# Fallout



## Pisis (Apr 24, 2006)

On Saturday, April 26, 1986, at 1:23:58 a.m. local time, the unit 4 reactor of the Chernobyl power plant—known as Chernobyl-4—suffered a catastrophic steam explosion that resulted in a fire, a series of additional explosions, and a nuclear meltdown.

The nuclear meltdown provoked a radioactive cloud which flew over Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, but also the European part of Turkey, Moldova, Lithuania, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom. In fact, the initial evidence in other countries that a major exhaust of radioactive material had occurred came not from Soviet sources, but from Sweden, where on April 27 workers at the Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant (approximately 1100 km from the Chernobyl site) were found to have radioactive particles on their clothes. It was Sweden's search for the source of radioactivity, after they had determined there was no leak at the Swedish plant, that led to the first hint of a serious nuclear problem in the Western Soviet Union. In France, the state then claimed that the radioactive cloud had stopped at the Italian border. Therefore, while some kinds of foods were prohibited in Italy because of radioactivity (in particular mushrooms), the French authorities didn't take any such measures, in an attempt to appease the population's fears.

Contamination from the Chernobyl accident was not evenly spread across the surrounding countryside, but scattered irregularly depending on weather conditions. Reports from Soviet and Western scientists indicate that Belarus received about 60% of the contamination that fell on the former Soviet Union. A large area in the Russian Federation south of Bryansk was also contaminated, as were parts of northwestern Ukraine.

Two-hundred and three people were hospitalized immediately, of whom 31 died (28 of them died from acute radiation exposure). Most of these were fire and rescue workers trying to bring the accident under control, who were not fully aware of how dangerous the radiation exposure (from the smoke) was. One-hundred and thirty-five thousand people were evacuated from the area, including 50,000 from the nearby town of Pripyat, Ukraine. Health officials have predicted that over the next 70 years there will be a 2% increase in cancer rates in much of the population which was exposed to the 5–12 (depending on source) EBq of radioactive contamination released from the reactor. An additional 10 individuals have already died of cancer as a result of the accident.

The workers involved in the recovery and cleanup after the accident, known as "liquidators", received high doses of radiation. According to Soviet estimates, between 300,000 and 600,000 liquidators were involved in the cleanup of the 30 km evacuation zone around the reactor, but many of them entered the zone two years after the accident.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster

I remember that the Eastern blocks regimes were trying to keep the disaster in silence. Even two days after, the Czechoslovak Minister of Youth (a real Commie bitch, as all of them were...) announced in the media that nothing happens and kids can freely play outdoors. even in Pripyatm kids were playing on playgrounds while soldiers walking arouind them with gasmaks... What a croocked regime Communism was...

I suggest to look at more photos of the ghost town of Pripyat. http://www.johndarwell.com/projects/i_lc/index.php
http://xpda.com/junkmail/junk153/chernobyl/page1.html

Shocking...


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## Medvedya (Apr 24, 2006)

Oh I've seen a KGB document written in 1978 and signed by Andropov (who was the head of the KGB at the time) where they damn well knew it was unsafe. 

Those RMBK reactors were military ones designed for use in submarines - and not to ever have been run at low power.


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## Pisis (Apr 24, 2006)

Yeah, they alwys knew it... They weren't that stupid, they were just ***holes...


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## Medvedya (Apr 24, 2006)

Well it looks like a cla.ssic case of '_sturmoshchina._ The plant was originally designed to have three reactors, and then it turned out that the infamous fourth one was required as well. 

"Oh crap. No matter Tovarichee, lets just slap this extra one on the side as quick as we can, and hope it'll be alright." 

Now this was the way practically all manufacturing was done in the Soviet Union, and whereas having your bicycle disintergrate after barely three months is hugely annoying, having the lid of the reactor blast off in a geyser of superheated radioactive steam is hugely bad.....


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## Tiger (Apr 24, 2006)

I once had a dream I was at Chernobyl a while after the melt down. The city was so quiet no animals or people just the wind the only "living" thing left. It was so dramatic and atmospheric.


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## Henk (Apr 24, 2006)

It happend the year I was born and I later started to read up on it and it is shocking how the USSR tried to cover it up. The west only started to know when they took a picture of the blown up reactor from a recon satellite and it made headlines. 

