valery legasov tapes transcript

Luckily, as I was later told by the director of the Kola NPP Volkov Aleksander Petrovich, the personnel were properly trained and very cautious. And in general, all the experts, scientists, at least at different times and from different platforms, talking about individual parts, said that we are on the road to a bad accident; Anatoly Pavlovich Aleksandrov said it, repeatedly citing striking examples of carelessness in the construction of nuclear power plants; Sidorenko said it, speaking about disorders in operation and documentation; the young specialists said it; the material scientists said it. What conditions should be prepared for the people that would work on that site and for how long should they stay there. This is the function of the science supervisor, not creating a particular device with given properties. They concerned possible areas of use of those components that are in a nuclear reactor. Already the first launch of this reactor in the first RBMK unit of Leningrad NPP has shown that such a large active zone, implemented in the way it has been, was very complex for the operator. Legasov: If we were to do this, there would simply be another explosion. They worked very diligently, with great speed and efficiency. Section 3, (V) Public interest work\" and is for educational purpose only.If this video infringes your rights, please email us at dubcraftnlhd@gmail.com. Legasov: That tomorrow, there will be 25 or more. But with regards to this particular device [RBMK], they considered themselves absolute creators and owners. We, as experts, were saying that. At 11 a.m., we were officially informed that the whole city would be evacuated by 2 p.m.. All the transport had been gathered; all the routes had been identified; and at around 2-2:30 p.m. the entire city was empty. I must resign. Something has happened but we, as always, will handle it. and went on with his report. All service providers, for example the firefighters, were also in constant contact with their Moscow counterparts. And finally, sand. explosive danger - that is, all possible types of danger were present. The probability increases day by day because of again, those devices without containment. The dams were designed and built immediately but this was also accompanied by research work. Legasov: I heard them, and talked with Ryzhkov. On the way, I told Shcherbina the story of the accident at Three Mile Island in detail. Immediately in that, room Alexander Grigoryevich Meshkov looked in - First Deputy Minister and said, that the Government Commission on the Chernobyl accident had been, Commission should meet at the Vnukovo airport by f, Immediately I left the asset, got into the car and went to my institute. This is how the Americans fled. Legasov is portrayed by Ade Edmondson in the BBC docudrama Surviving Disaster (2006), by Adam Curtis in his documentary series Pandora's Box (1992), and by Jared Harris in the Sky/HBO miniseries Chernobyl (2019). Nevertheless the operator was so attentive that he spotted the anomaly on the main weld bead. This centre was doing very extensive work on measuring radioactivity and the release of radioactivity, on wind transfer, on the dynamic conditions of various areas, and made a big contribution to the scientific research and practical plans of all this work done in Chernobyl. It was necessary to simultaneously organize a number of tasks that were of completely different types. After I arrived at the institute, they met me, washed me, cleaned me as much as it was possible. But these are such personal things. The two-circuit system heats the water in the second circuit, and the water in the second circuit, turning into steam, drives the turbine. Thats why in the end, the most reliable method was to use radio-controlled bulldozers or just simple scraper bulldozers, our ordinary vehicles, cabins of which were reliably covered with lead to protect the driver. As proposed by General Damiyanovich, a military centre was quickly established in the area surrounding the ChNPP to ensure that military specialiststhe military units in charge of decontamination, measurement, and any other operations that the army had to dowould not act randomly; by trial and error, but more consciously. It appeared that within those powerful gamma radiation fields, the neutron channel of the measuring device wasnt working, because it was affected by the powerful gamma rays, causing errors. Operators are trying to cool it, however, it was, already known that one or two people had already passed away. First of all, it leaked through the side gaps and practically passed by the reactor area that had the fuel; and secondly, its quantity was calculated entirely incorrectly. Get prepared for The end of the world as we know it!Tags:Chernobyl,valery legasov,chernobyl 2019,legasov,chernobyl hbo,chernobyl valery legasov,chernobyl disaster,chernobyl explosion,chernobyl nuclear power plant,hbo chernobyl,chernobyl hbo valery legasov,chernobyl valery legasov lies,chernobyl miniseries,chernobyl nuclear disaster,chernobyl hbo valery legasov tribute,chernobyl explosion caught on tape,chernobyl legasov,chernobil,valery,chernobyl finale,hbo,chernobyl nuclear Copyright Info Be aware all DRONE AND GROUND FOOTAGE \u0026 music belongs to Lex Meijer (DUB-EDITS) For licensing of footage contact lex@dubedits.nl The pictures falls under the \"FAIR USE Act. The work would start very early; at around seven or eight in the morning, the first meeting would be held. I was shocked by the accuracy of these words. And this part is tragic, confusing and incomprehensible. The research