HBO’s Chernobyl (2019)

[Pi3]

No one will even know the truth. The only numbers they have are those who died as a result of direct exposure on site during and immediately after the accident. That is the number the USSR used to show how "it wasn't that bad"

Most were effected by the release of Iodine-131, Caesium-137 and Strontium-90. Unless they can trace the specific isotope of Iodine to every thyroid cancer patient we will never really know. My cousin was a toddler when it happened and also in Kiev. Several years ago she had to have thyroid surgery. Sure we can say it was because of Chernobyl, but there is no way to prove, at this time if it was Chernobyl or some other environmental factor.

They would have to do the same isotope testing for Caesium in people with soft tissue and digestive track cancers. Leukemia and bone cancer for Strontium. I don't think anyone has the money to examine all of that, even in the limited area where those isotopes were deposited in quantities which increase risk.

Alex, do you mind describing what you went through when this happend?

[jmp45]

Episode 3 is brutal. I was an NDT level 2 tech in the late 70s and have some idea the effects of radiation poisoning. That episode really put it into perspective. First responders and tech crew passing away horribly. I'm guessing the minors did not fair so well either.

[TexHill]

So the scene where the three "divers" had to go into the basement and open the valve in order to drain the water that had accumulated beneath the reactor. In the scene the radiation is so intense that it causes the batteries to fail in their flashlights - according to the Chernobyl Podcast this actually happened. The divers then pull out a dynamo powered flashlight that would stay on as long as they kept squeezing it - according to the podcast, in real life the divers didn't have the dynamo flashlight. In reality they had to feel their way in the dark in order to find the valve and open it. The series creators used the dynamo light so the audience would know what was going on.

[sundance435]

So the scene where the three "divers" had to go into the basement and open the valve in order to drain the water that had accumulated beneath the reactor. In the scene the radiation is so intense that it causes the batteries to fail in their flashlights - according to the Chernobyl Podcast this actually happened. The divers then pull out a dynamo powered flashlight that would stay on as long as they kept squeezing it - according to the podcast, in real life the divers didn't have the dynamo flashlight. In reality they had to feel their way in the dark in order to find the valve and open it. The series creators used the dynamo light so the audience would know what was going on.

I wondered about that. Also, did the podcast mention what the fate was of those 3? I honestly wouldn't think there is a suit we could make that would withstand that kind of immersion in highly radioactive water for any period of time. I was also surprised to learn that Dyatlov survived.

The series has given me a new appreciation for the Russian people - some truly hard MF'ers.

[HardToHandle]

I wondered about that. Also, did the podcast mention what the fate was of those 3? I honestly wouldn't think there is a suit we could make that would withstand that kind of immersion in highly radioactive water for any period of time. I was also surprised to learn that Dyatlov survived.

The series has given me a new appreciation for the Russian people - some truly hard MF'ers.

My understanding is the three plant workers survived the mission of wading through the water. Certainly there was lots of radiation but they had protection from the alpha and beta radiation in suits/respirators. The tunnel they needed to drain was to prevent another steam flashover if the molten core broke through the concrete above them. Consequently, the tunnel likely had some radioactive run off but wasn’t exposed to direct fission materials.

None of that takes away from the bravery. No one knew for sure the circumstances, especially what had been damaged in the explosions. Since the core temperature was “melting” concrete, there was immediate risk of being blown out of the tunnel like gun barrel by steam or massive structural collapse. Those were men who should never pay for another drink.

It is like the bravery of the Fukushima 50 - gambling their own future for thousands of other lives. It is an educated guess on the risk in those situations.

[jpmuscle]

Man... the bit with the dogs is just sh**ty


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[MountainRaven]

Man... the bit with the dogs is just sh**ty

Don't leave your dogs when you evacuate.

At least those dogs got a bullet and got it over quickly. Better than radiation, like the firefighters in the last episode. And better than the dogs that get left behind in other situations; left to starve or drown or end in a number of other horrible, slow deaths.

[Honu]

Don't leave your dogs when you evacuate.

At least those dogs got a bullet and got it over quickly. Better than radiation, like the firefighters in the last episode. And better than the dogs that get left behind in other situations; left to starve or drown or end in a number of other horrible, slow deaths.

they were not allowed to take them and forced to leave them in that case
but I would expect that considering the Russian gov did/does not care about human life why animals

but many folks sadly do treat pets/animals like crap still
I hate that !

[Circle_10]

they were not allowed to take them and forced to leave them in that case
but I would expect that considering the Russian gov did/does not care about human life why animals

but many folks sadly do treat pets/animals like crap still
I hate that !

I think during the evacuation scene they actually did show a girl having her dog taken from her by a soldier while waiting to board one of the buses.

The dog shooting scene was unpleasant. And when the new recruit found the pups and their mother in that building, were they eating the corpse of an old woman?

I found the obvious light-recoiling blanks and anemic gunshot sound effects from the cull team's 91/30s to briefly interrupt my suspension of disbelief, as with live ammo a 91/30 is not the casual shooting experience it was depicted as onscreen, but that's just a minor gun nerd nitpick.

[MountainRaven]

they were not allowed to take them and forced to leave them in that case
but I would expect that considering the Russian gov did/does not care about human life why animals

but many folks sadly do treat pets/animals like crap still
I hate that !

Nothing we can do about dogs in 1986.

But if you're evacuating in 2019 (or later), there's something you can do.