But now I want to post a link to the recording of my lecture with the analysis of myths and truths about Chernobyl based on the HBO series, which I read almost a year ago in Moscow as part of the LiveJournal Meetup. It's just that I decided to start creating and filling my youtube channel about nuclear technologies and radiation, and while I am preparing the first materials, including on the topic of uranium tails, I am posting archival records here. I think it will be interesting too. So I invite you to subscribe, put likes and comments, otherwise this new and difficult business for me may be bent.
To familiarize yourself with the content of the lecture and the convenience of orientation, I post the time codes of the video with a description of the issues under consideration under the cut.
PS: Realizing that one video without text is perceived ambiguously on Habré, I added my own text under the cut with a description of some technical comments to the series, written before the lecture. This is not a verbatim transcript of the lecture, but the facts described here were included in it. Although the lecture contains an order of magnitude more information.
Time codes of the video:
1:45 - who am I and why I am giving a lecture about Chernobyl
5:40 - INES scale, comparison of nuclear accidents in Chernobyl, Fukushima and Mayak
9:30 - blunders of the first series
11:40 - Ignatenko family - heroes and prototypes, sources of information for the series
13:30 - demonstration of Vavilov-Cherenkov radiation
15:18 - about Legasov's real diaries
16:20 - the real radiation situation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on the first day of the accident
17:27 - what was actually extinguished by firefighters on the night of the accident
19 : 03 - what and why did the personnel do after the accident
20:40 - how the decision to evacuate Pripyat was made
23:30- what Legasov did in reality
24:20 - what and why did they actually fall asleep into the reactor from helicopters
28:30 - about the reasons for Legasov's first suicide attempt in 1987
30:49 - helicopter crash in reality and the series - how, when and why
32:35 - how much radioactivity was released during the accident
34:35 - about the pollution of the world from nuclear weapons
tests 36:12 - Iodine-131, its danger, iodine prophylaxis
40:10 - maps of plutonium and americium
contamination 41:10 - Cs contamination 137, measures to protect the population depending on pollution
44:42 - why and how Pripyat was evacuated, but Kiev was not
49:50- Chinese syndrome, Hollywood and the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in 1979
55:10 - analysis of the story with divers - what they actually did, how and why
1:01:02 - about Danila Kozlovsky's film about Chernobyl
1:02: 25 - analysis of the story with miners - truth and myths in the series
1:07:01 - Sarcophagus - an important story that is not in the series
1:11:25 - Biorobots and robots clearing roofs
1:14:55 - About how the Chernobyl nuclear power plant produced electricity after the accident and until 2000
1:16:09 - how I was at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and how a new sarcophagus was built there - "Arka"
1:19:13 - Chernobyl experience taken into account in modern nuclear power plants
1:24:33- victims of Chernobyl - how many died, how many radiation illnesses, etc.
1:31:46 - the end of the lecture and the transition to questions from the hall
PS 2. Added post describing some technical notes to the series, written before the lecture last year ( original here ):
I have been waiting for the HBO series "Chernobyl" since the end of March, when his first trailer came out . Since the release of the series in May, I was loaded with work and could not even watch it with everyone, although the entire Internet was already seething with the first episodes, striking in their tragedy and attention to everyday details. Nevertheless, more and more often I began to ask questions about the series, whether I watched and whether it is true what is shown there. Honestly, after this it became even scary to watch, realizing what I was going to have.
Because I do not consider myself a specialist in Chernobyl. Of course, I was at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant itself and in the abandoned Pripyat in 2012, in the course of some technical details of the accident as a physicotech-reactor engineer by education, some of the consequences of the accident as an employee of the radiation laboratory of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a postgraduate radioecologist, and some measures for the rehabilitation of employee of the company doing this. But I am not a historian at all and I do not know all the details, so I understood that for a detailed analysis of truth / falsehood, I need to plunge into a huge amount of information and material (as in the end I had to). But when even my chief liquidatorVoraciously watched 4 episodes during the night, and I have not yet taken up the first, it became completely awkward. As a result, I watched the first two and was very impressed, but experienced mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was struck by the very immersion in the atmosphere that everyone wrote about. Moreover, the everyday details of Soviet life left me completely indifferent, but the conveyed horror of the unknown and large-scale apocalypse that appeared before eyewitnesses was breathtaking. But on the other hand, to one degree or another, obvious bloopers and deviations from the facts, here and there crawling from the screen, made me grab my notebook and start writing down questions and comments, of which I accumulated several pages. Having inadvertently shared this on Facebook, I got the attention of journalists who began to demand this list from their notebook.
