Annotated Script of Episode Five, ‘Vichnaya Pamyat’ — Part 2
EXT. COUNTRYSIDE — DAY
CLOSE ON: a RUSTING CAR.
We SLOWLY RISE to reveal: more cars. And buses. Trucks. Fire engines. Bulldozers. Helicopters. Acres and acres of DEAD, CONTAMINATED VEHICLES, stacked in rows. A CEMETERY.
A BARBED WIRE FENCE dotted with garish red and orange RADIATION SIGNS surrounds the vehicle graveyard. We move to FIND: a convoy of cars moving down a distant ROAD in the background.
TITLE
CHERNOBYL EXCLUSION ZONE
JULY, 1987
INT. CAR — COUNTRYSIDE — AS THEY DRIVE
A limousine. Khomyuk, Legasov and Shcherbina sit in a row in the back. Somber. Straight ahead. On their way.
INT. CAR — MILITARY CHECKPOINT — AS THEY DRIVE
CLOSE ON: the GAS MASK face of a CHECKPOINT SOLDIER. In the dark lenses of the goggles, a DOUBLE REFLECTION of the approaching line of CARS.
Sredmash: A gas mask would be an unlikely sight at this point in the cleanup, so far from the plant. Most Radionuclides would have long since settled on the ground, and the surviving three reactors of the plant had been back in operation for months. What’s more, after the roofs were cleared by the ‘bio robots’, the first phase of a steel shelter had been built to seal in the reactor. The town of Chernobyl was decontaminated soon after and the populace returned to their homes.
The GAS MASK SOLDIER waves them through.
As they proceed, we RISE UP TO SEE the caravan enter: THE ABANDONED CITY OF CHERNOBYL. Rural. Small, squat buildings ensconced among the trees.
The convoy proceeds to the LARGEST BUILDING. The Hall of Culture. And looming behind the city in the distant B.G, the nuclear power plant.
INT. TRIAL ROOM — DAY
CLOSE ON: ANDREI STEPASHIN, 50, the STATE PROSECUTOR, suit and tie, reading rapidly and monotonically from a typed speech.
Sredmash: The actual prosecutor was named Yuriy Shadrin.[i]
STEPASHIN
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. has determined that justice be carried out on behalf of the People in accordance with the general goal of our Party as determined by its 20th, 21st and 22d Congresses, which is a Leninist goal. It was, is and will be the only immutable goal in the Soviet state.
Sredmash: As stated in the podcast, this is an old Brezhnev quote, from several Party Congresses in the past.
THE TRIAL ROOM — a small, repurposed auditorium setting. Against the NORTH WALL of the room, a RED DAIS on the low stage. Three middle-aged men in suits. Ceremonial chairs. The man in the center is JUDGE MILAN KADNIKOV, 55. Behind them, an orange-yellow curtain.
Sredmash: This character’s identity has also been changed, possibly due to the distinctly un-Russian name of the real individual: Raymond Breeze.[ii]
Against the WEST WALL, a pale blue curtain. In front of it, a DEFENDANT BOX. Bryukhanov, Dyatlov and Fomin sit in the box. Suit jackets. Two RED ARMY SOLDIERS stand guard on either side.
Sredmash: Three other co-defendants stood trial together with the trio from the mini-series:
A.P. Kovalenko, Unit 2 Reactor Section Supervisor
Y.A. Laushkin, Safety Inspector
B.V. Rogozhkin, Station Shift Supervisor
THE REST OF THE ROOM — auditorium seats. Civilians, Soviet officials, military. Near Stepashin, an EXPERT WITNESS TABLE. Legasov, Khomyuk and Shcherbina.
Sredmash: Around 60 people were present, including foreign journalists, but not Scherbina or Legasov.[iii]
As Stepashin DRONES, we’re CLOSE ON LEGASOV. The air is STIFLING. Hard to breathe. The HOT LIGHTS and mosquito-like electric HUM of bulky Soviet press video cameras.
