This post is unique without any exaggeration. The story is told by a man who participated in liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. His name is Alexander and he arrived in Chernobyl in the middle of August in 1986…
By that time the reactor had already been “pacified”. The threat of nuclear explosion was ruled out, the threat of thermal explosion was minimal, emissions were absent.
The most dangerous work had already been done by the liquidators. You can see boom truck-mounted concrete pumps (then a very rare machine in the Soviet Union) and concrete line pumps in the photo. Between them is a white booth where its operators sheltered. The booth made of lead weakened the radiation level.
These operators are heroes, either because of their recklessness or ignorance. They were paid a 5 time higher wage and promised the “Zhiguli” without standing in a queue. But very few of them seem to have managed to get this car…
The radiation level in the place of a photographer was 2 r/h, in the place of operators – at least 20 r/h. It means it was safe to work here only for an hour which was actually impossible in such circumstances.
Besides, Russian people pursuing big money and the “Zhiguli” left their dosimeters in a “clean area” so that they wouldn’t be sent away from the “hot area” before time. That’s the paradox of the USSR – the “Zhiguli” at the cost of life.
The liquidators in black overalls and white caps descend the stairs. The chances that they’re now gone are very high…
Advertisement
24 Responses to “25 Years of Radiation”
Leave a Reply
- Abandoned (88)
- Automotive (1,252)
- Business (398)
- Culture (2,044)
- Economics (446)
- Exclusive (1,251)
- Fiction (65)
- Funny (3,556)
- History (2,844)
- Interesting Facts (564)
- Law (146)
- Other (1,180)
- Paid (1)
- Photos (9,153)
- Reports (2)
- Russian army (1,225)
- Russian Art (973)
- Russian Food (59)
- Russian Music (15)
- Russian Nature (1,117)
- Russian People (3,166)
- Science (607)
- Society (3,371)
- Sports (226)
- Technology (3,093)
- Transport (242)
- Travel (41)
- Ukraine (94)
- Video (1,013)
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
I was 12 when this happened and living in England when it came on the news. It was pretty scary at the time as the cold war was still going on and we still had the nuke drills in school where we had to jump under the desks. All the secrecy around the Chernobyl disaster just adde to an anxious time.
You’re very angry aren’t you? You do know the war has ended don’t you?
Well I didn’t go to school that often so may have missed the desk drills. I thought they only happened in USA.
I grew up in Holland,and at the time i was 20 yrs.There were no nuke drills overhere, ever!
Maybe Your country had a reason to be scared of nuclear strike?
As if hiding under a table protected people from nuclear strike, lol.
Like small children hide their face , to dissapear from the scene and their parents act all supprised.
i was 12 in England too, we never had nuke drills. There was a point made that we never had to do them like in the US. I think your making this up.
People says the Fukushima Accident is worse than Chernobyl…
Yet no one died of radiation yet, economic loss is another issue though. And it shows that the effect of radiation doseage varies on different people, as Alexander lived over this 25 years and just wrote a book.
People says the Fukushima Accident is worse than Chernobyl…
Yet no one died of radiation yet, economic loss is another issue though. And it shows that the effect of radiation doseage varies on different people, as Alexander lived over this 25 years and just wrote a book.
(P.S.Sorry if duplicated, the system is a bit weird)
We understand and are use too it O.o.
Where can we buy the book?
With some googling, still can’t find the full name of Alexander, and his book is somehow called ‘Alive, When People Still Remember Us’
Anyone who know more of it?
Thanks anyway.
This is very interesting, thank you for posting.
FYI only, the black box hanging around his neck is not a dosimeter, it is a cheap selenium light meter “Leningrad”.
A sad story.
Ha Ha Ha – Are you joking? What do you think is happening at Fukushima in Japan?!! There are several Soviet designed plants still in operation and if even somewhere as advanced as Japan can have such a nuclear accident, then the potential is always there. Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-nuclear, just realistic that there are likely to be future problems to be dealt with. I remember watching Chernobyl on TV as a child, some parts of Wales,UK are still radioactive as a result of fallout in the rain on the mountains and that is 1000’s of miles away.
Has this site been irradiated? Everyday for the last couple of weeks, things have been wacky when this site loads. I’m usually missing the newest posts. Either radiation or the CIA? Or my conservative brother-in-law?
Not a very cool gift. A thermos? Really?
kinda like a slap in the face or a penny tip for the waiter/ess.
Sorry TH, but even in the good old paranoid U.S.A. we werent doing the nuclear drills. I’m 45 and they ended long before I started school. I was deployed on a Mediteranean cruise at the time of the accident and we had to stop recieving fresh produce, milk, and eggs from Europe for a while. Shipboard life takes a definate down turn when you have to eat powdered eggs, re-hydrated sliced potatoes and re-hydrated cottage cheese!
Three Mile Island, remember that?
An American reactor that was stopped before it went Chernobyl.
The Russian reactor was a bad copy of that type of American unit (industrial espionage KGB). The Americans made some improvements, the Russians didn’t.
The Japanese reactor was a copy of the American system, including the improvements.
The CANDU reactor is about the best of the currently available models, but still not perfect.
You mixing things in this comparison. First they are different types of reactors – the Russian is using graphite. There are several different types of nuclear reactors. The second issue – how does a stuck open valve in the cooling system is the same as bringing the reactor into unstable state during badly conducted experiment (+ some secondary issues in reactor sensor arrangement and control rod design)?
The 3 mile island reactor has virtually nothing in common with the Chernobyl reactor. You could compare them like you compare a ship and a plane, both use petroleum products for their propulsion.
While radiation at high doses can be deadly within a very short time, low level radiation is neither fatal nor mutagenic it is documented that it may even have a hormetic effect.
After Chernobyl 4 melted down the reactors one two and three were still kept running. The last one was only shut down in the year 2000. In the meantime personnel went daily into the exclusion zone to operate the reactors. Also some people never left the exclusion zone and are still alive, 30 years later. The area is now a thriving wild life refuge.
If Alexander does not smoke, drink too much or walk into a bus, he has the same chance as everybody else to get old.
No radiation in France, reporter from Scientist say “The radio active cloud stop at the frontier” After that, many tyroid problems, thanks politics…we don’t forget even today.
Rubbish.