April 26, 1986

[blackhawknj]

Reactor No. 4 explodes at Chernobyl. The pictures of the now abandoned town of Pripyat look like something out of some sort of apocalyptic science fiction movie.

 

[graygun]

That was a bad one! :shock:

 

[VonFatman]

Indeed.

 

[CGDustDevil]

A horrific calamity. Thousands have died during and since the reactor explosion. The building they put around the thing is coming to the end of its 30 year service life, and that thing is going to once again become a serious issue if they don't get after it. Problem is that it was a lot easier to cough up tens of thousands of worker bees to sacrifice their lives and health when it was the USSR. It'll be a LOT more difficult to find anyone interested in putting up another building around that thing now.

If you haven't watched the documentary about what happened, it's worth your time to do so. The radiation was so terrible that robotic machines they came up with to clean the radioactive debris off the roof of the place only lasted a few minutes before quitting or committing suicide. (Yes, one machine actually threw itself over the edge into the molten exposed reactor core) Since robotic machines wouldn't work, they used humans instead.

Unbelievable.


What a calamity of p*** poor engineering design and completely inept operators. And it only took less than 30 minutes to grenade the place.

I STILL can't believe they did what they did all these years later.

 

[blackhawknj]

It was a very Soviet/Communist accident waiting to happen. Bad design-no containment structure, shoddy construction, management by bullying and intimidation-"fulfilling the Plan" was more important than anything else. Disregard for safety standards, the people who really understood the science and the dangers were regarded with suspicion, when the calamity finally occurred the Soviets went into their usual "lie and deny" mode. One picture shows the hundreds of military vehicles and helicopters that had to be abandoned because they were too contaminated.
I saw a news story where a former resident visited her old apartment. 30 years ago the people left with not much more than what they could carry, were told it was just "temporary". She found the place stripped.

 

[opos]

We got San Onofre which was shut down and taken out of service after leaking and many "age related" problems became apparent...now the battles rage on about what to do with waste, how to properly dispose of the facility, etc..it sits right on the shore line of a beautiful piece of coast line like some concrete monument to government things gone bad...Nuclear is probably a great source of energy but I don't know if even now...after all these years...the operators and government folks have a clue what they are dealing with and how to properly handle the situation.

 

[blume357]

I saw where the soviets offered young men an option.... 2 years mandatory military service or 2 minutes at Chernobyl ..... not a lot that chose the 2 minutes survived.

I think what 'they' don't tell us is between the above ground testing of atomic weapons, what we dropped on Japan and Chernobyl the entire world is now much more radioactive than before....

 

[GunnyGene]

I saw where the soviets offered young men an option.... 2 years mandatory military service or 2 minutes at Chernobyl ..... not a lot that chose the 2 minutes survived.

I think what 'they' don't tell us is between the above ground testing of atomic weapons, what we dropped on Japan and Chernobyl the entire world is now much more radioactive than before....

Not all radiation is harmful, or long lasting. As for power plants, there are newer designs that are far safer than these heavy water reactors. The main issue is the cost of replacing the older ones with the newer designs.

Here's a little info on the state of the technology and new designs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_reactor

 

[Fox Mike]

I lived 'downwind' of Three Mile Island and that was an "interesting" time for a while too. Nothing like Chernobyl but nevertheless a time of anticipation for many.

 

[Kevin]

Plus after Chernobyl, since May 1st is a Communist holiday, back then it was mandatory for everyone to be outside for the governmental parade each town had. My wife was in grade school back then and remembers being outside that day. And since then, she has had more than a few relatives die from cancer. Granted this was in Bulgaria, a long way from Chernobyl, so I can't say if it's related or not but it's very coincidental.

 

[Tallbald]

I didn't realize until doing some reading this morning that had the second explosion occurred, it likely would "have wiped out half of Europe". Can anyone envision the aftermath now had that occurred? Aside from the incalculable toll in life and scale of personal tragedy, imagine the remaining population crowding away from the contaminated area into less affected nations like ours. Geopolitical changes can only be speculated upon, but life would never again be as it was before the disaster. Don.

