Chernobyl disaster was seconds from killing millions more and wiping out half of Europe had it not been for three heroic volunteers
THE Chernobyl disaster is the worst nuclear accident in history, with up to half a million related deaths reported in the years since.
On April 26 1986 a massive chemical explosion ripped through the Chernobyl nuclear power plant complex in north Ukraine, releasing 400 times more radiation than the Hiroshima atomic bomb – the equivalent of 500 nuclear bombs.
In the immediate aftermath 31 people died – including two at the scene and 29 firefighters – but radiation poisoning means the long-term death toll could be as high as 500,000.
The Soviet government was accused of trying to cover up the extent of the disaster, which saw five million people exposed to extreme radiation across Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. Problems recorded include a dramatic increase in childhood thyroid cancer and birth defects.
The catastrophic event is now the focus of a five-part Sky and HBO drama, airing on Sky Atlantic, starring Emmy-nominee Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard and Oscar-nominee Emily Watson, which recounts the harrowing tales of those who risked their lives in a bid to minimise the impact of the disaster.
And as the show reveals, things could have been even more catastrophic were it not for three heroic volunteers who selflessly risked their own lives to prevent a further explosion…
Half of Europe wiped out
Following the accident at Chernobyl’s Unit 4, all fires were extinguished within six hours – but a more dangerous problem soon emerged.
Days after the explosion, Soviet authorities made the horrifying discovery that the core of the reactor that had exploded was still melting down.
Underneath this was a huge pool of water, which acted as a coolant for the power plant.
The melting core was nearing the water – which, had they mixed, would have caused a second steam explosion.
Andrew Leatherbarrow, author of 2016 book Chernobyl 01:23:40, explains: “This would have done unimaginable damage and destroyed the entire power station, including the three other reactors.”
Estimates suggest that had this been allowed to happen, half of Europe would have been wiped out, many millions would have perished, and the entire area would have been uninhabitable for over 500,000 years.
Soviet physicist Vassili Nesterenko said: “Minsk, which is 320 kilometres from Chernobyl, would have been razed and Europe rendered uninhabitable.”
Radioactive water up to their knees
Firefighters had tried, unsuccessfully, to fully drain the pool containing 20 million litres of water using specialised hoses.
This is where the team of three volunteers stepped in to go down to the water tank and open a valve to release the water.
Two plant engineers, Alexei Ananenko and Valeri Bezpalov and shift supervisor Boris Baranov were told they could refuse the assignment – which became known as a ‘suicide mission’.
Describing their heroic efforts, Leatherbarrow says: “The men entered the basement in wetsuits, radioactive water up to their knees, in a corridor stuffed with a myriad of pipes and valves…
“It was like finding a needle in a haystack.”
Ananenko was reported to have later said: “How could I do that when I was the only person on the shift who knew where the valves were located?”
A deadly rumour
Contrary to reports that all three died as a result of poisoning within weeks, the men did actually survive their mission – but still risked their lives to save millions.
Without them and their valiant actions, an additional 77 square miles would have been destroyed, and the water supply for 30 million people and Northern Ukraine would have been unusable for more than a century.
A haunted ghost town
The final death toll caused by the disaster is unknown, and widely disputed, with United Nations figures claiming 4,000 people have died as a result of the accident at most.
However, according to the Guardian, Nikolai Omelyanets, deputy head of the National Commission for Radiation Protection in Ukraine, has claimed: “At least 500,000 people – perhaps more – have already died out of the two million people who were officially classed as victims of Chernobyl in Ukraine.
“34,499 people who took part in the clean-up of Chernobyl have died in the years since the catastrophe. “The deaths of these people from cancers was nearly three times as high as in the rest of the population.
“We have found that infant mortality increased 20% to 30% because of chronic exposure to radiation after the accident.”
There’s no denying the horrifying impact the radiation had on the people living in Pripyat – the city founded in 1970 to serve the Chernobyl power plant.
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It’s now a ghost town deemed unfit for humans to live in for 3,000 years because of dangerously-high contamination levels.
The areas surrounding the power plant – 350,000 people – weren’t evacuated until 36 hours after the explosion, and in the period since some five million people have been exposed to radiation, living on contaminated land in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
Chernobyl is currently airing on Sky Atlantic on Tuesday nights at 9pm.