Legasov wipes sweat from his brow. A single, useless FAN in the corner of the room goes ting ting ting ting ting…
STEPASHIN
The path of Leninist principles shall be consistently and undeviatingly followed as it expresses the vital interests of the Soviet People, its hopes and aspirations as we guide the life of the Party and State. This session of court is now open, Comrade Judge Milan Kadnikov presiding. Indictments —
As Stepashin recites the charges, Khomyuk leans in to whisper to Legasov. He puts a hand up. Yes. He sees them.
Legasov glances over his shoulder, and we see: SIX PEOPLE, four men, two women, seated together in the audience. Men and women he knows. Scientists. The invisible jury…
STEPASHIN
Viktor Bryukhanov, Anatoly Dyatlov and Nikolai Fomin are accused of violating Article 220 Section 2 of the Criminal Code of the Soviet Union resulting in a nuclear disaster on April 26, 1986. The State calls witnesses Comrade Khomyuk of the Byelorusian Nuclear Institute, Comrade Legasov of the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy, and
— show of deference)
Sredmash: The defendants were charged under an article concerning violations of the safety regulations at an explosion-prone enterprise. Nuclear power plants were not legally included in this category because, as we all know, RBMK reactors do not explode. Legal procedure was not a major sticking point here.[iv]
— Comrade Boris Evdokimovich Shcherbina, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and head of the Bureau for Fuel and Energy.
Stepashin sits down. There’s a pause. Shcherbina leans forward to look at Stepashin. Am I on?
Stepashin gives him a gentle nod, like a director responsible for cueing his actors. Yes. You’re on.
INT. TRIAL ROOM — LATER
CLOSE ON: A MODEL of REACTOR BUILDING #4, as it existed before the explosion, is slowly WHEELED IN on a cart.
SHCHERBINA (O.S.)
It began with — of all things — a safety test.
Shcherbina stands before the tribunal. Legasov and Khomyuk sit at the table behind him.
SHCHERBINA
But why was there a need for a safety test at all?
THE DEFENDANTS — listen silently. Fomin seems lost. In a fog. Dyatlov remains stern. Bryukhanov hangs his head slightly. He knows what’s coming.
SHCHERBINA
Reactor #4 was not new when this accident occurred. In fact, the reactor went into operation on December 20th, 1983. Eleven days later, on the last day of year, Plant Director Viktor Bryukhanov signed this document —
Sredmash: In fact, the tip effect of the graphite control rods had been experimentally demonstrated when starting up Reactor 4. No one dreamed that such a minor detail could blow up an RBMK…
He hands the document to the judges.
SHCHERBINA
— certifying that construction of the reactor had been completed. As a result of finishing this work before the end of the year, Comrade Bryukhanov was awarded Hero of Socialist Labour.
Sredmash: Construction of the plant was indeed a hectic process. Socialist command economy notwithstanding, Bryukhanov needed to travel to Kiev, to seek financing from a bank.[v]
Shcherbina turns his gaze on the defendants.
SHCHERBINA
Comrade Fomin was awarded for Valorous Labour. Comrade Dyatlov was given an Order of the Red Banner.
(beat)
But the work was not finished. And that certificate… was a lie. In order to sign that document, all safety tests had to have been successfully completed. And yet, one remained.
Sredmash: Bureaucratic truth-stretching was par for the course in the Soviet economy. Of course, the authorities were perfectly aware that the tests had not been completed, and simply left it to plant management to sort things out.
As he talks, he points out various parts of the model.
SHCHERBINA
A nuclear reactor generates heat in the core — here. A series of pumps here send a constant flow of cooling water through the core. The core’s heat turns the water to steam, the steam spins a turbine here, and the result is electricity.
(beat)
But what if a power plant has no power? What if the power feeding the plant itself is disrupted? A blackout, equipment failure… an attack by a foreign enemy?
Shcherbina points to the pumps.
