Kyshtym disaster

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/kyshtym-disaster

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How big is Kyshtym disaster?Over 52,000 square kilometers (East Ural Radioactive Trace)
2. What is the date of occurrence?September 29, 1957
3. What is the primary facility?Mayak Production Association, a plutonium reprocessing plant
4. What happened at the Kyshtym disaster?In 1957, a storage tank at the Mayak nuclear plant exploded, sending a huge amount of radioactive material into the air.
5. Why was the Kyshtym disaster so dangerous?It released a lot of radioactive substances, like strontium‑90 and cesium‑137, which spread over a wide area and could harm people and the environment.

Nuclear Reprocessing: The chemical separation of fissile material from spent nuclear fuel.
Radioactive Fallout: Particles of radioactive material dispersed by atmospheric explosions or accidents.
International Nuclear Event Scale (INES): A seven-level scale used to communicate the severity of nuclear or radiological incidents.
Strontium-90: A radioactive isotope with a half-life of about 29 years, known to accumulate in bones.