Could Chernobyl happen again without human error?

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster was a catastrophic accident, BBC Science Focus looks at whether this could happen again.


Asked by: Jean Hamman, Germany

Probably not. The Chernobyl accident was caused by staff overriding automatic fail-safe mechanisms to conduct a risky experiment; because of a design fault in the control rods, this led to the explosion. Improved mechanisms render modern reactors extremely safe.

Subscribe to BBC Focus magazine for fascinating new Q&As every month and follow @sciencefocusQA on Twitter for your daily dose of fun science facts.