SHCHERBINA
If there is no power, the pumps cannot move water through the core. Without water, the core overheats, and the fuel melts down. In short — a nuclear disaster. The solution? Three diesel fuel backup generators here. So. Problem solved?
(beat)
No. Bryukhanov knew the problem was not solved at all. The backup generators took approximately one minute to reach the speed required to power the pumps and prevent a meltdown. By that point, it would be too late. And so — we arrive at the safety test.
Khomyuk leans back. Surprised. Impressed with his command.
SHCHERBINA
The theory was this: if the facility lost power, the turbine — which had been spinning — would take some time to slow down and stop. What if you could take the electricity it was still generating, and transfer it to the pumps? What if the dying turbine could keep the pumps working long enough to bridge the sixty-second gap until the generators came on?
He looks up at the judges. Suddenly insecure.
SHCHERBINA
Please, if you have any questions…
JUDGE KADNIKOV
No. Continue.
Shcherbina nods. Good. Proud of himself.
Sredmash: An excellent explanation, it must be said.
SHCHERBINA
To test this theory, the reactor is placed in a reduced power mode — 700 megawatts — to simulate a blackout condition. Then — the turbines are shut off, and as they slowly spin down, their electrical output is measured to see if it is sufficient to power the pumps. The science is strong — but a test is only as good as the men carrying it out. The first time they tried, they failed. The second time they tried, they failed. The third time they tried, they failed.
Sredmash: Although the (sloppily written) test program does not specify this, the reactor itself was supposed to be shut down as the rundown test began.[vi]
beat)
The fourth time they tried — was on April 26th, 1986.
The room is silent. Shcherbina knows he’s done well. He enjoys the moment — then crosses back to the table.
STEPASHIN (O.S.)
Comrade Khomyuk.
Sredmash: The historical trial was much less fortunate in its expert witnesses, who were representatives of the RBMK’s design bureau, ready to commit whatever perjury necessary to shift blame onto the operators.
INT. TRIAL ROOM — LATER
New soldiers enter to relieve the guards by the defendants.
KHOMYUK (O.S.)
To understand what happened that night, we have to look back ten hours earlier.
KHOMYUK — stands in the center of the room, delivering her testimony. She glances at: THE SIX SCIENTISTS. The “jury.” She wishes she could say the truth to them herself, right here and now… but has to be Legasov. So she continues…
KHOMYUK
April 25th. The day the test was meant to take place. By two in the afternoon, the reactor has been lowered by half from its normal output of 3200 megawatts to 1600 megawatts, and is now ready to be reduced to the final level for the test. 700 megawatts. But before they can proceed, there is a phone call.
(beat)
Power grid officials in Kiev say they cannot afford a further reduction in electricity until after midnight. They’re asking for a ten hour delay. This was the first critical moment — the first link in the chain of disaster. Competent management would have insisted on canceling the test. These three men allowed it to proceed.
(beat)
Why was this ten hour delay so dangerous? It created two problems. One is scientific in nature. The other… is very human. That’s the one we’ll consider first.
Sredmash: At this stage the dispatcher’s delay posed no significant barriers to the test, in terms of xenon poisoning. Poisoning of the core had already taken place, and the further reduction in power simply resulted in less xenon being produced.[vii] As for human factors, Dyatlov was scheduled to oversee the test regardless of its timing, and the day shift had not been particularly well prepared to carry out the program either. Yuri Tregub (who filled Akimov’s role on the previous shift) remembered calling Dyatlov to pose numerous questions about the ambiguously-written test program.[viii] However, it is true that Toptunov had no real experience with the difficult transitional reactor control regimes involved.[ix]
(beat)
At midnight —
EXT. CHERNOBYL POWER PLANT — NIGHT
The glaring HEADLIGHTS of a BUS. It slows to a stop.
KHOMYUK (V.O.)
— there is a shift change.
The air brakes hiss. A line of men exit the bus, passing a line of men waiting to get on.
TOPTUNOV steps out. He heads toward: THE POWER PLANT — peaceful in the background.