A shot from one of the best popularization scenes in the series, which explains how the RBMK nuclear reactor works. Albeit completely fictional.
As a result, I watched the series at the same time giving comments to the media (column on 66.ru after the final episode, broadcast on ETV , broadcast on OTV , broadcast my column on Serebryany Dozhd radio , comments for teleprogramma.pro , and even made a small lecture on LiveJournal Meetup in Yekaterinburg with a small overview , and now I'm preparing an extended version for Moscow )
I understand that there are already a huge number of reviews of the most diverse on the network. Therefore, I do not pretend with this belated post either for an exhaustive analysis, or for its particular originality. I understand that this is a feature film, not a documentary, so you shouldn't expect much reliability from it. The authors were faced with a very difficult task to fit a huge story into the short timing of the miniseries, while at the same time it must have some coherence and dynamism. Simplifications and inventions are indispensable here. Moreover, the creators did not hide that they deliberately moved away from real events in favor of telling a coherent storyabout the "price of a lie" (even if it sounds like an oxymoron). Therefore, my comments are more likely not criticism, but just comments for those who want to delve into the topic and feel not only the authenticity of interiors, clothes and household utensils, but also some technical points. In addition, for some attempts to simply tell about the complex, the authors can be praised. They succeeded in many things. For example, the story about the principle of operation of the reactor in the 5th series explains the design of the RBMK quite well. Although the trial itself was shown very freely, neither Legasov nor Shcherbina was there. But there were other inaccuracies and deliberate or annoying absurdities that spoiled the impression. Let's talk about them.
So, if we look at the technical details, let's start with some of the physical phenomena and terms mentioned in the first series.
In the first episode, Dyatlov says that the air glow that everyone observes is the "Vavilov-Cherenkov glow." This is certainly not the case. And in reality, such a phrase from a professional could not be. The Vavilov – Cherenkov glow, for the explanation of which a Nobel prize was given in due time, is most often observed in a denser medium, for example, in water. this glow is caused by the movement of charged particles with a speed exceeding the phase speed of light in this medium. Thus, the blue light emanating from a pool-type reactor or irradiated nuclear fuel stored under water is the Vavilov-Cherenkov glow. I have seen this on various objects - it is very beautiful and fascinating. Vavilov-Cherenkov glow in the IVV-2M research reactor
at the Institute of Reactor Materials (Zarechny)
As for other visual effects, there was no black smoke from the destroyed reactor of Unit 4 in the first days, as in the series. According to Legasov's real notes, the smoke was white: “A column of combustion products, apparently graphite, white, several hundred meters away, was constantly flowing from the reactor vent. Inside the reactor space, a powerful crimson glow was visible in separate large spots. "
In a scene of a helicopter flight, Legasov explains to Shcherbina how a nuclear reactor works. And before that, he also chews on Gorbachev's theory. Here again you can give a solid four to the authors for trying to explain the complex to the viewer in simple words. But at the same time Legasov compares with a bullet either a uranium atom or a neutron. And if about the neutron this is a fairly correct analogy, then about uranium - no longer. Well, in terms, sometimes they get confused in the series, for example, they call the control room of the NPP power unit the turbine room.
A separate story with divers. And I'm not even talking about the fact that in reality everything was not so dramatic, and no volunteers were sent to death (the story of one of the participants in the operation, two of whom are still alive, can be read here). In fairness, we note that the creators of the series in the final credits admitted that they thickened the colors in this scene. I want to draw your attention to something else. The series, like many journalistic articles, overestimates the significance of this operation. Aleksey Ananenko, Valery Bespalov and Boris Baranov, of course, did an important and responsible job, and like many liquidators, they accomplished a real feat. But they did not save any Europe from the explosion. In the series, through the lips of Khomyuk, it is said that, allegedly, from a sharp heating, a thermal explosion of eight megatons could occur, which is hundreds of times more than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. In reality, Legasov said in his notes that there was only a risk of local radioactive contamination:I repeat again that the removal of water was carried out in order to prevent large vaporization. At the same time, it was already clear that no second powerful steam explosion could have occurred, but simply intense vaporization with the removal of radioactive particles could occur. ... And of course no one going out to divers happily shoved a bottle of vodka into their hands ...
