History of the Chernobyl Facility
Located ~130km north of Kiev, Ukraine, the Chernobyl Power Complex consisted of four nuclear reactors. All four reactors are a Soviet designed RBMK-1000, a graphite moderated pressure tube reactor. Due to safety concerns, this design is now universally recognized as inherently flawed. The first two units completed construction by 1977, with the third and fourth units following the same design and completing construction in 1983. A 22 square kilometer lake was built southeast of the plant to provide cooling water for the reactors.