group, as I have already said, had divided its tasks as follows: researching the wreckage of reactor number 4; finding the fuel; and surrounding it with the maximum number of diagnostic devices. And it turned out that this facing was radiating 800 milliroentgens per hour but here [in Chernobyl], it radiated less than 10 milliroentgens per hour. I have to start the part where I create my memoir. Around 11 a.m. on the 26th of April, Boris Evdokimovich [Scherbina], after considering all our recommendations, decided to go ahead with the mandatory evacuation. I immediately jumped into the car, went to the Institute and found experts on this type of reactor. And further, figures of fuel release, they are less clearly known. Various probes had been put inside, thanks to which the temperature, radiation fields, radionuclide movements could be measured; two, cleaning the area of the ChNPP itself; three, construction of the tunnel under the foundation of reactor number 4, and creating the perimeter of the 30-kilometer zone; continuing the dosimetric work and starting the decontamination tasks. This is what forced the station management, apparently out of good intentions, to perform this experiment firstly. Legasov: Even during the war, when a retreat was planned from a city, it was already determined in advance who would remain undercover, who would be with the army, etc. Work was the man, almost the only meaning of his life. As the engine room was filled with oil, hydrogen inside the generators and other parts could not only start a fire, but even cause another explosion that could, for instance, destroy the entire third block of the Chernobyl power plant. But then, history came to such a state where science became subordinate to the Ministry. When I looked at this device, I was confused by, for example, an unusual and, in my opinion, insufficient construction of safety systems, that would work in extreme situations. For instance, did a one-day delay in taking action have any effect at all? Because of that it seems that all the decisions were correct. From that moment the Government Commission became only an administrative mechanism for that huge government work that was done under the control of the Operative group of the CCCPSU. Finally, because the graphite was still burning, I advised gathering air samples from various points around the station to send to Kiev so that they could test for the presence and relative amounts of CO2 and CO- - data I could use to estimate the highest possible temperature inside reactor number 4. Two years and one day after the disaster, Legasov took his own life, though not before recording a distillation of his side of the story onto five compact cassette tapes. Eugeny Pavlovich Velihov who as it seemed was watching too much TV about the China syndrome, arrived with concerns which I reported to Rizhkov and Ligachev. The same is with Velikhov, for example. What has already been discovered, what is encouraging for us, that is, I mean, the accumulation of radioactive elements inside fish and animals that are inside the 30-kilometre zone, what is not frightening, what is useful, what is useless, the behaviour of the various tree species, all the Gosagroprom findings, only those that are currently very obviousthese should be described. These decisions were accepted and written down in session protocols. So we had to send out a lot of people to assess the situation. There were no reports of, radiation injuries and little was understood in this information. [5] When on trips to other regions, sometimes as part of his scientific duties, he often visited the nearby cultural, artist and religious sites. The work was done not only quickly, but they also sought to do it properly and, in my opinion, tastefully. Why the concrete dome, which would certainly have been better, was replaced with a pipe run and a suitable metal roof. The Government Commission itself had already been relocated by this time. The heating up could continue and some vertical movement of this fuel mass may occur. None of them unequivocally corresponds to all the experimental facts; that is why discussions are ongoing. Based on their data, we adopted one or another decision. This was very disturbing to us, and it made clear the extraordinary nature of the situation. So even such a basic hygienic practice for eating was absent during the initial days. But I was very pleased with all the conversations with Ryzhkov and with Dolgikh. I was filled with trust and respect for him Valery Alekseevich himself flew over the reactor by helicopter 5-6 times a day. Overall, the situation was getting so complicated that it became clear that the scale of the operation had to be increased. If there is a probability of receiving a dose of 75 rem or more, then the local authorities are required to carry out an evacuation. There were very large gaps that could not hold the concrete, preventing it from hardening, and making it impossible to set up the base for the subsequent construction elements. You must always do something new, and be very critical to what was done before you. That is why I provided some sort of patronage for these areas, well, whatever I could provide within the bounds of the Institutes authority. Legasov: It would have all melted and all the radioactivityonly three and a half per cent got outone hundred per cent of the radioactivity would have gotten out and flown around the earth. Thats magnesium carbonate. Operating experience, technical solutions that had been used, software, all these could be exchanged and adapted. I saw this; it bothered me. This left a rather wretched