The miners are also not easy. The idea of ​​cooling the reactor from below was actually proposed not by Legasov, but by his colleague at the Kurchatov Institute, Academician Velikhov, with whom Legasov had a difficult relationship. Legasov, who was in charge of the Government Commission for localizing the consequences of the accident, was against it, not seeing a special need for such work. In reality, the labor of miners and metro workers from Tula, Donbass and the Moscow region was almost in vain, since the cooler was never used - it was not needed. Which, of course, does not detract from their feat. And of course they did not work naked and with bare hands, there was equipment and minimal clothing, albeit not complete equipment due to difficult conditions. Not to mention the mistakes with the Minister of the Coal Industry and, again, vodka at the workplace ... You can read about the work of the miners here... And watch the video here:
Video about the work of miners under the 4th block of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
With the reasons for the accident, the creators of the series also went a little too far and greatly simplified everything, reducing everything to the tyranny of the station management and a reactor defect (the end effect when AZ-5 was pressed), which everyone carefully concealed. This is only partly true. Yes, the reactor's problems were not exposed, but experts knew about them and after the accident they partially corrected. Now in Russia there are three nuclear power plants with such reactors - Leningradskaya, Kurskaya and Smolenskaya. The station personnel and Dyatlov personally brought the reactor to unacceptable conditions, violated a number of instructions, turned off the protection systems, as a result of which the design defects of the reactor manifested themselves. But there was no KGB conspiracy to conceal the terrible defects of the reactor, as well as agreements with Legasov to correct them.
An important, but not noted in the series, factor of the accident was the transfer of nuclear power plants from the Ministry of Medium Machine Building (the nuclear ministry, from which Rosatom later grew) to the Ministry of Energy, a decrease in the level of safety culture, as well as the loss of communication between reactor designers and operating organizations. This is where the secret of the personnel's ignorance of the important and dangerous features of the reactor lies, and not in the evil of the KGB. Simply put, the authors did not mention such an important component of the cause of the accident as the Soviet mess, including the bureaucratic one, the dizziness from success in conquering the peaceful atom and the Soviet desire to overfulfill the plan for the commissioning of new industrial facilities. The writers preferred to see the main cause of the accident as an insidious conspiracy of the Soviet system, covering up lies and cracking down on anyone who opposes it. Those. malicious intent, instead of carelessness.It's more cinematic. Although here is just the case when the heroism of some is a consequence of the carelessness of others.
In the finale, entitled "The Price of Lies," the scriptwriters scolded the USSR, saying that the authorities were saving money and therefore there was no concrete cap on the reactors - containment. This is partly true, because the USSR needed a lot of energy and built many new plants with relatively inexpensive reactors (although RBMKs were more expensive than VVER), hoping to compensate for the lack of caps with other safety measures. The adoption of these or those decisions was not always connected with security issues, but was largely determined by an intradepartmental undercover struggle, including within the Kurchatov Institute. In those days, not all nuclear power plants in the world had such caps. In the USSR, they began to appear on VVER reactors after the construction of the Loviisa NPP in 1971-1977 for the Finns, who demanded such containment. Now its presence,as well as melt traps (roughly speaking, so that miners do not have to dig a tunnel to cool and collect fuel) - the standard for new types of reactors being built in Russia and abroad.
Well, and even on trifles. The helicopter did crash in the show, but in the fall, not in April. Legasov did not do all the calculations alone - he was helped by scientists from his institute, but in fact, all atomic science and technology of the USSR worked to find solutions to problems. But here, in a kind of collective way, the fictional wonder woman-scientist Khomyuk acted. The decisions were made by a state commission of dozens of people, not just Legasov, Shcherbina and some general. And they did not sit in a trailer on the territory of the station. And there was not so much vodka, there was a dry law in the zone. Of course, they found alcohol and moonshine, but those who worked a lot had no time for drunkenness. Well, under the threat of death and executions, no one was driven to Chernobyl and they were not forced to do anything. Neither scientists, nor engineers, nor miners, nor even, you will not believe, those 3,800 people who cleaned the roof of the power unit in the 4th series.Yes, many went on orders, but not at gunpoint.
