Cover-Up

DAY 5 OF THE ACCIDENT

BRIEFING ROOM VS WASHINGTON, DC

I am here today as chairman of a special investigation team...

that investigates the situation...

those in the Soviet Union has taken place.

We know there's a big accident took place...

at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

We know that accident led to an explosion.

Everyone wanted to know what was going on.

But the Soviet Union did not give up anything.

Yes, in the back.

Have steps been taken? to limit the damage?

Have the Soviets taken any action?

We presented the facts as we knew it.

The investigative team had gone through the CIA satellite images obtained...

of what's going on in the area of the power station happened.

We know that there is in the central fire has broken out.

It is persistent radioactive radiation.

One of the consequences...

was a significant emission of radioactive material.

That became known like the radioactive cloud.

That so-called cloud moved through the atmosphere.

He went around the world and headed for the United States.

Once that happens, you can't do anything anymore.

That radiation has a worldwide impact.

DAY 5 OF THE ACCIDENT

APRIL 27, 1986 DAY 2 OF THE ACCIDENT

The fire was after the accident the greatest concern in the reactor core.

It continued to rage even after the fire in the building had been extinguished.

And there remained dangerous radioactive material...

to the immediate area and leak outside.

The amount of radiation released when that core exploded was unprecedented.

And for many scientists horrible.

This was a worldwide disaster with worldwide consequences.

They had to do something to deal with that.

I was 25 at the time of the accident.

COLONEL IGOR PYSMENSKYI HELICOPTER NAVIGATOR

Everyone has dreams. Life is impossible without a dream.

And I dreamed of flying.

At midnight it came an emergency call.

We had to go to the airport.

Nobody had information. We just had to go.

The reactor core consists of two things from the point of view of fire.

One is graphite, which is carbon. Think of it as charcoal.

The other is nuclear fuel, that is extremely hot.

It generates heat through decay heat of the radioactivity.

Every firefighter knows that fire only needs fuel and heat.

They were delivered consistently.

They wanted to drop sand with helicopters to put out the fire.

They asked the helicopter pilots...

potentially lethal amounts to fly into radiation.

No one had anything like that since Hiroshima experienced more.

They put river sand in parachutes.

No complicated equipment. Just improvised.

The reactor was the target.

A mistake would cost us dearly.

If you dropped it and he hit the target...

the flight director shouted loudly about the radio:

'Good job, boys. Ten points.'

Then you felt immediately a certain relief.

Through the fire...

plumes of smoke come out full of radioactive material.

That's where the helicopters had to go come close or even through.

The radioactivity around the plant was 2000 roentgen per hour.

That's for someone close four times a lethal dose.

Exposure to ionizing radiation can shut down the immune system...

and lead to a shortage of white blood cells and ultimately death.

The radiation was extremely high.

We only had face masks for protection.

After each round the masks brown...

and we tasted a metallic taste in our mouth

We knew that our respiratory system was affected.

It was absolute a very difficult situation.

But it had to be solved, because that caused...

the continued release of radioactive material.

We suffered from heartburn and were nauseous.

We were still young and very healthy.

We were standing at that moment not quiet at all...

of the possible consequences.

On Sunday the 27th...

the inhabitants of Pripyat knew that something was very wrong.

Radioactive material was continuously leaking from the reactor.

But there still wasn't any official evacuation announced.

VITALII SKLIARKOV FORMER MINISTER OF ENERGY, UKRAINE

They had evacuated much earlier should be.

Information was always checked. That was the normal course of events.

The government commission stood led by Boris Shcherbyna...

Vice-Chairman of the Council of Ministers...

and head of the fuel bureau and energy of the USSR.

Shcherbyna had a strong will and he was assertive and determined.

Shcherbyna waited with the order to evacuate.

Because everything had to remain secret. They didn't want it to leak out.

Around eight o'clock that morning...

Shcherbyna got into a helicopter to view the reactor.

When he came back, he had the city evacuated.

