A brief summary of the Chernobyl disaster [IRC log]

[07:16:33] <Nera> ive been up all night reading and watching documentaries about the chernobyl disaster
[07:17:44] <@carter> geez
[07:18:10] <Nera> ask me anything you want to know, its all fresh in my head
[07:18:28] <Nera> the numbers involved are fucking staggering
[07:19:49] <d-nut> i dont know too much about chernobyl
[07:20:06] <d-nut> im curious to learn more
[07:20:12] <Nera> tell me what you do know and we'll build from there
[07:20:42] <d-nut> All I know is that there was a nuclear reactor and there was some disaster that caused everyone to need to evacuate the area
[07:20:48] <Nera> correct
[07:20:49] <d-nut> and it was bad enough to be referred to as a disaster
[07:21:02] <Nera> its considered the single worst nuclear accident ever
[07:22:16] <Nera> a supposedly routine test was conducted under unsafe conditions in a shittily constructed soviet reactor with old, dangerous fuel and inexperienced operators
[07:23:09] <Nera> this test should have been done before the reactor was ever actually used to produce power, but with typical soviet 'efficiency' the tests were signed off without ever having been done to get the project finished ahead of schedule
[07:24:06] <Nera> add to this the fact that the operators were deliberately kept in the dark about the secretly well known design flaws of their reactor
[07:24:59] <Nera> a bit after 1 am, they start the test. things get too hot, they stop the test.
[07:25:20] <Nera> they cool the reactor, and start again. things get too hot again, they stop the test
[07:25:26] <Nera> the official in charge is getting pissy
[07:26:00] <Nera> the test was already delayed, it was supposed to have been done in the afternoon with experienced crews, but the reactor 'needed' to be online for the evening power draw
[07:27:17] <Nera> so he says "fuck you, we're doing the test this time" and the engineers object but this is the soviet union and the threats a politically connected person can make are pretty fucking scary
[07:27:33] <Nera> so, they do the test
[07:28:51] <Nera> this test is a run-through of an emergency procedure in case the reactor loses power but is still producing heat from radioactive decay. the design used at chernobyl needs water to be constantly pumped at high pressure or you risk meltdown
[07:29:58] <Nera> however, the backup generators take 50 seconds to come online. the procedure being tested is supposed to use residual heat energy in the cooling water to drive the turbine generators and get enough power to pump enough water to just squeak by until the backups are running
[07:31:08] <Nera> now, this test has been run multiple times before in this exact reactor and it has FAILED every single time
[07:31:13] <Nera> under better conditions
[07:31:47] <Nera> they start the test
[07:31:58] <Nera> predictably, things get too hot too fast
[07:32:10] <Nera> the official says "fuckit, keep going"
[07:32:39] <Nera> things get hotter. things get worse. the radiation meter in the control room tops out.
[07:33:26] <Nera> the engineers say "no. we are ending this. i dont care what you do to me, this is way too dangerous" and hit the button to lower the control rods (they slow the reaction)
[07:34:09] <Nera> now comes the first of several critical desing and construction flaws
[07:34:13] <Nera> *design
[07:34:33] <Nera> the control rods are made of two materials, one is the main part of the rod and one is at the tip
[07:35:09] <Nera> under certain conditions, when only the tip of the rods is in the core, it can actually speed up the reaction
[07:35:34] <Nera> this had happened before, in another soviet reactor of the same design. it was classified information though.
[07:35:51] <Nera> so they hit the panic button. but nothing stopped.
[07:36:01] <Nera> in fact, things got even hotter
[07:36:12] <Nera> then they hear a BOOM
[07:37:27] <Nera> they dont know it yet, but the explosion has pretty much destroyed the reactor core. the containment lid is half off, the floor has dropped several metres, and the roof of the building has peeled open like a flower
[07:37:55] <Nera> they desperately add water to the reactor
[07:38:09] <Nera> no effect
[07:38:36] <Nera> the engineers go to take a look-see whats happened
[07:38:53] <Nera> and stare directly into the blue glow of the reactors internals
[07:39:02] <Nera> they're already walking dead men now
[07:39:20] <Nera> they report back to the official in charge
[07:39:30] <Nera> their skin is already starting to blacken
[07:40:04] <Nera> the official calls moscow and reports that a small incident had occurred, everything is within normal ranges and its under control
[07:40:23] <Nera> so remember that geiger counter that maxed out a couple minutes ago?