PEREVOZCHENKO
Khodemchuk…!
KHODEMCHUK, slender, 35, leans out from behind his locker.
PEREVOZCHENKO
I brought a picture of the motorcycle.
KHODEMCHUK
I already told you no.
PEREVOZCHENKO
You said you wanted to buy…
KHODEMCHUK
I was drunk.
PEREVOZCHENKO
So, you’ll be drunk again — and then you’ll have a motorcycle!
The men laugh.
INT. CLEAN ROOM — MOMENTS LATER
White uniforms — pants, jackets, boots, hats, underclothes — are stacked on tables.
Nude men filter in from the locker room and grab uniforms. Others (Perevozchenko, Toptunov, Brazhnik, Yuvchenko) are already in the process of getting dressed.
The room is remarkably sterile, except for the fact that most of the men are SMOKING.
As he suits up, Perevozchenko sees Khodemchuk enter.
Sredmash: In a few hours, Perevozchenko (accompanied by Yuvchenko and Dyatlov) will receive a lethal dose of radiation on a vain search for Khodemchuk, who will be entombed in the rubble of the pump hall.[x]
PEREVOZCHENKO
Khodemchuk…
KHODEMCHUK
Forget it. Find another fool.
Perevozchenko sighs. Then turns to:
PEREVOZCHENKO
Toptunov —
BRAZHNIK
Toptunov? Look at him. He’s too young to drive. He’s got more hair on his face than on his balls.
The men laugh. Yuvchenko points at Toptunov’s mustache.
YUVCHENKO
Hair? Is that what’s on his lip?
Sredmash: Toptunov’s actual moustache was rather more respectable.[xi]
More laughter. Toptunov shakes his head. Come on guys…
As Toptunov puts on his boots, Proskuryakov (the trainee), already in uniform, pops his head into the room.
PROSKURYAKOV
Leonid Fedorovych… Akimov says to come to the control room as soon as you’re ready.
TOPTUNOV
He’s already here?
PROSKURYAKOV
He came in a little early. Something about a test.
A test? What test?
INT. CONTROL ROOM — REACTOR #4 — MOMENTS LATER
Toptunov enters with the trainee. Akimov is at the main control panel, staring at an open BINDER. Flipping pages.
Stolyarchuk and Kirschenbaum are at their panels. The other trainee, Kudryavtsev, stands in the back, watching.
Sredmash: Besides the five night shift personnel, there were numerous hangers-on in the room. Operators from other departments wanted to watch the test. And then there were four men on hand to supervise a different test regarding turbine vibrations, plus Yuri Tregub and Sergei Gazin from the day shift.
TOPTUNOV
Sasha?
Akimov turns, and Toptunov sees the worry on his face. Akimov waves him over. Keeps his voice low.
AKIMOV
You know the test they were supposed to run?
Sredmash: Toptunov was aware of the test, and had told his friend Korol about it that evening.[xii]
No, he doesn’t. Then he glances at: THE OUTPUT DISPLAY — a large box with RED LED DIGITS. It reads 1600. Why so low?
Sredmash: Dyatlov, Bryukhanov and Yuvchenko have all reported that the reactor was slated to be shut down for planned maintenance. According to Davletbaev (turbine hall supervisor), the reactor was handed over to Akimov in a rather difficult, unstable state. Akimov would soon complain to Davletbaev that things were ‘as bad as ever’, with the reactor barely under control, problems with water levels in the deaerators, etc.[xiii]
AKIMOV
The turbine rundown. The one they tried last year? They couldn’t do it on the day shift so… they’ve given it to us.
TOPTUNOV
To us? We don’t even know what it —
Akimov puts a hand up. Sshhh. People are always listening.
TOPTUNOV
(voice low)
We don’t know what it is.
AKIMOV
It’s fine. We take it down to 700, hold it there, and the rest is Stolyarchuk and Kirschenbaum. But —
Sredmash: The rundown test was thought of as primarily concerning the electrical division and turbine hall operators. In fact, the test program was largely written by an electrical engineer and scarcely mentioned the reactor itself. Stolyarchuk answered for the pumps, while Kirschenbaum worked at the turbine controls.