They used the plant until 2001 and then stopped using it. I have heard that the people are moving back to the area around Chernobyl. I do not know if it is true or not.

We are having problems with our Nuclear power plant and it is freaking us out. The thing is that the government did not pay the French and the French then with drew their guys and now there are no one to fix the problem and the back up of the plant have gone missing, a 500 or something ton peace of equipment, how does that just go missing?

Now they got a new one from France, but our power grid is running at 100% instead of 70% because the Power Company did not plan ahead and rather payed their stupid big shots fat salary's.

The Nuclear power plant is just out side of Cape Town and it is known as Koeberg and can be found on Google Earth. just follow the coast to the north from Cape Town and you would see it.

Henk


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## Medvedya (Apr 24, 2006)

The first indication in the West that something had gone drastically wrong was when the Swedes detected the fallout blowing over Scandinavia two days after the disaster. Naturally the urgent inquiries that followed were met with a deafening silence from Moscow. 

Indeed many of the old former residents have moved back to their homes inside the exclusion zone, and it has become a haven for wildlife who seem to have no discernable ill-effects from the radiation. 

Someone described Pripyat as the Soviet Pompeii - which is very true as much of the place has been left as it was in April 1986, still with the tatterered remains of the Communist era decorations that were being prepared at the time for the May Day holiday.


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## evangilder (Apr 24, 2006)

I was in England when it happened based at Lakenheath. I do remember that we were checking sensors like crazy as things were spiking abnormally. We troubleshot and were told not to worry too much about it. Then they pulled all the milk from the Commisary. That's when I knew something _very_ bad had happened.


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## Pisis (Apr 25, 2006)

Yeah. Here in the Eastern Block they (the Party) said there's nothing to worry about, so the celebrations of Labour Day (obligatory) were held...


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## v2 (Apr 25, 2006)

More terrible pics...
http://www.spiegel.de/flash/0,5532,12814,00.html

http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/0,5538,PB64-SUQ9MTMzMTYmbnI9Mg_3_3,00.html

http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/0,5538,PB64-SUQ9MTMzODkmbnI9Mg_3_3,00.html


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## Medvedya (Apr 25, 2006)

Mods Note: Most are just images of Pripyat - but be warned, as two are pretty distressing.

With that caveat however, you ought to view them regardless.


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## marconi (Apr 26, 2006)

My parents evacuated me from Kiev as soon as they heard rumors.The governments official announcement about Chernobyl consisted of two lines.This catastrophe seriously damaged the reputation of the USSR and accelerated its fall.

By the way, there are excursions to Chernobyl, anyone want to visit Pripyat or the power plant?


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## Pisis (Apr 27, 2006)

I'd like to but I'm still unsure if what they say about the low radiation is true... You know how it goes in our block...


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## Pisis (Apr 27, 2006)

A site that a guy from Fallout forum has made: http://chernobyl20.ytmnd.com/


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## Clave (Apr 27, 2006)

I would _not_ go there. Radiation, even at 'low' levels is not to be messed with.


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## Medvedya (Apr 27, 2006)

Well, it's not all over the place - there are 'hot spots' and these can be avoided with a good geiger counter. I once spoke to a _very_ eminent Russian physicist about it and from what I gather, it's perfectly safe to visit the area provided you have the right equipment, and are with a guide who knows what they're doing.


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## Pisis (Apr 28, 2006)

Yup. Some likes to jump a chute, some to climb a mountain, I'd like to visit this Ghost Town...


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## marconi (Apr 28, 2006)

http://www.pripyat.com this site is in Russian but there's a pretty large photogallery.


P.S.Its quite safe there now.With a good guide and geiger counter you've got nothing to worry about.I heard that some people are living there.


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## Pisis (Apr 28, 2006)

Crazy pictures...

But on the other hadn, do you see any difference lol


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## Medvedya (Apr 28, 2006)

Apart from visiting scientists, there are about 300 odd people living in the 'Zone' and they're all old people who take the view they're going to die soon anyway, and that they'd rather be in their old homes.


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## Pisis (Apr 29, 2006)

Yup


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## MichaelHenley (Apr 30, 2006)

Its kind of my idea what the world might look like if the _Day of the Triffids_ really happened... just total desolation...


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## Pisis (May 1, 2006)

Day of the Triffids - what a great book!


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## MichaelHenley (May 17, 2006)

Abso-frikin-loutely!


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