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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. If the melted fuel poisoned the drinking water, how many people would be affected?

2. When did Gorbachev finally appear on TV to address the nuclear accident in public?

3. When did a Soviet air force pilot shoot down a Korean Air jumbo jet?

4. What hours were members of the government commission working in Chapter 11?

5. When did the radioactive releases from the reactor suddenly increase and double from 3 million to 6 million curies?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the China Syndrome, and why was it a concern?

2. When did Valery Legasov present information about the Chernobyl accident and how accurate was the information he provided?

3. Who was the head of the Clinical Department of Hospital Number Six in Moscow, and what were her qualifications?

4. What were the verdicts in the trial of Viktor Brukhanov and the five men tried with him?

5. Why did Alexander Meshkov conclude that the accident was due to operator error?

6. On July 25, how were busloads of Pripyat evacuees allowed to reclaim items from their apartments?

7. At the beginning of Chapter 16, how are General Tarakanov's men dressed to work on the roof above Unit Three?

8. Where did Svetlanta Kirichenko and other members of the Pripyat city council set up an office?

9. What did Regan say about the lack of information from the Soviets regarding the nuclear accident at Chernobyl?

10. Why did the Ukrainian Minsitry of Health wish to cancel the May Day parade in Kiev, and why was it not canceled?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chernobyl power station used RBMK reactors. Why and how did design flaws in the RBMK lead to the catastrophe?

Essay Topic 2

The Era of Stagnation was a term coined by Mikhail Gorbachev to describe the economic, political and social policies of the Soviet Union under Brezhnev’s rule. What was the Era of Stagnation? How did it affect the economic, political, and social policies of the USSR?

Essay Topic 3

The China Syndrome was the idea that a meltdown from a nuclear accident could go through any containment structures, through the earth, and then through to China. Why was there concern that the meltdown might escape the building and contaminate the earth? Was there a real danger of that happening?

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