April 26, 1986: The Number 4 reactor explodes at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Pripyat, Ukraine. It is the biggest nuclear accident in human history.
The accident occurred during a test of the steam turbine's ability to power the emergency feedwater pumps in the event of a simultaneous loss of external power and coolant pipe rupture. Following an accidental drop in reactor power to near-zero, the operators restarted the reactor in preparation for the turbine test with a prohibited control rod configuration.
Upon successful completion of the test, the reactor was then shut down for maintenance. Due to a variety of factors, this action resulted in a power surge at the base of the reactor which brought about the rupture of reactor components and the loss of coolant. This process led to steam explosions and a meltdown, which destroyed the containment building.
This was followed by a reactor core fire which lasted until May 4, during which airborne radioactive contaminants were spread throughout the Soviet Union and Europe.
In response to the initial accident, a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) radius exclusion zone was created 36 hours after the accident, from which approximately 49,000 people were evacuated, primarily from Pripyat. The exclusion zone was later increased to a radius of 30 kilometers (19 miles), from which an additional 68,000 people were evacuated.
Following the reactor explosion, which killed two engineers and severely burned two more, an emergency operation to put out the fires and stabilize the surviving reactor began, during which 237 workers were hospitalized, of whom 134 exhibited symptoms of acute radiation syndrome (ARS).
A United Nations committee found that to date fewer than 100 deaths have resulted from the fallout. Model predictions of the eventual total death toll in the coming decades vary. The most widely cited study conducted by the World Health Organization in 2006 predicted 9,000 cancer-related fatalities in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
North America was lucky with Three Mile Island in 1979. Eastern Europe was not so lucky with Chernobyl in 1986.
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April 26, 1986 was a Saturday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. Yankee manager Lou Piniella started Bob Shirley, who gave up a double, a single, another single, hit a batter, walked another, and allowed another double, with a runner pickoff mixed in, before Piniella took him out. Three Yankee relievers then pitched 8 2/3rds innings of 5-hit shutout ball. But it was too late.
Dave Winfield went 2-for-3 with a walk. Don Mattingly went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Rickey Henderson went 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.
* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Lenny Dykstra hit a home run in support of Sid Fernandez.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 11-5 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Eddie Murray went 1-for-4 with a walk. Cal Ripken went 1-for-5 with 2 RBIs.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Rick Schu went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs, each on a solo home run, his 1st 2 homers of the season, and he would finish with 8. Mike Schmidt went 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Jerry Hairston hit a sacrifice fly to bring Carlton Fisk home in the top of the 11th inning.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The California Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Reggie Jackson appeared as a pinch-hitter in the top of the 9th inning, drew a walk, and scored on the winning home run hit by Wally Joyner.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-1 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Bill Buckner hit a home run. George Brett went 1-for-4.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Texas Rangers, 10-2 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Robin Yount went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Paul Molitor went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.
* The Houston Astros beat the Cincinnati Reds, 1-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. Mike Scott pitched a 4-hit shutout, outpitching Bill Gullickson. Barely: The only run of the game came in the bottom of the 9th, with Gullickson pitching to Alan Ashby, the Astro catcher, when his own catcher, Bo Diaz, committed a passed ball, allowing Billy Hatcher to score.
Diaz was in the game because the Reds' manager had pinch-hit for starting catcher Sal Butera. The Reds' manager was Pete Rose. The batter Rose sent in to pinch-hit for Butera was himself. At the time, Butera was batting .200 for the season, and had 121 career hits. Rose had 4,204. At age 45, he hadn't batted that season until the game before, and went 0-for-4. Rose was a terrible manager. He wouldn't get his 1st hit of the season until May 4, batted .219, and played his last game on August 17. He never actually announced his retirement as a player.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Will Clark hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Andres Thomas singled Ozzie Virgil Jr. home in the top of the 10th inning.
* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.
Football was out of season. The NBA was between rounds of its Playoffs. There were 2 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In "The Battle of Alberta," the Calgary Flames beat their arch-rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, 4-1 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton. And the St. Louis Blues beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3 at the St. Louis Arena. Mark Reeds scored the winning goal, 7:11 into overtime.
And in English soccer, Arsenal played West Midlands team West Bromwich Albion to a draw, 2-2 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.
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