impression. Because a whole array of illnesses found in people, a whole array of phenomena related to the personnel who survived this tragedy, were not related to radiation sickness. [28], Some in the scientific community were still displeased by Legasov and his legacy. All this work was done by the Soviet Ministry of Water and by the Ukrainian Ministry of Waterdone within a remarkably short time. I was certainly irritated by the situation that had developed between the Ministry and the science leadership. The meeting usually began with General Pekalovs report presenting the radiation conditions within the station and the surrounding areas. I understood, I must tell you honestly, that I understood that the city was being evacuated permanently. This was an enormous task that required moving masses of people, creating the necessary control systems and quickly planning the logistics and work. Next comes the philosophy. There was a mulberry-coloured or even crimson glow visible above the station, which is opposite of what is usual for a nuclear power station. There were reverse cases as well, when, say, where should have been a wall according to the drawings, in reality, was a doorway. The upper reactor plate (nicknamed Yelena) that hermetized the reactor, was in an almost vertical position, slightly off kilter. And teams had already been put in place beforehand. It was led by comrade Petrov who had arrived here earlier. But this is rubbish because all these rods are lowered by the operator; by the automatic system; by pressing a button, etc. The tragedy, of course, was the primary background against which everything was going on. This is why the first job of the first team that went in was to start the reactor shutdown procedure of the 1st and 2nd blocks. Do you understand? At the same time, numerous conversations on how to strengthen design organisations with such-and-such specialists and such-and-such approaches were heard at the Institute for a decade and a half, at professional or party levels. They then themselves went to the most contaminated areas and covered them with these solutions. If the philosophy that mandatorily required a containment over any type of nuclear facility had been developed, then naturally RBMK, with its geometry, with its construction, as a device would simply not have appeared. Here I need to pay tribute to comrade Schekalov, the expert from the Institute of Nuclear Energy, and also to the experts from the Ukrainian (Kiev) Institute of Nuclear Research, who made great efforts to find the appropriate paths, put in the necessary sensors, and stretch cables to them. and a lot of attention was paid to the condition of the Pripyat river itself, the Kiev reservoir. That's why a decision was made to completely replace the roof of the 3rd block, put in a new one with appropriate safety devices that would allow the necessary work to continue and launch the 3rd block of the Chernobyl NPP in time. [25] Some details were censored by the Central Committee, including the full extent of the design flaws,[1] the institutional and cultural problems that led to the accident,[1] the full extent of the fallout,[1] as well as the ineffective efforts in dropping liquid nitrogen into the reactor. I think that Vladimir Konstantinovich should develop these points. Because, in principle, with the correct configuration of graphite and with less volume inserted into the zone, this graphite inhibitor could, of course, hold the vapour coefficient within allowable quantities. The first two such consecutive works by experts were interesting. Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide The information came as a code. After that, evaluate what type of energy must be replaced with nuclear energy, then assess which regions are the most appropriate for it, and then define the requirements for the devices that will optimally fit the tasks that stemmed from the fuel and energy balance of the country. The fact is that, as you know, the Soviet Union was the founder of nuclear energy. It means adding more and more instruments to it, some additional diagnostics tools and so on. Where did this come from? Even then, during those difficult days, despite everything we were, it may seem paradoxically, in good spirits. The number was increasing because the scouts were visiting more and more new areas, while the old areas were receiving more and more radionuclide fallout. And nuclear equipment has become just one in a range of manufactured items. But now recalling those days of May, I must say that after N.I.Ryzhkov and E.K.Ligachev had visited the accident sites and verified the situation, we received a command: the composition of the Government commission should be changed. At the end of the Politburo meeting, Mikhail Sergeyevich [Gorbachev] addressed heaven knows who, but apparently the ministers Brezhnev and Chazov who were at the meeting, asking them to return to the site and continue the work. Two, make the operation maximally reliable; trained staff, good discipline, easy-to-operate equipment, etc. It was clear that heat was being generated inside this fuel mass. In particular, we were worried about two things: can that movement cause critical mass buildup in some region which would produce short-living isotopes. But also with some reliable design It requires that if you have some kind of emergency protection system which stops, say, a car, a train or something else, then you must have at least two protection systems. And the RBMK reactor is a single-circuit reactor. After this, all the specialists would begin work on their assigned tasks; and in the late