Chernobyl. 9pm sky Atlantic
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Just watched part three, the make up effects of those poor souls dying was simply first class, and the funeral scene brought it home. It surprised me how many people knowing they would die were willing to step up to the plate to stop it getting any worse and at least the miners kept their hats on.
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I watched all the episodes so far in one sitting yesterday evening. Pretty riveting television...well-produced, well-scripted and very well-acted. But I also got rather annoyed, as it is a work of almost complete fiction masquerading as an accurate historical account.
Clearly it was a catastrophic accident - but in reality the situation was never even remotely as apocalyptic as presented in the film...
There was never the any risk of a multi-megaton 'thermal' explosion that would have wiped out the entire western third of the USSR. There was a risk of a thermal explosion, but the concern was that it would kill and injure the people trying to contain the damaged reactor or that it would damage the other three reactors on the site.
The civilian population in Pripyat did not get severe radiation burns from gawking at the burning reactor...in fact it seems that these people had absolutely no immediate health effects (despite media reports to the contrary), and the long term health effects (thyroid cancer etc.) seem to have be much lower than anyone expected at the time. The only people who suffered severe radiation burns or acute radiation sickness were the staff for that specific reactor and the (very brave) people who were directly involved in the containment or cleanup.
The three (genuinely heroic) men who waded underneath the reactor building to help drain the water storage tanks were not on a suicide mission. Two are still alive, and the third died of natural causes (a heart attack).
There were no miners...in reality they used oil drilling technology to pump liquid nitrogen under the reactor, but then realized it was unnecessary and stopped the effort. Even if the core had melted through the the concrete base it would not have rendered the entire Dnieper watershed uninhabitable.
Finally, the other three reactors on the site were undamaged - once Reactor 4 was contained they continued to be operated (although the operators had to work limited shifts), and the entire site was only decommissioned in 2000.
I'm afraid I find it rather ironic that so much of the discussion in the media on this series consists of sanctimonious homilies on the terrible consequences of the communist system suppressing the truth, when the series itself contains so many deliberate and misleading untruths as to almost represent propaganda. False news indeed!
Clearly it was a catastrophic accident - but in reality the situation was never even remotely as apocalyptic as presented in the film...
There was never the any risk of a multi-megaton 'thermal' explosion that would have wiped out the entire western third of the USSR. There was a risk of a thermal explosion, but the concern was that it would kill and injure the people trying to contain the damaged reactor or that it would damage the other three reactors on the site.
The civilian population in Pripyat did not get severe radiation burns from gawking at the burning reactor...in fact it seems that these people had absolutely no immediate health effects (despite media reports to the contrary), and the long term health effects (thyroid cancer etc.) seem to have be much lower than anyone expected at the time. The only people who suffered severe radiation burns or acute radiation sickness were the staff for that specific reactor and the (very brave) people who were directly involved in the containment or cleanup.
The three (genuinely heroic) men who waded underneath the reactor building to help drain the water storage tanks were not on a suicide mission. Two are still alive, and the third died of natural causes (a heart attack).
There were no miners...in reality they used oil drilling technology to pump liquid nitrogen under the reactor, but then realized it was unnecessary and stopped the effort. Even if the core had melted through the the concrete base it would not have rendered the entire Dnieper watershed uninhabitable.
Finally, the other three reactors on the site were undamaged - once Reactor 4 was contained they continued to be operated (although the operators had to work limited shifts), and the entire site was only decommissioned in 2000.
I'm afraid I find it rather ironic that so much of the discussion in the media on this series consists of sanctimonious homilies on the terrible consequences of the communist system suppressing the truth, when the series itself contains so many deliberate and misleading untruths as to almost represent propaganda. False news indeed!
Miners
"There were no miners...in reality they used oil drilling technology to pump liquid nitrogen under the reactor, but then realized it was unnecessary and stopped the effort"
There were, see my previous post video they brought them in from the mining areas of the USSR
There were, see my previous post video they brought them in from the mining areas of the USSR
But I also got rather annoyed, as it is a work of almost complete fiction masquerading as an accurate historical account.
There were no miners...in reality they used oil drilling technology to pump liquid nitrogen under the reactor, but then realized it was unnecessary and stopped the effort.
I'm afraid I find it rather ironic that so much of the discussion in the media on this series consists of sanctimonious homilies on the terrible consequences of the communist system suppressing the truth, when the series itself contains so many deliberate and misleading untruths as to almost represent propaganda. False news indeed!
There were no miners...in reality they used oil drilling technology to pump liquid nitrogen under the reactor, but then realized it was unnecessary and stopped the effort.
I'm afraid I find it rather ironic that so much of the discussion in the media on this series consists of sanctimonious homilies on the terrible consequences of the communist system suppressing the truth, when the series itself contains so many deliberate and misleading untruths as to almost represent propaganda. False news indeed!
