Tao Wind

Living in a post-nuclear world.
Article for non-formal youth magazine.
Accordingly, informal vocabulary ... in the style of the magazine.

For this article, I used one of the many existing theories of the causes of the accident. I do not consider myself a fairly competent in the operation of RBMK-1000 (Vprchem as well as other nuclear reactors :). But this theory is, in my opinion, one of the most close to reality as possible. For a more detailed study of the problems I advise to go to pripyat.com

A brief chronology of the accident:
- 1:23:04 - the beginning of electrical tests;
- 1:23:10 - the beginning of uncontrollable chain reaction;
- 1:23:25 - "the first explosion," the destruction of the reactor with superheated steam;
- 1:23:39 - "second explosion", the destruction of the reactor building, killed the power cables MCP;

April 28, 1986 humanity in the face of several operators Chernobyl (Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant) failed experiment and triggered the largest man-made disasters for all we know the story. (According to other sources, the largest man-caused disaster occurred two years earlier in the Indian city of Bhopal, where the plant the pesticide has leaked 40 tons of highly toxic gas.) The result of the Chernobyl disaster was the 30 kilometer exclusion zone a couple of hours drive from Kiev. But the fact that for most people is now one of the scariest places on earth, for fans of the cult game Fallout, film Stalker, and many other post-nuclear worlds, a paradise.

As in any other indoor facility in the Zone can be accessed in three ways: through connections, money, or through the fence. But recently I have strongly recommended, because paved roads were repeated decontamination (ie, irrigated with water and soap), but the timber and wash the earth, of course, no one. So, the road on which we arrived, rests in the booth with the strange name of "CAT Dityatki" where the very Dityatki in the form of trying to find fault with the documents.

The first place we decided to go, passing the checkpoint, the cemetery was dirty techniques. Dirt in the Zone are called radioactive contamination. So technology, participated in the aftermath of the explosion at the many "charge" that come close to her are still quite dangerous. Now this is a huge field cluttered with fire trucks, buses, armored personnel carriers, and even a giant MI-6, and surrounded by a double fence of barbed wire. But the most interesting is that the radiation emitted by each piece, did not prevent someone to shoot the most valuable things - engines, headlights, radiators, gearbox, and other things needed in the economy.

The next destination was the city of Chernobyl. Smeared the old signs at the entrance, the new government clumsily written Ukrainian translation: Chornobyl. Despite the fact that the radiation background in the city is not much higher than normal, and there always are several thousand people, it looks pretty sinister Chernobyl. Some of the dilapidated houses are almost entirely covered with plants with red leaves in the middle of the former football field but the trees right next to the church is freshly painted of blue, with flower beds weeded and the little yellow barakopodobnaya hotel. Chernobyl themselves do not bother about the radiation, they not only eat local apples, potatoes and fish, but also a great chase samogonchik from local raw materials.

But from the Chernobyl power station exploded to 25 kilometers commercials, but a couple of kilometers from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is probably the most interesting place in the Zone - Pripyat town. It was built specially for the power plant staff. And the city was megapafosny - a lot of tall buildings, flower beds, a huge house of culture, libraries, swimming pools, and even the only supermarket in the Soviet Union. Inhabited Pripyat 50,000 people with an average age of 27 years. The evacuation was carried out for 2 days, and people did not allowed to take with you. Now this town - a ghost. Not a single person. Absolute silence. It seems that nature is slowly absorbing the city. Radiation in some places exceeds the norm by 15 times, by the way, in a normal passenger aircraft of the same level. Over the past 20 years in the city after the liquidators visited the mass of looters, but many homes still standing furniture, pianos are not uncommon in some places still weighs drying clothes and linens. In the former nursery toys strewn pell-mell and small masks. In libraries - books and magazines since Communism for '86. And indeed in many different artifacts, just pick them up again, I do not recommend, but if you did not want to have children, you can cram into the pockets of some local vessels. On May 86g had to run just built a Ferris wheel, but since it is well worth it with zero mileage, and yellow booths did not even faded. The neighboring race track (a favorite amusement of the child) is more gothic, it is a pity Radiation at it very strongly, so that the drive will not work.

