Welcome to part 2 of our Chernobyl saga. You
may wonder what it is in my hands - It is
AK47 Kalashnikov assault rifle. Believe it
or not, it was really used here in the bowels
of the melted reactor 4. And this is neither
fiction, nor video game - this is the truth
about Chernobyl - a history written in graphite
part two! If you want to know more, stay with
us, but now we must find shelter.
It took a few months to build a sarcophagus
– a concrete, lead and steel quick fix that
was to keep radioactive dust and radioactivity
from spreading into the atmosphere. The problem
with quick fix is that it doesn’t last long.
And the sarcophagus was the proof of that.
It had so many big holes that birds nested
there. Well, it wasn’t designed to last
forever, and its terrible shape manifested
in 2013, when a piece of roof collapsed releasing
radioactivity and causing temporary evacuation
of the area.
It took exactly 30 years - without one month
- from building the Sarcophagus in December
1986 to covering it with new, proper construction,
called New Safe Confinement – New Shelter
in November of 2016. But
even then it was under further construction
until July 2019 when finally the journalists
were allowed there.
The New Shelter’s construction began in
2010 – it is a large, arch-shaped dome made
of steel and powered by solar panels. It is
about 110 metres high (that’s 360 feet high).
It allows to safely take apart the old Sarcophagus
and the reactor’s debris without risking
further contamination.
The New Safe Confinement cost 1.5 billion
Euro - a currency that itself is quite fascinating
- that is more than 1.6 billion dollars. But
the whole Shelter Implementation Plan cost
2.1 billion Euro (that is 2.3 billion dollars).
Yes, the power plant after the meltdown stayed
operational with its remaining 3 RMBK reactors.
They shut down the reactor 2 in 1991, reactor
1 in 1996 and finally reactor number 3 in
December of 2000. This was possible thanks
to an agreement between European Union and Ukraine.
Basically meaning: they close Chernobyl
power plant if EU gives them money for improving
energy sector in the country and assists in
the building of New Shelter. So… Soviets
polluted nearly the whole Europe on both sides
of the Iron Curtain without telling anyone
and in the end Europe paid for it. Forget
Wall Street - Do business Soviet style! Do
the mess, disappear, and make others pay for
it. The whole clean-up of this cursed place
is scheduled for 2065 - nearly a century after
they built it.
While the sarcophagus was being built over
the Reactor 4, the scientists had to remove
fuel rods remaining there - to avoid any risks
of possible explosion. They risked their lives
doing it in the heat from the core, and received
huge doses of radiation. Finally in December
of 1986, using a remote operated camera, they
discovered a very radioactive mass - more
than two meters wide – that is 6.5 feet
wide – in the basement of Unit Four – which
they named an elephant’s foot due to its
appearance .
It is composed of nuclear fuel that leaked
from the reactor, sand and concrete. You remember
Corium lava-like material? An unknown crystalline
form inside of it was discovered: Chernobylite.
Heh! Soviets wouldn’t have been Soviets
if they hadn’t tried to shoot the Elephant’s
Foot with Kalashnikov, using armor piercing
rounds, since the Foot was harder than a drill bit used to collect its sample.
One could
say that they shot themselves in the foot - literally.
Officially AK47 became a scientific
tool for sample collection.
It is estimated that about 95% of reactor
4’s fuel from the time of the accident (about
200 tones) remains inside the new shelter.
The radioactive material consists of core
fragments, dust, and corium. It is going to
take a lot of AK47 rounds to remove it.
It took only three weeks of July 1987 to sentence
6 key persons involved in the disaster of
the Chernobyl power plant:
- the deputy chief engineer Anatoly Dyatlov
guilty "of criminal mismanagement of potentially
explosive enterprises" - was sentenced to
10 years imprisonment
- the plant director, Viktor Bryukhanov and
the chief engineer, Nikolai Fomin also got
10 years.
None of them served full sentence. Those names
you may know from movies, tv series. They
were the most presented in press and mass media.