As for the miners, well it is all true - nearly 10,000 were recorded as part of the liquidation team, according to the official records. The miners recruited from Tula were certainly amongst the first to the scene, ultimately providing 3400+ miners to the Chernobyl dig. Tula even has a statue that honours their bravery:
Regarding the Soviet cover-ups, Chernobyl was not the first major RBMK accident. The first was in 1975 in Leningrad. This cover-up was so effective that other RBMK operators did not know about it let alone the design weaknesses that were exposed - including the staff at Chernobyl.
In 1986, INSAG issued its report INSAG-1, which discussed the Chernobyl accident and its causes on the basis of information presented to the Post-Accident Review Meeting in Vienna in August 1986 by Soviet authorities. The new information now come to light has affected the views presented in INSAG-1 in such a way as to shift the emphasis to the contributions of particular design features, including the design of the control rods and safety systems, and arrangements for presenting important safety information to the operators. The accident is now seen to have been the result of the concurrence of the following major factors: specific physical characteristics of the reactor; specific design features of the reactor control elements; and the fact that the reactor was brought to a state not specified by procedures or investigated by an independent safety body. Most importantly, the physical characteristics of the reactor made possible its unstable behaviour.
Two earlier accidents at RBMK reactors, one at Leningrad (Unit 1 in 1975) and a fuel failure at Chernobyl (Unit 1 in 1982), had already indicated major weaknesses in the characteristics and operation of RBMK units. The accident at Leningrad Unit 1 is even considered by some to have been a precursor to the Chernobyl accident. However, lessons learned from these accidents prompted at most only very limited design modifications or improvements in operating practices. Because of lack of communication and lack of exchange of information between the different operating organizations, the operating staff at Chernobyl were not aware of the nature and causes of the accident at Leningrad Unit 1.
Two earlier accidents at RBMK reactors, one at Leningrad (Unit 1 in 1975) and a fuel failure at Chernobyl (Unit 1 in 1982), had already indicated major weaknesses in the characteristics and operation of RBMK units. The accident at Leningrad Unit 1 is even considered by some to have been a precursor to the Chernobyl accident. However, lessons learned from these accidents prompted at most only very limited design modifications or improvements in operating practices. Because of lack of communication and lack of exchange of information between the different operating organizations, the operating staff at Chernobyl were not aware of the nature and causes of the accident at Leningrad Unit 1.
Last edited by Just This Once...; 28th May 2019 at 07:15.
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I watched all five episodes yesterday here.
https://flixtor.to/watch/tv/4876850/chernobyl
https://flixtor.to/watch/tv/4876850/chernobyl
The 'real' Chernobyl documentary programme airs on Sky later this week. Perhaps there will be a different spin on it all?
Anyway well done sky for producing both the excellent series and the 'real' prog. - I doubt the Beeb would even acknowledge it happened if it didn't suit their current agenda.
Anyway well done sky for producing both the excellent series and the 'real' prog. - I doubt the Beeb would even acknowledge it happened if it didn't suit their current agenda.
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33 years on it does not take much research, online, to see that this is an ongoing problem.
The removal of hundreds of tonnes of radioactive metals into the world market is complete for now. Contaminated wood growing in the exclusion zones is still being cut. All being sold on the world markets. Probably at a very 'good' price.
If you want your alarm bells to ring do a few quick searches. Don't bury you head in the sand. That sand is very radioactive!
Last edited by Islandlad; 11th Sep 2019 at 16:21.
Have lived the last decade or so in Russia, with some recent years in Ukraine, the realism of some of the scenes is outstanding, they must have had some pretty talented people working on that show to achieve that level of accuracy (everyday life in the 80's), however I'm not so convinced over the character portrayal but my Ukrainian friends say they have this spot on as well. It was a dark period, and it should have been portrayed as such but I don't feel that atmosphere, and I was in Russia during the late 90's... when everything was dark. But still, the series is enthralling,
I think it showed the very worst failings of communism. The denial mindset was staggering.
What really surprised me, was the apparent lack of understanding of the risks among the general populace, even the firemen, despite their connections with the nuclear plant.
Even my basic traing in such matters had me filled with horror at what unfolded. The dose rates, in roentgens, were the stuff of nightmares.
I am filled with admiration for the selfless courage of those who understood their impossible position and still did their best to cope with the consequences of the disaster.
What really surprised me, was the apparent lack of understanding of the risks among the general populace, even the firemen, despite their connections with the nuclear plant.
Even my basic traing in such matters had me filled with horror at what unfolded. The dose rates, in roentgens, were the stuff of nightmares.
I am filled with admiration for the selfless courage of those who understood their impossible position and still did their best to cope with the consequences of the disaster.