Video about the work of bio-robots on the roof. This is the part that is shown in the series as close as possible to documentary footage, up to citing the speeches of the participants. In general, it is clear that the authors know the material very well. All the more offensive for the gag and bloopers that do not carry any special artistic value.
To summarize, the main moments of liquidation in the series are shown - "extinguishing" the reactor, evacuation, digging under the reactor, cleaning the territory. All this was, although there was a lot more, for example, such an important stage as the construction of the sarcophagus. But I'm sure that many scenes could have been shown without artistic modifications, and they would have looked no less dramatic. After all, the story with the wife of the firefighter Ignatenko is shown quite close to reality, and she is one of the brightest in the series. Although irradiate the childfrom contact with her husband, she could not ...
By the way, in the finale, credits are shown with a description of the "real" consequences. Allegedly, Russia is hiding the number of real victims and continues to talk about only 31 dead. 31 people died in the first months - these are the same firefighters and station workers who liquidated the consequences of the explosion and fire. By the way, the rest of the 134 people with acute radiation sickness were cured in that very 6th hospital thanks to the efforts of the legendary doctor, the Institute of Biophysics Angelina Guskova (her prototype is in the series - she communicates with Lyudmila Ignatenko) and survived, but this is not discussed in the series ... The World Health Organization announced on the 20th anniversary of the accidentabout possible 4,000 distant deaths among about 600,000 people (liquidators + the population who received doses) associated with the radiation consequences of the accident. And Russia does not dispute these figures. But one of the myths of Chernobyl is that it led to hundreds of thousands of deaths, if not millions. And those who died on the "Bridge of Death" in the final credits are also a myth, since the radiation situation in Pripyat before the evacuation of the population was within acceptable and not hazardous to health limits, in the first days the wind blew in the other direction . So even the evacuation began in advance, predicting the deterioration of the situation in the future.
In general, despite the mass of factual remarks that I attribute to the artistry of the work, and not propaganda, as hot patriotic heads have already begun to say, I have only two global claims. Historical and cultural - for the abundance of artistically unjustified vodka, and professional - for overestimating the danger of radiation consequences, i.e. certain contributing to radiophobia.
As a tougher criticism, I will cite the video-opinion of Alexander Kupny, with whom I walked around the Chernobyl NPP and Pripyat in 2012, and also met with his father (at the time of the accident, Valentin Kupny was the director of the Zaporizhzhya NPP, and from 1995 to 2002 the head of the facility Shelter at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant). Alexander himself began his career at our Beloyarsk NPP, from 1988 - at the Chernobyl NPP, where, as a dosimetrist-reconnaissance officer of the Shelter, he climbed the entire sarcophagus, having written several books and albums with his own unique photographs:
I would still give the film a solid 4 and I think it's good that such a series came out. Be that as it may, it shows the terrible tragedy and heroism of our people who overcame it. You just shouldn't believe everything that is shown in it. If half of those who watch the series start looking for additional information and dive into the history of the issue, it will be great. Because about such tragedies, about your difficult history, you need to know the truth, and not the myths with which we still live. And it's good that HBO is taking on this topic, because I don't really hope to stimulate interest in history and greater credibility from NTV with their series shot, and even from Danila Kozlovsky, who is just starting to shoot a film about Chernobyl.
List of additional sources on the topic:
1. Transcripts of Legasov's records
2. IAEA report on the 1993 INSAG-7 accident
3. WHO: Chernobyl: the true scale of the accident
4. Documentary film "Bell of Chernobyl" (1987)
5. Retelling of the podcasts of the creators of the series
6. Meduza: Everyone is watching American "Chernobyl". What to read on this topic?
7. Interview with Lyudmila Ignatenko
8. Analysis of the "Chernobyl Prayer" Alexievich. Pretty tough.
9. Memoirs of Aleksey Ananenko, Senior Mechanical Engineer of Reactor Shop No. 2, one of the "divers"