Other 3 responsible persons received less
strict sentences – from 2 to 5 years:
- the shift director of Reactor 4, Boris Rogozhin
- the chief of Reactor 4, Aleksandr Kovalenko
- USSR State Committee on Supervision of Safe
Conduct of Work in Atomic Energy inspector
Yuri Laushkin
To give this trial a sense of populist payback
rather than fairness, the trial took place
in the House of Culture of Chernobyl city.
And since Aleksandr Akimov and Leonid Toptunov
had already died, their prosecution was terminated.
The human factor is still considered a main
cause for the accident since the crew of the
reactor 4 didn’t follow the planned test
program in order to execute the test faster.
They lacked knowledge, experience and understanding
of the nuclear device they were operating.
They switched off many essential security
systems. Not to mention pulling way too many
of “do not touch” security control rods.
Despite the fact that human factor played
a crucial role in the disaster, it was not
solely the operating staff that was to blame,
but in the USSR it was impossible to blame
the design of RMBK reactor for the meltdown.
Moreover, Ukraine declassified some KGB documents
from the period of the building and catastrophe
of the Chernobyl Plant showing the awareness
and indifference of the Soviets about the
negligence during the construction of the
plant – such as splitting of concrete layers.
To quickly refresh your memory from part one
– the main fault were graphite tipped control
rods in the reactor, causing rapid increase
in nuclear power just before hampering it.
You know: The accelerate before brake phenomenon.
It caused instability of the reactor because
too many control rods were extracted, water
was boiling inducing more chain reaction and
when the power instantly started to raise,
the scram button was pressed to switch off
the reactor... but it added even more power
(the graphite tipped control rods – the
accelerate before brake phenomenon) and kaboom.
Well, when people are absent, nature takes
over the cities. But what happened in the
place of one of the only two most devastating
nuclear disasters in history of mankind? At
the time of the meltdown, due to immense radiation,
a pine forest near the Chernobyl power plant
turned red and died. It is the infamous Red
Forest or Rusted Forest. This place has one
of the highest nuclear contamination in the
world. At first it was bulldozed and wood
was buried in the trenches. Some pines grew
back but those buried are now a threat to
the ground waters. Different plants cope differently
with the radiation. Birch trees for example
survived the radiation.
The soil still emits high radioactivity. In
general, the problem with flora like: grass
or trees, bushes et cetera in contaminated
areas is plants’ life cycle. Plants draw
water, minerals along with radionuclides from
the ground and when plants lose leaves and
produce fruits - this brings radiation back
onto the surface again.
As we know, plants are eaten by animals. During
and after the fallout, some animals in the
worst affected areas died or stopped reproducing.
For example some cattle that survived –especially
calves – never grew to full mature size
because their thyroid was damaged. It is reported
that many Ukrainian farms registered mutated
animals like extra or missing limbs, deformed
skulls, missing eyes or ribs.
Time passed, radiation dropped due to radioactive
decay, although radiation levels in the 30
km (that is 19 mi) exclusion zone surrounding
Chernobyl are still 10 to 100 times higher
than normal background radiation. However,
in 2007, Ukraine designated the exclusion
zone as a wildlife sanctuary – which is
one of the largest wildlife sanctuaries in
Europe.
Existing animal populations have multiplied,
some species absent for centuries returned
or have been reintroduced, for example (very
rare and native) Eurasian lynx, grey wolf,
Eurasian brown bear, wild boar, black stork
and introduced at the end of the 20th century
Przewalski's horse.
On the other hand, invertebrate populations
like bumblebees, butterflies, grasshoppers,
or spiders significantly dropped. It is because
those creatures lay eggs or nest on or in
the top layer of soil - that due to Cesium-137
is most radioactive.
There are also mushrooms – fungi. And those
also absorb radiation, but here’s the thing
about them: Inside reactor 4 there was discovered
radiotrophic fungus (melanized black fungus)
that absorbs radiation and converts it into
chemical energy for its growth. These black
fungi grow a lot better if exposed to radiation
compared to other (non-melanized) fungi.
