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For more than a day, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster was cut off from Ukraine’s power grid after Russian forces took control of Chernobyl.
The Russian Energy Minister, Nikolay Shulginov, now says power has been restored but concerns continue to mount.
In 1986, a planned safety test on Chernobyl’s reactor number four went horribly awry, leading to a core melting down.
The site remains shut off and is still one of the most radioactive places on earth.
The most recent Chernobyl scare came only days after Russian forces engaged in a firefight at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest atomic producer.
It has thrust nuclear power and plants back into the world’s consciousness.
Despite the risks and sometimes deadly consequences, many countries still rely on nuclear power.
In the US, there are 55 commercially operated nuclear power plants and 93 reactors spread across 28 states, making the US the largest producer of the energy in the world.
The vast majority of plants are located east of the Mississippi River with the highest concentration of plants occurring in Illinois. The state has six plants and 11 reactors.
Where are the biggest plants?
Palo Verde Generating Station
The biggest power plant in the US is in Arizona, only 82 kilometres from Phoenix, the fifth largest city in the country. The plant, which opened in 1986, sits on 1,600 hectares of land and consists of three reactors that produce 3.93 gigawatts of energy. Its power serves about 4 million people.
Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant
The Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant is on the Tennessee River almost 65 kilometres from Huntsville, Alabama, home of Nasa’s Marshall Space Centre. The plant was completed in 1974 and produces 3.4GW of energy, making it the second most powerful nuclear power plant in the US.
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station
Just 47 kilometres due north of Baltimore, Maryland, lies the third most powerful nuclear plant in the US. Peach Bottom Atomic Power station was built over 12 years with the first reactor starting up in 1967, and the second and third units completed in1974. The plant produces 2.76GW of power.
South Texas Project Electric Generating Station
The fourth largest power plant in the US is 150 kilometres south-west of Houston, Texas, the fourth most populous city in the country. South Texas Project Electric Generating Station is on 4,900 hectares of land just north of the Gulf of Mexico. The station produces 2.7GW of energy and serves 2 million people.
Three Mile Island
On March 28, 1979, one of the reactors at Three Mile Island Nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania partly melted down in what is the worst nuclear accident in US history. The event is rated a level five on the seven-point International Nuclear Event Scale. It brought about sweeping safety changes to the industry.
Additional reporting by Steve LaBate in Los Angeles, California
