The effects of the Chernobyl disaster in Hungary

On April 26, 1986, the biggest and most catastrophic nuclear disaster happened in the Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union, in the town of Pripyat (today: Ukraine). The accident occurred during a safety test on a common Soviet reactor type and caused tremendous failures in a few minutes. This disaster is considered to be the worst in the history of humanity taking thousands of lives away. The accident affected the whole European continent, including Hungary, where according to stories and rumours the following happened.

Right after the explosion, the Soviet engineers had to face a problem they have never seen before. The damage needed to be repaired as soon as possible, otherwise the whole European continent would have become inhabitable. As the Soviet State was considered to be sacred and powerful, the Soviet leadership did not intend to inform foreign countries about the accident, and if yes, the techniques of propaganda and manipulation had to be used. Many people were unaware of the fact of how a nuclear plant works in real life.

Ordinary citizens in the Soviet Union knew two types of atoms: the “good-atom” which provides energy, and the “bad-atom” which is used to make bombs. To measure the amount of radiation, which is extremely dangerous for humans, were complicated and hard, and even today, it is problematic to determine an exact number with modern technology.

The wind took this enormous radioactive cloud and started to spread it above the European Continent. On April 28, Swedish scientist noticed the increased amount of radiation in the air and determined where it came from. From this moment, the Soviet Union could not keep the accident in secret anymore and had to inform the whole world about what happened in Chernobyl.

Hungary

The radioactive cloud entered Hungary in two waves: on April 29, and May 7. People only talked about the accident in Chernobyl as a mere rumour and joked around at the dining table not to eat certain products because it “might be Chernobylised”. Although the Soviet Union informed the country as several Hungarian radio stations began to spread the information and details about the accident. In schools, for example, students stopped learning and listened to the radio during the class.

The next day more news arrived in Hungary to newspapers and radio stations emphasising the fact that a significant amount of radiation is in the air. In a few hours, every Hungarian knew that the accident in Chernobyl is more than a simple joke.