We know rats are tough and will survive mostly
anything, so we leave them alone. Birds are
also resilient, enough – as I already told
you – to nest inside old, cracked sarcophagus.
But they allegedly – in comparison to their
normal counterparts – had smaller brains
due to high radiation.
There are also some plants that managed to
adapt to the increased radiation levels. One
of them is native to Chernobyl – Arabidopsis.
It was the first plant to produce its seeds
in space in 1982 – brought there by Soviets,
but also it resists radiation and doesn’t
mutate in its native contaminated Chernobyl
habitat. A very tough plant!
Water life was also affected. Most of lakes
and reservoirs are still highly contaminated
and pose great threat due to spring floods
when thawing snow fills them with water and
that water flows later to two main rivers.
Fish living in those radioactive waters seem
to do well and thanks to tourists – even
very well.
That is for Chernobyl, but in other countries
some things also changed due to the fallout.
For example in some parts of the United Kingdom
until 2012 sheep movement was restricted and
regulated by law, because those animals eat
grass that grows on radiation absorbing peat.
Every year during dry season (between April
and October) radiation poses a threat to Europe
because of fires that bring radioactive elements
from the ground to the atmosphere. On the
4th of April 2020 – 20 hectares 50 acres
burnt.
In the very first days of the Chernobyl disaster
people close to reactor 4 suffered from Acute
Radiation Syndrome ARS – vomiting, headaches
and sometimes skin reddening. The thing is:
the faster you see the symptoms, the less
chances of surviving you have. It is called
a Latent Phase. In high doses of radiation
also your DNA goes to shreds. ARS is noticeable
by a drop in the number of blood cells, called
aplastic anemia, which causes bad wound healing
that increased mortality. Very high doses
of radiation cause neurological symptoms,
like decreased level or lack of consciousness,
which in most cases is fatal. Radiation cancer
may occur after a latent period of 20 to 40
years even.
Officially the total number of mortal victims
in Chernobyl disaster is 31 people. More than
130 people suffered from the acute radiation
syndrome - 28 of them died within 3 months.
The deaths from the accident involved only
workers in the reactor plant and firefighters.
Many of those who survived, suffered radiation
induced cataracts and radiation burns – their
dusty uniforms caused beta burns on large
areas of skin.
Well, the issue of long term effects of the
disaster, especially concerning deaths or
mutations in humans, is still controversial
and estimations vary, depending on who does
them since no one wants to take too much responsibility.
However, the research shows abnormal increase
in thyroid cancer, especially among children
exposed to radiation due to Iodine-131 either
by air or by drinking contaminated milk. 6000
children were reported to have suffered from
thyroid cancer, and by 2005, 15 of them died
from it.
The thing with estimated long term outcome
in death worldwide is: some say the number
in thyroid cancer was always high but we know
about it just now because of the wide spread
screening programs launched after the disaster.
The International Journal of Cancer in 2006
states „Models predict that by 2065 about
16,000 cases of thyroid cancer and 25,000
cases of other cancers may be expected due
to radiation from the accident, whereas several
hundred million cancer cases are expected
from other causes.”
On the other hand, according to the Union
Chernobyl – which is the main organization
of liquidators – 60,000 of liquidators are
now dead, and 165,000 disabled.
A sevenfold increase in DNA mutations has
been identified in children of liquidators
conceived after the accident.
But the World Health Organization states,
"children conceived before or after their
father's exposure showed no statistically
significant differences in mutation frequencies".
Well, in my opinion, it is as they say: I
pay, I demand results. It took 4 years from
the disaster for the most secretive empire
in the world to collapse. We may never find
the truth.
Chernobyl disaster released several hundred
more radiation than Abombs dropped on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, but only one hundredth to one
thousandth of the radioactivity released during
nuclear weapon testing between 1950 and 1960s.