[07:40:37] <Nera> its top reading was 3.6 roentgens/hr
[07:40:56] <Nera> it doesnt really matter much about that though
[07:41:20] <Nera> because when the engineers check the radiation levels manually the levels are orders of magnitude higher
[07:41:35] <Nera> FIFTEEN THOUSAND roentgens per hour
[07:42:24] <Nera> the engineers say that pripyat must be evacuated
[07:42:55] <Nera> the official reports again that all is well, and the govt plans to send some peeps by helicopter in the morning to take a look
[07:43:51] <d-nut> jesus
[07:43:55] <Nera> the engineers from the control room, knowing that no action will be taken for hours, walk into the reactor area and start turning water valves on by hand in a last ditch attempt to cool the reactor
[07:44:08] <d-nut> they pretty much know they're going to die at this point right?
[07:44:12] <Nera> yes
[07:44:18] <Nera> and they dont know why this happened
[07:44:37] <Nera> they were assured that the reactor was built to spec, that the design is sound
[07:44:55] <Nera> they know they didnt make a mistake and push a wrong button
[07:45:19] <Nera> all they know is that they and everyone they know and love will die.
[07:45:19] <@jerrybob> hmm
[07:45:36] <Nera> morning comes
[07:46:00] <Nera> the helicopter with the investigation leader flies over pripyat, then chernobyl
[07:46:18] <Nera> reactors 1-3 are fine, and construction looks good on 5 and 6
[07:46:23] <Nera> but reactor 4
[07:47:17] <Nera> they open the helicopter door and take a look. they look down through what used to be a roof and past the shifted lid, straight into the red, burning core of the reactor
[07:47:34] <Nera> oh fuck.
[07:48:12] <Nera> the investigator strongly urges immediate evacuation of pripyat
[07:48:16] <Nera> they dont
[07:48:41] <Nera> radioactive smoke and dust stream up from the ruins, contaminating everything for miles
[07:49:15] <Nera> the citizens of pripyat spend a day in blissful ignorance
[07:49:30] <Nera> the investigator hatches a plan to try to slow the reactor meltdown
[07:49:39] <Nera> sand, lots of sand.
[07:49:49] <Nera> 5000 tons of sand, in fact
[07:50:01] <Nera> theres a little issue though
[07:50:10] <Nera> they dont know if it will work
[07:50:32] <Nera> it could slow the reaction. or it could insulate the fires and help the core melt through the floor
[07:50:42] <Nera> and that, my friends is a VERY big problem
[07:51:12] <Nera> see theres this other flaw in the design. where the cooling water is kept in a pool immediately underneath the reactor core
[07:51:39] <Nera> and if the burning core melts through into the water pool. big boom
[07:51:47] <Nera> 2000^2 boom
[07:51:51] <Nera> *km
[07:52:29] <Nera> and the radioactive contamination of almost all of modern day belarus and ukraine to the point of uninhabitability for a bare minimum of a century
[07:52:47] <Nera> conservative estimates predicted 1,000,000 immediate deaths
[07:53:19] <Nera> so. gotta get this shit under control
[07:53:44] <Nera> they spend the day and night using over 100 helicopters to 'bomb' the reactor with sand
[07:54:06] <Nera> by the next morning, the results are in
[07:54:26] <Nera> the reactor is hotter than ever
[07:54:41] <Nera> the sand isnt working.
[07:54:44] <Nera> now what?
[07:55:19] <Nera> the answer came in the form of about a dozen of the most heroic men this world will likely ever see
[07:55:37] <Nera> a team of volunteer divers were assembled
[07:55:56] <Nera> the release valves for that crucial pool of water lie on the bottom of the tank
[07:56:23] <Nera> that extraordinarily radioactive crucial pool of water
[07:56:40] <@carter> the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?
[07:56:43] <Nera> these divers have the situation fully explained to them
[07:56:57] <Nera> they are possibly the only men who knew what they were walking into
[07:57:15] <Nera> the full magnitude of the situation
[07:57:20] <Nera> their inevitable deaths
[07:57:35] <Nera> and every one of those men said "yes. i will do it."
[07:58:29] <Nera> and they suited up and dove into the cooling pool of an actively melting down nuclear reactor and opened the release valves
[07:59:31] <@carter> on the plus side, they wouldn't have needed to add weights to their diving suits, what with their giant brass balls and all
[07:59:36] <Nera> indeed
[08:00:04] <Nera> those men sacrificed themselves to save millions.
[08:00:15] <@carter> so that's how it ended?
[08:00:17] <Nera> no
[08:00:59] <Nera> we still have several tons of melting reactor fuel, an irradiated city, a government in denial, and no known way to stop it
[08:01:13] <Nera> but, now only tens of thousands will die
[08:01:52] <Nera> the first solution proposed was to let the fire burn out on its own
[08:02:12] <Nera> this was explained by scientists to be a patently ridiculous plan of attack
[08:02:37] <Nera> so....based on the amount of reactor fuel that was in there, it would burn for 3 months
[08:03:22] <Nera> every single day of those 3 months, the dying reactor would release more radioactive material into the atmosphere that the combined sum of all other nuclear events. ever.
