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My visit to Chernobyl - continued...
Approaching the station, we passed the abandoned construction site of Reactors 5 and 6 on the right. These reactors were not yet operational at the time of the accident. Across the street on the left stands the spent fuel processing plant which was built by a French company in the early 1990s. This facility has never been used because control rods from the Chernobyl plant do not fit it the existing machinery.
Approximately 1 km down the road, we made a right turn into the main complex, with Reactors 1 through 4 on the left and the administration building directly ahead. The accident at the Chernobyl plant was caused by both the poor design of the Russian RBMK-1000 reactor combined with errors made by control room personnel during a test procedure. The test was being conducted to see if, during a power outage at the plant, the turbines would be able to provide enough power, while spinning down, to properly shut down the reactor. |
Unfortunately, during the test the reactor power dropped significantly below planned levels. Operators tried to recover, but the slow insertion of control rods along with the high positive void coefficient of the RBMK-1000 reactor caused a massive power spike. This created a huge buildup of steam leading to the subsequent explosions. Soon after the blasts, radiation levels in the main reactor hall approached 30,000 R/h. This reading is a best guess as the existing equipment could not measure above 10,000 R/h.
It took many years for approximately 600,000 liquidators to cleanse and decontaminate (to the best of their abilities) the plant and surrounding area. A large number of these brave men were exposed to excessive amounts of radiation. Approximately 31 died within the first few days after the disaster, and many currently suffer from a number of radiation-related health problems or have passed away due to their exposure. The total number of deaths related to the Chernobyl disaster is unknown and under constant debate.
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The Golden Corridor |
Reactor 4 Control Room |
Contamination Check
It is possible to tour the inside of the plant, and our group would be some of the privileged few outsiders granted rare access to the Reactor 4 control room.
Before touring the station, we were provided with a change of clothing, the same uniform worn by plant workers. In addition to those outfits, we were also required to cover our noses and mouths with heavy cloth masks and to place rubber covers over our boots before entering the Reactior 4 control room. Also, prior to reaching the Reactor 4 area, we were each provided with a small dosimeter used to measure personal exposure to radiation.
The radiation levels in the control room are definitely above normal (we measured up to 1,200 µR/h on some control panels ) . Down a hallway from the control room, levels in the main reactor hall are still very high (approximately 3,400 R/h) and people are only allowed to work there for several minutes at a time.
A strange feeling overtook me as I stood in the room where the events of the disaster unfolded. I could not help but think that several mistakes made in this very room led to the destruction of the reactor and caused so many people so much pain and suffering. Upon leaving the control room, we were required to step through a large dosimeter to check for contamination. Our entire group was clean, and our personal dosimeters did not register any levels of exposure. After concluding our tour of the Reactor 4 control room, we were also allowed access to the Reactor 1 control room as well as one of the turbine rooms.
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