Chernobyl

  • 1:28 am

    • firefighters arrive
    • no knowledge of the radiation, no protective clothing
    • begin putting fires out and moving debris not knowing they're radioactive
  • 1:23 am

    • test officially begins -sudden surge of power
    • emergency shutoff button is pushed which releases all control rods into the core to slow rate of nuclear reactions
    • control rods jam
    • exposes design flaw: control rods made of boron which reduces activity but have graphite tips which increases reaction rate
    • big surge in reactivity
  • later

    • victims are buried in zinc or concreate coffins bc it was believed that their bodies were radioactive (not true)
  • 1:24 am

    • output of reactor is 10x the power it should be
    • explosion at reactor 4
    • reactors lid (10,000 tons) is blown off/ goes through the roof
    • bits of radioactive material and fuel are sent everywhere
    • dozens of fires break out
    • air is filled with dust, radioactive material is flung far distances; radiation filling the atmosphere