(beat)
Dyatlov is going to be supervising.
Now Toptunov knows why Akimov is worried. And with cause.
TOPTUNOV
I have to do something I’ve never done before with Dyatlov over my shoulder?
AKIMOV
Don’t worry. We’ll do it together. I’m looking at the instructions now.
Toptunov glances down at the manual. Nods. All right, so far, so good. He understands. Then he turns a page. There is a NUMBERED LIST of instructions. There are black LINES drawn through several of the items.
TOPTUNOV
Are we supposed to do those or not?
Impossible to say. Akimov picks up a PHONE. Dials. Then:
Sredmash: Here, Akimov’s confusion is similar to that reported by his counterpart on the previous shift, Yuri Tregub. Just like Akimov in this scene, Tregub picked up the phone to look for answers and first called Dyatlov at home, then contacted Fomin.[xiv]
AKIMOV
Yes, this is Akimov in 4. We have the manual for the rundown test, you did this before on —
(listens)
Well in the program there are instructions of what to do, and then a lot of things are crossed out.
What should I — ?
(listens)
AKIMOV (cont’d)
Are you sure? Right. Thank you.
He hangs up. Turns to Toptunov.
AKIMOV
He says to follow the crossed out instructions.
Sredmash: Surviving copies of the test program do not seem to have any crossed out passages, but Legasov himself tells this story, based on recorded phone conversations between operators.[xv]
TOPTUNOV
Then why were they crossed out?
The door flings open. DYATLOV strides in. Dressed in the same white uniform. No warning, no greeting. All business.
Sredmash: In reality, there was warning. But only because the Reactor 3 personnel called Tregub and told him that Dyatlov was in their control room, giving someone a dressing down. Akimov arrived for his shift shortly after Dyatlov did.[xvi]
DYATLOV
We’ve been cleared to run the test.
(checks the power)
1600. Good. Now — is it too much to ask that you all know what you’re doing?
TOPTUNOV
Well — we…
AKIMOV
(cuts off Toptunov)
Yes. Absolutely.
DYATLOV
Stolyarchuk?
STOLYARCHUK
Yes.
DYATLOV
Kirschenbaum?
KIRSCHENBAUM
I haven’t reviewed — we only just found out we —
Dyatlov grabs a BINDER from the desk in the center of the room, and flings it at Kirschenbaum.
DYATLOV
There. Review it. Or just do what I tell you. I think even you, as stupid as you are, can manage that.
Sredmash: The miniseries takes coworkers’ descriptions of Dyatlov’s personality and dials them up to 11.
Dyatlov deliberately lights a cigarette. Checks his watch.
DYATLOV
Well? Let’s go.
ON KIRSCHENBAUM — flipping through the binder. He’s muttering to Stolyarchuk.
KIRSCHENBAUM
I’m supposed to switch the turbine off while the reactor’s still running? That’s not a good —
Sredmash: This was part of the test program, although by default a disconnection of the turbine would result in an automated AZ-5 signal. An ad hoc button (Design Basis Accident, or ‘MPA’) had been wired into the control panel to simulate the blackout conditions in which a turbine rundown would be required.[xvii]
But he’s just loud enough for Dyatlov to hear.
DYATLOV
SHUT THE FUCK UP and do your job.
Sredmash: Some who knew him did think Dyatlov capable of cussing people out, but only for actual mistakes.[xviii][xix]
Kirschenbaum puts his hand up. Sorry… sorry…
DYATLOV
Toptunov. Reduce power to 700.
ON TOPTUNOV and AKIMOV, side by side over the controls.
TOPTUNOV
(a bare whisper)
I’ve never done this with the power so low.
AKIMOV
(whispers back)
It’s okay. I’m with you.
ON THE PANEL — Toptunov’s finger begins pushing down on buttons. One after another.
