Shadow of Chernobyl
June 19, 2008 – 7:09 pmIt took just 43 seconds to wipe out an extensive geographical area inflicting a scar that will torture the mother earth and remain for next 600 years. The memories and good things were all gone, leaving behind a barren plateau irradiating death radiations everywhere. Forest was glowing red with radiation. Children never got a chance to enjoy the Ferris wheel ride which now stands as a death reaper, emitting radiations that could burn any creature to death.
Ferris wheel that was a part of fair which was scheduled to be
open a day after the disaster happened in Pripyat
The Experiment
On April 26, 1986 at 1:23:04 am, the experiment began. It was to check whether the Steam turbine could provide much mechanical power to water pumps in case the electrical power generation is shut off, this step proved to be fatal. As dying momentum of steam turbine was struggling to drove water pumps, water flow rate decreased, decreasing the absorption of neutron by coolant and thereby causing it to heat up. As the coolant boiled, pockets of steam formed void in the coolant lines. Due to a large void coefficient, the steam bubbles raised the power of reactor. The positive feedback now acted as a catalyst to the already growing power of the reactor, resulting in more steam generation. With manual and automatic control rods (control rods controls the fission reaction) removed there was no way to stop this.
Nuclear reactor 4
With rapidly increasing power of the reactor, the operator pressed the emergency shutdown button - a shutdown of the reactor, by fully inserting the control rods, manually and automatically. The slow speed of the control rod insertion mechanism (18–20 seconds to complete), and the flawed graphite-tip rod design which initially reduces the amount of coolant present, meant that the emergency shutdown actually increased the reaction rate. At this point an energy spike occurred fracturing fuel rods that got stuck in between control rods which were inserted jut 1/3 of the limit.
Fuel rods began to melt and steam pressure increased to an intolerable amount leading to a steam explosion. Generated steam traveled vertically along the rod channels in the reactor, rupturing the coolant tubes and then blowing the 2,000 tonne lid off the reactor. After part of the roof blew off, the inrush of oxygen, combined with the extremely high temperature of the reactor fuel and graphite moderator, started a graphite fire, worsened by flammable materials used in the original construction of the roof for reactor 4.
The Aftermath
The plant staff was not aware of the radiation level at the time of accident. In the worst hit areas it was 20,000 röntgen per hour. A lethal dose is about 500 röntgen over five hours. So, in some areas, several workers received a lethal dose of radiation within few minutes.
The dosimeters which were capable of reading high capacity radiation were either failed or not within the reach due to the steam explosion. So the best they could know was that the radiation levels were somewhere above 3.6 röntgen per hour, because the only dosimeter that worked was of the scale of 3.6 röntgen per hour and showed out of scale reading.
The destroyed plant
Because of the inaccurate readings, the reactor chief crew Alexander Akimov assumed that the reactor was intact and the whole staff remained there for a day trying to pump the coolant into reactor to reduce the damage. Obviously they all received high dose of radiations and couldn’t survive for a month under clinical supervision. most of them died within 3 weeks.
Fire Containment
Shortly after the nuclear reactor fire, firemen arrived to extinguish the fires. They were not informed about the radiation levels and may not have even known that the accident was anything more than a electric fire. Fire around the plant and on roof was extinguished by 5:00 am, But firefighters couldn’t escape from the high level of radiations.
The fire inside Reactor No. 4 continued to burn until the fire was extinguished by helicopters dropping over 5,000 tonnes of materials like sand, lead, clay and boron onto the burning reactor. Meanwhile, a MI-8 helicopter lost its bearings while dropping its load and got its rotors tangled in the gibbets of a nearby construction crane, causing the wrecked copter to fall into the damaged reactor building and killing its two-man crew.
All the vehicles that were used to reach the power plant still stands there, because in minutes their metal body was decaying extremely harmful radiations.
These radiating vehicles were occupied by military and firemen once
Experience of radiation as described by some firemen while bedridden was like “tasting like metals” and “pins and needles sensation all over face and body”.
Evacuation of Pripyat
After radiation alarms were set off, Soviet Government did admit that an accident occurred but covered up the severity of the disaster.
The Ghost town of Pripyat and the nuclear reactor in upper middle
In order to evacuate the city of Pripyat, the following warning message was reported on local radio, “An accident has occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. One of the atomic reactors has been damaged. Aid will be given to those affected and a committee of government inquiry has been set up.” This message gave the impression that any damage and radiation was localized, although it was not.
The evacuation began at 14:00, April 27. In order to reduce baggage the residents were told that the evacuation would be temporary, lasting approximately three days. As a result, Pripyat still contains personal belongings.
Forgotten memories of a child
The Ghost town
Still after many years the town of Pripyat is alone, no human population. The ravages of disaster rendered once a beautiful town flourishing with flora and fauna now looks like a man made hell. But probably some mutant boars and other wild animals feel a lot better because there is no one to hunt them there now.
Pripyat before the disaster
Who is responsible ?
I would like to ask a question, where are we going ? When will we realize that happiness lies in nature not in science or religion ? Both have tormented the human self and the mother nature till now.
The nuclear attack on Nagasaki and Hiroshima was not a victory, it was grim face of our sadistic nature. We the so called social animal are much low in values.
Nagasaki before and after the “Fat Man” explosion
Source: Elena Filatova and Wikipedia
A dirge for the disaster:
4 Responses to “Shadow of Chernobyl”
When experimenting, accidents do happen. If it was not Chernobyl, it would have been some other city. The scale at which this technology is being used is a huge risk to mankind, but mankind has brought upon itself to make use of this dangerous technology. Fast depleting sources of energy and ever rising need of the same.
Chernobyl was an accident, but, what about Hiroshima-Nagasaki? That was no accident. Though I don’t know whether to agree with it or no. I guess if I were at the helm, after Pearl harbor I would have done the same. Japan brought it on itself.
The problem not only at the time of the Chernobyl accident even today is that, the people are left aloof, no proper information is given to the people. Not only after the accident but even before.
I can only hope that the rest of the world learns form the Chernobyl accident and tries to ensure that this technology is kept safe. I fear this tech going into the wrong hands as much as I hate an accident.
By Manan on Thu 19th Jun, 2008
@Manan
why the mother nature has to lose all the time ?
the attack on Hirosima and Nagasaki did anything better ? Over 3 lac people, who never wanted a war, and including the immigrants from other countries died a horrible death. Where euthanasia is still a subject of questioning , we killed them all without a single hitch.
Louis Slotin, who was in the development team of the two bombs, died cause of uncontrolled nulear fission mishap during the development.
I would rather like to die a subtle death than suffering for whole life.
Tell me how much part of energy requirement comes from Nuclear reactor ? Now compare it with nuclear weapons, even if a country crawls in economy, it still have nuclear weapon funds.
By T on Fri 20th Jun, 2008
Nuke weapons are a threat. If Pakis have it, India needs to have it. If China has them, then India needs to get them. It creates an imbalance in the political scenario.
There wasa line by Akon in one of his songs:
Guns don’t kill people. People do.
As far as Hiroshima was concerned, Japs bombed a sleeping Pearl Harbor. A sudden attack without a warning.
Mother Nature loses most of the time ‘coz it does not have a voice, it does not have a presence in the White House nor does it have a voice in the conscience of the policy maker.
By Manan on Sun 22nd Jun, 2008
^^ Every time we do get an indication (Tsunami etc.)
USA did the same thing Vietnam and Iraq.
indeed people kill, guns are just a medium.
By T on Sun 22nd Jun, 2008