This wasn't just another one fiasco with Soviet technology.

It was a worldwide disaster.

11:00 AM - APRIL 27, 1986

DAY 2 OF THE ACCIDENT

Attention, attention. Dear comrades.

At the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Pripyat...

the amount of radiation is unfavorable.

I remember when my mother came in.

She said, Wake up. We are being evacuated.

For the safety of the population and especially the children...

it is necessary to make a temporary one to carry out evacuation...

of the city's residents.

I remember the announcement still very good...

because it was someone we knew.

It was a familiar voice. Calmly, without panic...

who said: 'Pack enough stuff for three days.

Take your papers and money with you. Buses are waiting downstairs.'

We took what we needed.

That's what my mother did. And then we went outside.

The Central Committee was informed about everything.

What was made public was a different story.

If they knew they probably would wouldn't come back...

they would their refrigerators have taken.

When people panic, they throw buses, cars and even trains.

People were afraid of that.

I can't emphasize enough how everything was secret in the Soviet Union.

There was secrecy just ingrained.

2:00 PM

When the buses came, we had to everyone gets in and leaves.

MARIA PROTSENKO PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT OF PRIPJAT

The Chairman said: “Maria, you have the plan.

Go to the bridge and direct the buses there.”

The first bus arrived at 2 p.m.

We needed almost 1500 buses.

I stood there in my blouse and skirt.

And I wore sandals at my bare feet.

I had no protective clothing.

By then the situation was has become extremely dangerous.

Everyone in Pripyat was exposed to enormous amounts of radiation...

with consequences that no one could predict.

Opposite the bridge was a football field.

A helicopter landed there.

The radioactive material rose and came on my bare feet and legs.

That's why they were so itchy.

Can you imagine how much radioactive material was flying around?

4:00 PM

We stood outside for more than two hours waiting for the buses.

You noticed that people were were concerned.

But it didn't do much for me.

I assumed the adults would solve everything.

We played with the neighbor children.

We didn't know it would be the last time.

The buses went throughout the Soviet Union.

I couldn't say goodbye from my friends.

I have one of my best friends never seen again.

We have almost 45,000 people evacuated.

Without panic or noise we evacuated the entire city.

I remember a woman who looked out the window.

She not only looked at me, but she followed me with her gaze.

I saw something on her face.

As if she was screaming inside:

'What is this? Where am I going?'

It was my hometown. I had friends, neighbors.

We went to the forest, to the river.

It was a nice community.

My most memorable flight was...

when we were after the evacuation were approaching the power station.

Laundry on balconies, abandoned strollers and cars.

Such an empty feeling.

As if time stood still.

People left more or less everything fall out of their hands.

The city became Pripyat largely evacuated.

But as long as that fire raged...

radioactive material was continuously released ends up in the air.

That radioactive material came into the atmosphere...

after which it could travel all over the world.

APRIL 28, 1986 DAY 3 OF THE ACCIDENT

It was a Monday morning.

I was around nine or ten o'clock in the office, as usual.

The telex machines lit up...

with the news that the Swedes had announced...

that there was a nuclear accident had happened...

and that the Soviets have nothing had said about.

We asked right away to our Soviet contacts...

but the request was rejected.

The lack of information from the Soviet authorities is disappointing.

FORMER MINISTER OF BUZA

The phone rang and I answered it.

They said: There's a nuclear accident happened. You must come.

I didn't know what to do for a moment. What do you mean by nuclear disaster?

The first reaction was: Armageddon.

The difference between a nuclear accident and a nuclear attack was not clear.

'Core' had all those connotations.

We were trying to get information from secret sources, in vain.

The Soviets didn't tell what was going on.

On Monday evening, April 28...

everyone watched the news from 9 p.m., or Vremya...

waiting for the response of the Soviet Union.

From the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union:

An accident has happened at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

One of the reactors is damaged.

The consequences of the accident are eliminated.

The victims are helped.

There will be a government commission set up.

I remember timing it when Vremya came on TV.