TOPTUNOV
Reducing power to 700…
KHOMYUK (V.O.)
I want you to think of Yuri Gagarin.
INT. TRIAL ROOM — DAY
Khomyuk addresses the room.
KHOMYUK
I want you to imagine he had been told nothing of his mission into space until the moment he was on the launch pad.
I want you to imagine all he had was a list of instructions he’d never seen before, with some of them crossed out.
The room is silent.
KHOMYUK
That is exactly what was happening in the control room of Reactor 4.
She walks toward the defendants.
KHOMYUK
The night shift had not been trained to perform the experiment. They hadn’t even been warned it was happening. Leonid Toptunov — the operator responsible for controlling and stabilizing the reactor that night — was all of 25-years old. And his total experience on the job?
Sredmash: RBMK operators could be required to make dozens of manipulations per minute, while tracking thousands of different parameters and readings.[xx]
(beat)
Four months.
Sredmash: Not counting a much longer period of hands-on training and work under the guidance of a senior colleague.
(beat)
This was the human problem created by the delay. But inside the reactor core — in the space between atoms themselves — something far more dangerous was forming. A poison.
Sredmash: Xenon has been forming for many hours now.
(beat)
The time is 28 past midnight.
She crosses back to table and takes her seat next to Legasov. Her part is over. It’s up to him now.
Legasov takes a breath. Sweaty palms. tick tick tick of the fan. In the back, someone coughs.
STEPASHIN
(glaring)
Comrade Legasov.
He nods. Yes. It’s time. He rises, and:
INT. TRIAL ROOM — DAY — MOMENTS LATER
CLOSE ON — the WOBBLING WHEEL of a small metal pushcart.
A SOLDIER guides the cart into place in front of a large white MAGNET BOARD on an easel, which another soldier adjusts into place.
A LINE runs down the middle of the board, dividing it in two. On the cart: PLACARDS, some BLUE, some RED. They each have something written on them in Cyrillic.
It’s all rather functional.
The guards step away, and Legasov takes his place by the cart and easel. Looks out at the room. The lights. The camera whine. Someone sniffles. His throat is closing.
He takes a breath. Focuses. And again, he sees them, sitting in their row, listening attentively: THE SIX SCIENTISTS.
LEGASOV
I am pleased to see some of my colleagues are here — from the Kurchatov Institute and Minenergo.
Sredmash: Minergo is the agency that operated the Chernobyl NPP.
Khomyuk straightens up. He’s acknowledged them. He’s thinking about them. There’s a chance…
LEGASOV
But you don’t need to be a nuclear scientist to understand what happened at Chernobyl. You only need to know this: there are essentially two things that happen inside a nuclear reactor.
He holds up a RED placard, and a BLUE placard.
LEGASOV
The “reactivity” — which generates the power — goes up, or it goes down. That’s it. And all the operators do is maintain the balance.
He fixes the RED placard — “Nuclear Fission” (R1) to the top of the RIGHT COLUMN of the board. The words on the placard are in Cyrillic. Doesn’t matter.
All that matters is the BRIGHT RED COLOR.
LEGASOV
Uranium fuel. As uranium atoms split apart and collide, reactivity goes up. But if you don’t balance the reactivity, it never stops rising.
Sredmash: At least if a graphite moderator is present, and other factors enable the fuel to reach criticality, with a positive coefficient of reactivity.
Next, Legasov puts the BLUE PLACARD — “Control Rods” (B1), in the LEFT COLUMN. Balancing it out. Blue/cool, red/hot.
LEGASOV
Boron control rods. They reduce reactivity, like brakes on a car.
He places another BLUE PLACARD — “Water” (B2) on the left.
LEGASOV
But there’s a third factor to consider. Water. Cool water takes heat out of the system. But as it does, it turns to steam, or what we call a void.
He places two RED PLACARDS — “Positive Void Coefficient” (R2) and another “Nuclear Fission” (R3) — on the right side.