eveningat least when Scherbina was the chairman, around 10 in the eveninga summary was reported. But even DT-5 was not there in sufficient quantities when we arrived. At the same time, the enormous amount of work done by the dosimetrists, the modest work of young people, say, from Kurchatov Institute led by Shekalov or Borov or Vasiliev, the work of Ryanovskaya [] group led by Petrov, the work of Kombanov who was there many times to test his dust suppression solutions, the logic of all the work, an analysis of the projects that were undertakenthis wasnt described properly. This is how much they clung to those bloody rods, mechanical, with the help of which And they still cant let go of them, while my proposal for gas-based protection was pushed to sometime in the distant future. And this is necessary and essential. The evacuation itself took place in an exceedingly organized manner. In fact, there is triple ownership, because there is also a head office, or some deputy minister, who has the last word on a particular technical decision. [18] His colleague But the iron shot that we found at the station was contaminated with radioactivity. So his comrade, having arrived to get familiar with the work of this [Chernobyl] station, reported that everything was wrong there. And I have seen more than one accident. That is why he put me in charge of management affairs, of resource management. This was unambiguously established by the doctors. Although, of course, the Compton effect had its share in the radiation environment; somewhere around 10 milliroentgens per hour and maybe even less than 10 milliroentgens per hour was radiated from reactor number 4. Completely. Whatever radioactive particles would escape, they would be filtered out. And so, the scientific spirit and the scientific atmosphere in reactor engineering gradually began to submit to the engineering will, as it were, to the ministerial will. It will be simple or difficult to be there, in place, in general, all our. [11], There are several theories concerning Legasov's motivations and state of mind. The station was under the supervision of our neighboring Ministry of Energy. But since Sidorenko was put in charge of this laboratory (the whole department), everything was routed towards developing documents, procedures and standards to make things better on existing nuclear power stations. Then the cows ate the grass with Iodine. Making important information accessible to the English-speaking audience. Legasov: The VVER reactor is a large metal vessel in which the active zone is immersed in water. This also was visible at the stations. That's probably what happened. He was satisfied with this conversation. It is commonly known that nuclear power stations are very cleanly and exactingly run, with machinery and pipes that dont exhaust anything visible into the atmosphere. [2] While he was a shy student, he excelled in both academic work and social activities being elected secretary of his school's Komsomol committee. For this temperature range, lead would be the most suitable element which would additionally act as a shield against radiation. In some areas, it reduced faster than predicted by the laws of radioactive decay. Test what vehicles would be best-suited for the job within those conditions. Because, say, the operator suddenly becomes ill and he cannot press the button, or something else, then because of an overrun in parameters, because of anomalies, the second protection system should activate automatically. And its construction and operation can take into account not only our own experience but also the experience of the entire world community. Do you understand? All this was justified at the dawn of the nuclear industry. For example, there were no special double cyphers to turn off the protection systems where protection could be disabled only by using a double or even triple commandby an operator turning a key; by a simultaneous turning of a key by, say, the shift supervisor and maybe even by someone specifically responsible for safety; by a simultaneous turning of a key by the head of the station, the chief engineer or his deputy. Under the mandatory condition of the most rigorous compliance with all regulations and such. It is necessary to explain the following facts in this order. It was either graphite or some metallic construction at a very high temperature. They tried as much as they could to base their decisions on the specialists point of view. This type of device came from the Ministry of Medium Machine Building where several such devices were built for special purposes and operated in the most unique way. This was a difficult environment. The question arose about what to do with the 5th and 6th blocks. There is not a single organization in the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union or in the national academies that could develop this philosophy. As a result, essentially sound projects, when developed, turned out to be overly expensive, cumbersome, and not accepted for execution. So just in case, the water should be removed and in case the fuel mass would melt its way down into these rooms, we could pump the water back there, to cool the molten fuel masses. They established a telephone connection and we started receiving information from the station contrary to the coded signals, not supporting them and even contradicting them. Unfortunately, the place where the iron shot was kept had been affected by the initial outburst of radioactive particles and was contaminated, rendering it completely unusable. Do you understand? 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