear leakage.