[08:03:28] <Nera> every single day
[08:04:00] <Nera> obviously, we need a better solution
[08:04:03] <@carter> so we move that to plan B
[08:04:06] <@carter> what's plan A?
[08:04:17] <Nera> they didnt have one yet
[08:04:37] <Nera> meanwhile, shit is absolutely coming apart at the seams
[08:04:49] <Nera> this is the second morning now.
[08:05:10] <Nera> the nordic countries have noticed this weird spike in their ambient radiation levels
[08:05:17] <Nera> the cats out of the bag, guys
[08:05:32] <Nera> the world knows that the SU is in deeeeeep shit
[08:05:46] <Nera> they order the evacuation of pripyat
[08:05:56] <Nera> after over 30(!) hours of exposure
[08:06:31] <Nera> to minimise panic, the troops helping the evacuation are ordered not to wear any protective equipment
[08:07:03] <Nera> the people are told that they will be coming home in 3 days, take only what you absolutely need
[08:07:19] <Nera> and over 30,000 people were removed from their homes, never to return
[08:07:41] <@carter> well, that makes sense though
[08:07:44] <Nera> sent away without explanation, warning, not even basic decontamination
[08:07:53] <@carter> logistically, moving everything from 30k people is impossible
[08:08:09] <Nera> radioactive dust still clinging to their hair and clothes and skin
[08:08:30] <Nera> moving through their bodies, from the air they breathe and the food they ate
[08:08:50] <Nera> hundreds of young children developed thyroid cancers
[08:09:00] <Nera> to avoid panic, they were denied iodine treatment
[08:10:08] <Nera> meanwhile, workers are trying desperately to put out fires on the roof of the reactor building, to shove the intensely radioactive debris back into the pit
[08:10:20] <Nera> remote robots were used at first
[08:10:55] <Nera> they sent their completed lunar lander. they send a robot custom fabricated in a panic for the situation at hand. the west sent the best they could offer
[08:11:13] <Nera> but there was too much debris, and the radiation fried the electronics almost instantly
[08:11:27] <Nera> 'why didnt they shield them?'
[08:11:30] <Nera> they did
[08:11:56] <Nera> its not physically possible to put enough shielding on an item so relatively small as a lunar rover
[08:12:39] <Nera> the plating attached to the full sized bulldozers workers used only managed to bring the radiation exposure down to 'survivable', no where even close to 'safe'
[08:13:07] <Nera> so that left only one option
[08:13:25] <Nera> the firefighters were assembled
[08:13:36] <Nera> they called them "biorobots"
[08:14:28] <Nera> these men and women sprinted in shifts across the roof as the core below released a constant stream of deadly particles and energy
[08:14:57] <Nera> they picked up the still active pieces of fuel and control rods by hand and tossed them back into the pit
[08:16:05] <@carter> o.O
[08:17:48] <Nera> after this deadly work was done, crews of air and ground workers filled the pit with more sand, this time mixed with lead and boric acid
[08:18:08] <Nera> knowing that this could not be a permanent solution, a better answer was sought
[08:18:24] <Nera> and so, the Sarcophagus
[08:18:54] <Nera> a truly monumental construction
[08:19:40] <Nera> a massive structure of steel and concrete, it was hastily designed by the very best civil engineering minds in the world
[08:20:41] <Nera> to contain a future runaway event, to be placed upon the damaged foundations of the building that housed reactor 4, and that must be fabricated offsite then moved into place to minimize loss of life
[08:21:25] <Nera> though the construction was rushed as fast as possible at great financial and human cost, this still takes time
[08:21:53] <Nera> so we have a hot core, open to the air, that will explode violently in contact with water
[08:22:12] <Nera> theres this little atmospheric phenomenon that could be a potential issue here
[08:22:21] <Nera> rain
[08:23:05] <Nera> so a makeshift roof was constructed over the deadly remains of the reactor, racing against fate and time and the elements
[08:23:26] <Nera> as we clearly know, they won that race
[08:24:51] <Nera> in the frightening weeks following the immediate catastrophe, nearly half a million 'liquidators' were employed to clean and contain the radioactive dust and debris as best they could
[08:25:37] <Nera> they washed buildings with fire hoses, paved over roads, buried cars, collapsed and covered highly contaminated buildings
[08:26:18] <Nera> they tilled as much soil under as they could, hoping to keep some of the dust locked in the ground
[08:27:02] <Nera> air crews attempted climate control, seeding clouds to hopefully produce some of that feared but so necessary rain to wash the smoke and dust from the air
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[08:27:58] <Nera> the initial disastrous test occurred on the 26th of april, 1986
[08:28:12] <Nera> by december the sarcophagus was complete and lowered into place
[08:28:42] <Nera> experts at the time predicted it would last at most 5-7 years