As of 2016, in the Zone, the radiation exposure
from the radionuclides has dropped by half
since 1986. Caesium-137, along with isotopes
of strontium, are two main nuclides that prevent
the Chernobyl exclusion zone from re-population.
There are the following hazards: caesium tends
to accumulate in vital organs such as the
heart, and strontium accumulates in bones
and thus be a risk of causing leukemia. The
reactor itself doesn’t pose a threat anymore.
The year hadn’t passed after the disaster
when 75% of the land was back under cultivation.
Despite that only a third of the evacuated
villages were resettled.
Today in a small Chernobyl zone there lives
about 150 of samosely (it means self settlers).
Those are the people who returned or even
settled despite not living there before.
Their number is in constant decline. Most of them
are senior resident women with an average
age of 63. They live in Chernobyl itself as
well as in close villages. In 2012, Ukraine
informally permitted the elderly samosely
to stay in the area, but all the younger inhabitants
were to move out. After the disaster of 1986,
there have been about 1000 deaths of 1200
people… and just one birth in the Chernobyl
Exclusion Zone. The only known birth happened
on 25th of August 1999, when a 46-year-old
woman gave birth to a healthy girl called
Maria. Maria’s parents - Lydia Sovenko and
Mikhail Bedernikov - had come to Chernobyl
a few months earlier. Maria lived in Chernobyl
until 2006. Now she lives outside the Zone,
but her parents stayed there.
Pripyat remains uninhabitable due to constant
high radiation and extremely radioactive spots
covering this area. To this day deadly radioactive
clothing of firefighters and medics can be
found on hospital corridors.
Chernobyl city, that lays outside the exclusion
zone, was evacuated, but now is repopulated
with workers of the power plant. There is
about 3000 or maybe more workers who monitor
radiation, control forest fires.
They of course do not live inside the zone, but work shifts there.
Some of the workers work "4-3" shifts
(4 days on, 3 off), others work in 15 days
on, 15 off routine. Plant personnel live mainly
in Slavutych, a specially-built remote city
45 kilometres (that is 28 mi) east of the
reactor. Everyone employed in the Zone is
monitored for radiation. Chernobyl has a cafe,
a hotel and a bus station. Nice
Since 2007 games like STALKER or Call of Duty
have been presenting Chernobyl Zone as a fantastic
place to visit. A Soviet city of Pripyat stopped
in time, where unimaginable things would happen.
Ukrainian government literary cashed in that
promotion.
In 2011 Chernobyl zone was officially opened
to tourists and this fatal attraction branch
of Ukraine economy grows with each year. There
are daily or multiple-day tours from Kiev.
One would stay overnight in the Zone and listen
to the sounds of the mutants. Of course it
would be a hotel, and instead of mutants,
you’d have to listen to your tour guide
so you wouldn’t enter some irradiated place
and harm yourself. And your radiation level
would be monitored. One thing that everyone
notices when visiting Chernobyl zone is the
fact that there are no children there. If
you are underage, you probably will not enter
the zone, even with parents.
Personally, I do not need to visit Chernobyl
since it visited me in 1986, right?
All that metal, army equipment, ships, trucks,
cars and car parts, furniture, everyday things
left in abandoned homes... All that seems
like easy money for some criminal individuals
who disregarding human life, plunder the zone,
even though it is guarded by the police.
It is proved that many tons of illegally obtained
radioactive metal from Chernobyl Zone sold
to oblivious recycling centers circulate around
the world and can be found even in China’s
foundries. Car parts sold on market in Kiev
emit heavy radiation on their new unaware
owners, bringing on them the risk of radiation-induced
health problems. Not to mention disappearing
toilet seats, liquidators’ overalls or instances
of pouching that significantly decreased the
population of the mentioned Przewalski’s
horse.
That – my dear Stalkers – is the end of
the part two of our Chernobyl Roadside Picnic.
Now you know nearly everything about this
wretched, yet charming place. Thank you very
many for your attention and Subscribe to us,
so you will not miss other weird places we
will take you to.
I bet you are still thinking about those missing
toilet seats – me too.