 

[Tensaw]

I traveled to Europe a lot back then on business. I remember sometime after the accident the president of our company said that we did not have to go if we felt it would be unsafe. The HR department conferred with the local medical school and provided us with the "does and don'ts". Believing the risk was very low, we made trips to Holland and Germany.

 

[Dan in MI]

I have been reading a lot of articles lately about the are as it now sits. The wildife has come back, but who knows their lifespan. Quite few people have moved back (illegally) mostly elderly tha want to live at "home."

There are tours you can take now. (no thanks)

 

[mohavesam]

Having worked a few years inspecting nuclear power construction, I can attest the differences between Soviet construction safety and USA regs. To anyone who wants to know the difference (any recent college graduate?) between capitalism and socialism/communism, here is a prime example. Many maps of the fallout and contamination exist online.

We don't teach radiation safety in government schools sadly, but that doesn't mean we aren't exposed daily.
Some chromed bathroom tissue holders were recently discovered to contain cobalt-60. One company was actually found to be "dumping" cobalt wastes into chrome plating operations. Is cobalt bad? - We had to lead our roof in Rochester NY, because the 'shine' from our cobalt test room was interfering with airliners on approach (as they flew in overhead). Iridium and cobalt are common in surveying, materials sampling and construction in the USA. Don't get me started on 'backscatter' radiation using live sources (pellets) as-used by TSA...
Radon from the ground. Although not a single death has ever been attributed to radon gas in a home, it can cause complications and mortgage companies are scared of it. Uranium was used for decades to color glass, ceramic glazes for dishware, coffee cups, etc. Smokers may know tobacco plants absorb radiation better than other broad-leaf plants, and it doesn't go away with processing. Cigars have been found to have dangerous levels and especially those from third-world countries. Radium in watches and especially in phosphate fertilizers. Thorium and potassium-40 have been found in floor tiles made outside the USA, and glazed ceramics in bowls, cups, dishes, etc, especially browns, oranges and reds. And even granite countertops. Where do you prepare your food?

Why is it all those old guys who claim everyday radiation exposure "won't hurt ya" are full of cancers, organ failures, cartilage deterioration, rotting teeth and nails, cataracts and melanomas?

 

[Tensaw]

Mohavesam, very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

[coach]

I lived 'downwind' of Three Mile Island and that was an "interesting" time for a while too. Nothing like Chernobyl but nevertheless a time of anticipation for many.

Besides living downwind too I've always spent a lot of time on the Chesapeake boating and living. Three mile island is on the Susquehanna River which is basically the headwaters of the Bay. Glad it was nothing like Chernobyl. Coincidentally it happened in April too, 1979.

 

[eric conrad]

A Cal Tech scientist stated " you get more radiation walking by your tv than was leaked at Three mile Island" This was back in the early ninety's
Eric

 

[Colonialgirl]

Radium was used to provide "Glow in the DARK" numbers on watch hands and numbers; Many women got radiation poisoning because they would wet the tips of their paint brushes for a finer tip by wetting them in their mouth before painting the hands and dial.

 

[coach]

A Cal Tech scientist stated " you get more radiation walking by your tv than was leaked at Three mile Island" This was back in the early ninety's
Eric

I'm not so sure that's true. I seem to remember at the time a lot of radioactive steam being vented. And for a while nobody was sure what was going to happen. Being downstream a lot of folks were worried.
Cal Tech, consider the source.

 

[RSIno1]

San Clemente reactors were fine until they redesigned the plumbing to get more power out of it and it was so thin it leaked. Rather than admit they were wrong and go back to the original design they decided to scrap both reactors and stick the ratepayers with the bill.
Don't forget Japan is still dealing with a runaway reactor from the earthquake.