In the evening we got to the nuclear plant. Here we show the dosimeter 999 micro-roentgen per hour and hope to die, because more show could not. When a concrete sarcophagus, under which lie the remains of nuclear fuel, recall stories about how it was created. The massive building, after which most builders have died from the effects of radiation. Nobody knew how to build and that: Underground metrostroevtsy broke through the tunnel for the freezing of the soil, the land was built concrete walls, and large helicopters from the air poured into the reactor a variety of chemicals for the prevention of nuclear reactions. Mass error was made during construction. One helicopter crashed and fell, caught on the wire tap a couple of meters from the reactor, which of course was concealed from the media. Despite all the difficulties, the sarcophagus is, but that's how long he will stay, no one knows, because the whole covered with cracks, and some predict could collapse at any moment.

By the way, I could not find out who and why put a strange statue in front of the sarcophagus fungi.

The reasons for the accident.

The formal cause of the accident was an experiment to determine the characteristics of the generator during coasting turbine rotor. The developer and the de facto leader was a representative elektroeksperimenta Dontehenergo GP Metlenko - Electric, which has no relation to the reactor business. The program was approved by the chief engineer of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant N. Fomin, who later admitted their incompetence in the field of nuclear physics. Neither the Ministry of Atomic Energy, or Atomnadzor - bodies, with the knowledge that the new procedures are performed at the reactor - were not even informed of the plan.

The experiment was scheduled for April 25. For a start it was necessary to bring the block number 4 of the action smoothly, <steps> removing its power. But in the 14 hours of parent organization <Kyivenergo> asked to delay the operation, because the current business of the afternoon was needed extra energy. The experiment was carried on the night shift:

Following the instructions, personnel changes disabled (as prescribed by the developed program), all of the reactor protection systems - <for the purity of the experiment>. However, after these steps, the reactor has ceased to be thought out to the subtleties of the mechanism. Dramatically increased the allocation of steam. The computer <Rock> (<a black box> NPP) filed signal immediately stop the experiment. Steam turbine generator from the reactor was stopped. The main circulation pumps have stopped working, interrupting the natural cooling of the rector, but the vaporization temperature and pressure in the reactor grew, resulting in a unit equipped with numerous safety systems, inexorably out of control. At 1 hour 23 minute shift supervisor finally realized what was happening. He was ordered to enter a maximum disaster protection - to lower graphite rods, sinks into the depths of the vast <Banks> reactor. But it was too late. Of the six feet of his turn the rods had to go only half way and stuck in overheated strained channels. The pressure of their severed, boiling water fell on the graphite blocks. Began an unexpected reaction of hydrogen evolution. Four seconds after the release of explosive gas-vapor mixture trehtysyachetonnuyu pushed the plate of the reactor, revealing his red-hot interior. And then he went timing troubles, heroic firefighters, helicopter pilots and other liquidators:

Chronology of liquidation.
A. BOOM!
Two. Immediately firefighters arrive. Extinguish the roof of the turbine building, the overall 3-block, knee-deep in the burning molten bitumen. Third unit is stopped.
Three. Director of the station seems crazy, he does not see the pieces of fuel rods, littered throughout the station and sends a reassuring telegram to Moscow one after another. Attempts to establish a cooling of the reactor, but the pipes are broken.
4. In Moscow, he did not believe - quickly departs the State Commission, raised the alarm chemical protection forces and civil defense.
Five. As a pretzel writes that the reactor is sealed and intact (and around the fuel rods are lying!), Do not give CSKA means of radiation protection, radiation monitors have, but their scale and they break down.
6. Unlike parteytsy, the army operates well: the 27-th (1 day!) Going to a column of 3,000 buses to evacuate Pripyat. Organize a system of checkpoints and quarantine area.
7. Firefighters carry the sixth radiological hospital in Moscow. All of them will die in 10 days.
Eight. Kurchatov agree with the army and make four circled the block in a helicopter. Be amazed.
9. Fonit reactor. He was trying to pay off, dropping from helicopters, sandbags and lead ingots. The first pilots will die too.
10. Before the month of August is held decontamination areas, thirty-kilometer zone CSKA tear the village dug the ground etc. At the station working in shifts, a piece reaches the TVEL, throw down his shovel into the reactor and unwind. Neither we, nor the American robots do not work - radiation burns all electronics.
11. By November 1986 the 4th unit of the machine room and close the sarcophagus. It squab collected waste and fuel and concreted. Tentatively there for at least 100-120 tons of fuel left.
12. By the end of 1986 started again 1 and 2 blocks in 1987 and the third unit.
13. Works on decontamination continues for several years.
14. In the 2000 Chernobyl nuclear power plant is closed.
15. In 2009, plans to build a shelter-2 on the first sarcophagus. Look for the money. (According to other sources of laundered money under such a cover.)