Chernobyl disaster (1986)
A reactor explosion at the Chernobyl plant in northern Ukraine released massive radiation across Europe, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.
A 30-kilometer exclusion zone was established; 350,000 people were permanently relocated.
Chernobyl remains the benchmark for nuclear catastrophe, with billions spent on containment and cleanup.
Chernobyl is the reason nuclear safety at Zaporizhzhia carries such weight. A radiation release from Europe's largest plant would dwarf the 1986 disaster's scale.
