# Nuking Chernobyl. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 1, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuking-chernobyl/272219 "2004-11-01T00:52:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Necro\_Romancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/50afbb/32.png) [@Necro\_Romancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necro_Romancer)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuking-chernobyl/272219/1 "2004-11-01T00:52:01Z")
What would happen to the surrounding countries if a nuke were set off at Chernobyl? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuking-chernobyl/272219/2 "2004-11-01T01:00:22Z")
What do you mean? The effect would be the same as any nuclear blast, anywhere. Exploding at the site of a comparitively-minor radioactive event makes no difference. ---
**Author:** ![mitchythekid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@mitchythekid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mitchythekid)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuking-chernobyl/272219/3 "2004-11-01T01:22:13Z")
F :eek: ORGET ABOUT THE SUROUNDING COUNTRIES,when the reactor at Chernobyl went,the fallout reached as far as the U.S.I would think it create a huge cloud of radiation,circling the globe many times.Remember,there are 4 reactors there,well 3,and remnants of one! ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuking-chernobyl/272219/4 "2004-11-01T09:20:18Z")
> [@mitchythekid](#): > > F :eek: ORGET ABOUT THE SUROUNDING COUNTRIES,when the reactor at Chernobyl went,the fallout reached as far as the U.S.I would think it create a huge cloud of radiation,circling the globe many times.Remember,there are 4 reactors there,well 3,and remnants of one! While this may be true, this does not negate what GorillaMan said. Ultimately, it’d be no worse than anywhere else. It’s like driving a car at 60 mph with a tail wind of 10 mph. It’d just be additive to the overall effects of the destruction. Hey, it’s not like it’s the end of the world, right? :dubious: Well, I guess size does matter! 😉 - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuking-chernobyl/272219/5 "2004-11-01T09:50:19Z")
Considering that people could return to Hiroshima and Nagasaki not long after the bombs, and that large areas around the Chernobyl ground zero won´t be suitable for residence for the next 500 years I wouldn´t call the Chernobyl incident a _“a comparitively-minor radioactive event”_. In terms of fallof and contamintation it was much worse than your average nuclear blast, with all that highly radioactive reactor bits flying around the country side and everything. So, I don´t think an A-Bomb sould really make much of a difference, it would be like spitting on the ocean. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuking-chernobyl/272219/6 "2004-11-01T11:20:34Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > Considering that people could return to Hiroshima and Nagasaki not long after the bombs, and that large areas around the Chernobyl ground zero won´t be suitable for residence for the next 500 years I wouldn´t call the Chernobyl incident a _“a comparitively-minor radioactive event”_ Firstly, modern nuclear bombs are a thousand times more powerful than those in WW2. Secondly, the speedy return to Hiroshima and Nagasaki was only permitted thanks to a very limited understanding of the dangers of radiation, and the two cities still have an elevated cancer rate today.