LEGASOV
In an RBMK reactor of the type used at Chernobyl, there is something called a “positive void coefficient.” What does that mean? It means the more steam, the higher the reactivity, which means more heat, which means more steam — it would appear we have a vicious cycle on our hands. And we would, if not for this.
Sredmash: The potentially large magnitude of the positive void coefficient was the reactor’s first fatal flaw. The void coefficient was positive when the design documentation stated that it should be negative. With too many control rods raised, it was greater yet.[xxi]
Legasov picks up a BLUE PLACARD — “Negative Temperature Coefficient” (B3) and places it on the left column.
LEGASOV
Negative temperature coefficient. When nuclear fuel gets hotter, it gets less reactive. So —
He stares at the board. Even after all this time, he still can’t help but marvel at the science. He moves his hands between the columns of RED and BLUE…
LEGASOV
— fuel increases reactivity. Control rods and water reduce it. Steam increases it, and the rise in temperature reduces it. This is the invisible dance that powers entire cities without smoke or flame. And it is beautiful…
He turns back to the room.
LEGASOV
When things are normal.
Legasov lifts up a BLUE PLACARD. “Xenon Poisoning” (B4).
LEGASOV
As uranium splits apart to release energy, it breaks down into a new element. Xenon. Xenon reduces reactivity. This is the poison Comrade Khomyuk mentioned. When the core is running at full power, it burns the xenon away before it can cause a problem. But because of the delay, Chernobyl Reactor 4 was held at half power for ten hours. The xenon did not burn away. It built up, poisoning the core.
He places “Xenon Poisoning” (B4) on the board.
LEGASOV
We’re starting to lose balance.
The BLUE column is longer than the RED. The words don’t matter. The colors tell the tale.
LEGASOV
At 28 past midnight, the reactor is now primed to slow down. And yet, in less than an hour, it will explode.
(beat)
If you can’t understand how a stalled reactor could lead to an explosion, I do not blame you. After all, you don’t work in the control room of a nuclear power plant.
He turns to the defendants.
LEGASOV
But as it turned out, the men who did… did not understand it either.
Sredmash: The operating manuals and regulations were virtually silent on the hazards of operating the RBMK at low power. High power operation was viewed as the most hazardous regime. What prohibitions did exist were contradictory or excessively lax.[xxii]
To be continued in Part 3.
Sources Cited in Part 3
[i] Карпан Н.В., Чернобыль. Месть мирного атома, IKK Balans-Klub, 2006., pp. 426.
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] Higginbotham, Adam, Midnight in Chernobyl, Simon & Schuster, 7 February 2019., Chapter 18.
[v] Higginbotham, Chapter 1.
[vi] Дятлов А.С., Чернобыль. Как это было, 2004., pp. 60.
[vii] Kupniy, Alexander, Pассказывает СИУР ЧАЭС — 1, Interview with Aleksei Fatakhov, 9 June 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZJVnvhgFIc>.
[viii] Причины Чернобыльской аварии известны, Accidont.ru, 13 May 2006, <http://accidont.ru/evid02.html>.
[ix] Karpan, 453.
[x] Dyatlov, 52.
[xi] For more information: https://chnpp.gov.ua/ru/kniga-pamyati?start=1068
[xii] Higginbotham, Chapter 3.
[xiii] Accidont.ru, http://accidont.ru/evid01.html.
[xiv] Accidont.ru, http://accidont.ru/evid02.html.
[xv] Легасовым В.А, Об аварии на Чернобыльской АЭС, Pseudology, Link.
[xvi] Accidont.ru, http://accidont.ru/evid02.html.
[xvii] Higginbotham, Chapter 5.
[xviii] Kupniy. See also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A-0EoFEZbE
[xx] Dyatlov, 73.
[xxi] Karpan, 449.
[xxii] INSAG Series №7; The Chernobyl Accident: Updating of INSAG-1, International Atomic Energy Agency, 1993, Link., pp. 21.