[08:29:53] <Nera> the structure is full of gaping holes, and scientists of the time feared that even a small explosion could cause huge amounts of dust to escape the ruins
[08:31:00] <Nera> this fear was mitigated somewhat in the later 80's and early 90's as suicidally brave researchers worked within the sarcophagus to determine the state of the remaining nuclear materials
[08:31:39] <Nera> no further reaction seems likely, but the original sarcophagus is still in use today
[08:31:48] <@carter> hi becks, nera is telling the story of Chernobyl
[08:32:02] <@carter> the moral of the story is: listen to your engineers
[08:32:32] <Nera> and pay for proper materials and construction and pick designs that are sound to start with, and dont have a corrupt society, etc etc etc
[08:32:59] <@carter> those too
[08:33:15] <Nera> plans are finally underway to build a new containment system
[08:33:34] <Nera> its only been 28 years
[08:34:06] <Nera> the location will remain fatally radioactive for at least ten thousand years to come
[08:34:25] <Nera> this structure must be designed to last the ages
[08:34:33] <Nera> on the scale of the great pyramids
[08:35:31] <Nera> it must be able to withstand every insult that human or nature could conceive
[08:36:14] <Nera> the Sarcophagus was "only" designed to withstand someone crashing a 747 into it
[08:36:38] <Nera> so thats...pretty much the gist of the tale
[08:36:44] <Nera> there is so, so much more to it
[08:37:57] <Nera> death and suffering and illness. economic, social and political consequences that follow us today. Dozens more tales of heroism and villainy, of true humanity and horrifying egotism.
[08:38:03] <Becky854> excellent, storytime
[08:38:28] <Becky854> unfortunately I don't have much time - I'm supposed to be showering :(
[08:38:37] <Nera> at the time, the control room engineers were blamed for the events
[08:39:04] <Nera> they have never been officially exonerated
[08:39:23] <Nera> many details and truths were concealed by the soviet regime
[08:39:51] <Nera> some came to light at the dissolution of the soviet union 20-odd years ago
[08:39:56] <Nera> some are still being uncovered
[08:40:11] fean|work points firehose in becky's general direction
[08:40:43] Becky854 cowers
[08:40:50] <Nera> the true death toll is unknown, being both fiendishly difficult to estimate as well as consistently denied and distorted by the government in power at the time
[08:41:15] <Nera> the official soviet records state the death toll at 31
[08:41:32] <Nera> 31 people who died immediately and undeniably due to the disaster
[08:43:17] <Nera> their skin sloughing off in chunks, their tongues swollen, blood cells dying. intestines lose the ability to absorb nutrition. cells can no longer replicate or repair themselves and the victim is left waiting for the natural cell cycles of their bodies to stop and finally let them die.
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[08:43:58] <Nera> reportedly, one of the control room engineers spoke to his wife before he died
[08:44:09] <Nera> he said that the guilt was worse than the pain
[08:45:18] <Nera> the official investigator for the government inquiry committed suicide 2 years to the day from the date of the explosion
[08:46:16] <d-nut> wait
[08:46:37] <d-nut> but the reactor is still active? i thought you said it would burn out after about 3 months or so
[08:46:47] <Nera> the officials in charge of this....atrocity, were sentenced to prison. longest was 10 years and got released early for poor health
[08:47:03] <Nera> its no longer actively reacting in the form of fission
[08:47:23] <Nera> but the products of decay continue to be 'hot' for a very long time
[08:47:51] <Nera> thats why theres such a big to-do over how to store things like spent uranium
[08:48:24] <Nera> they are useless for reaction, but keep being intensely radioactive for tens of thousands of years
[08:49:43] <Nera> ive glossed over virtually all of the scientific/practical details of how reactors work
[08:50:11] <Nera> thats like...easily a one hour lecture, coming from me as a hobbyist researcher
[08:51:14] <Nera> its all really involved and interconnected, and im not always good at deciding which details are interesting or important
[08:52:59] <Nera> if you're interested in some details of nuclear science re: fission reactions and their history, bug me again another time
[08:55:31] <Nera> so, uh....questions, i guess?
[09:00:34] <Nera> (also holy fuck i spent an hour and a half talking about this.)
[09:08:57] <d-nut> ol
[09:09:00] <d-nut> its really interesting stuff
[09:35:57] <Nera> ok. so i havent slept in over 24 hours now, and im pretty much done my reading. my intense interest is no longer sustaining my weary brain, and i think its time for a nap
[09:36:06] <Nera> last chance for questions for at least an hour or two
[09:41:59] <Nera> im taking that as 'no urgent inquiries'
[09:42:01] <Nera> bbl
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