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1
00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:35,540
I hear they might promote Grukhanov.
2
00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:42,000
This little problem we have with the
safety test, if it's completed
3
00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:47,220
successfully... Yes, I think promotion's
very likely.
4
00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:49,980
Who knows? Maybe Moscow.
5
00:02:52,820 --> 00:02:56,280
Naturally, they'll put me in charge once
he's gone, and then I'll need someone
6
00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:57,540
to take my old job.
7
00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:01,440
I could pitch Sidnikov.
8
00:03:10,860 --> 00:03:12,260
I would like to be considered.
9
00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:17,240
I'll keep that in mind.
10
00:03:21,620 --> 00:03:23,360
Preparations for the test have gone
smoothly.
11
00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:28,600
Comrade Dyatlov's been working per my
instructions, and reactor core output's
12
00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:30,520
been reduced to 1 ,600 megawatts.
13
00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:35,440
With your approval, we're ready to
continue lowering power to... You have
14
00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:36,440
wait.
15
00:03:37,780 --> 00:03:38,940
It, uh...
16
00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:41,400
Are you going to ask me if there's a
problem, Nikolai?
17
00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:43,600
You can't read a fucking face.
18
00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,900
Three years. I've tried to finish this
test. Three years.
19
00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:59,220
I've just had a call from the grid
controller in Kiev. He says we can't
20
00:03:59,220 --> 00:04:01,440
power any further, not for another ten
hours.
21
00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:02,559
The grid controller?
22
00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:05,720
Where does he get off television? Not
the grid controller's decision, the ad
23
00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:06,720
love.
24
00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:08,280
It's the end of the month.
25
00:04:09,340 --> 00:04:11,720
All the productivity quotas.
26
00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:16,000
Everyone's working overtime. The
factories need power. Someone's pushing
27
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:18,220
from a puff. Not that we'll ever know
who.
28
00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:28,980
So, do we have to scrap it or what?
29
00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:30,660
No, I don't think so.
30
00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:34,500
If we need to wait ten hours, we wait.
31
00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:37,140
I'm running out of power. We're not
going to have stability issues.
32
00:04:38,020 --> 00:04:40,380
No, I should think... I'm not asking
you.
33
00:04:43,700 --> 00:04:44,700
It's safe.
34
00:04:45,540 --> 00:04:46,880
We'll maintain at 1600.
35
00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:49,180
I'll go home, get some sleep, come back
tonight.
36
00:04:49,420 --> 00:04:50,420
We'll proceed then.
37
00:04:51,500 --> 00:04:53,360
I'll personally supervise the test.
38
00:04:54,460 --> 00:04:55,920
And it will be completed.
39
00:05:00,020 --> 00:05:01,120
Well, I'm not waiting around.
40
00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:04,080
Call me when it's done.
41
00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:42,840
How do you feel?
42
00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:47,640
You went to the doctor yesterday. How is
your health?
43
00:06:49,140 --> 00:06:50,140
You don't know?
44
00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:53,360
From Vienna.
45
00:06:53,940 --> 00:06:54,960
Do you read German?
46
00:06:57,020 --> 00:07:01,900
It says, at last, a Soviet scientist who
tells the truth.
47
00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:06,420
Obviously, I resent the insinuation, but
I think it's fair to say you made an
48
00:07:06,420 --> 00:07:08,020
excellent impression at the conference.
49
00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:10,360
Turns out you're quite good at this.
50
00:07:11,310 --> 00:07:12,229
At what?
51
00:07:12,230 --> 00:07:13,230
Nine.
52
00:07:13,650 --> 00:07:14,830
Statecraft, Vigasov.
53
00:07:15,210 --> 00:07:21,150
Statecraft. The West is now satisfied
that Chernobyl was solely the result of
54
00:07:21,150 --> 00:07:23,090
operator error, which it essentially
was.
55
00:07:23,870 --> 00:07:27,210
We have you to thank for that, and we
intend to.
56
00:07:31,630 --> 00:07:33,070
Error of the Soviet Union.
57
00:07:34,090 --> 00:07:35,490
Our highest honor.
58
00:07:36,450 --> 00:07:38,310
They haven't even given it to me.
59
00:07:39,410 --> 00:07:42,110
Promotion to director of the Kerchatov
Institute.
60
00:07:45,670 --> 00:07:46,670
I'm humbled.
61
00:07:47,830 --> 00:07:51,610
I don't think there's anything humble
about you, Valeri Alexeevich.
62
00:07:51,830 --> 00:07:53,590
These rewards are not yours yet.
63
00:07:54,470 --> 00:07:56,430
First, your testimony at the trial.
64
00:07:56,650 --> 00:08:00,130
Comrade Tarkov, I understand my duty to
the state.
65
00:08:01,450 --> 00:08:03,270
You gave us assurances.
66
00:08:03,990 --> 00:08:06,210
The reactors would be made safe.
67
00:08:06,750 --> 00:08:07,930
It's been months.
68
00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:12,600
No changes have been made, no changes
even discussed. First, the trial.
69
00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:19,140
Once it's over, we will have our
villains, we will have our hero, we will
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00:08:19,140 --> 00:08:20,140
our truth.
71
00:08:20,860 --> 00:08:23,460
After that, we can deal with our
reactors.
72
00:09:49,390 --> 00:09:50,390
Did you take a train?
73
00:09:50,730 --> 00:09:52,390
Yes, I took a train.
74
00:09:53,530 --> 00:09:55,110
Now let's talk about Vienna.
75
00:09:56,490 --> 00:09:58,030
I'm not here to scold you.
76
00:09:58,630 --> 00:10:01,930
I know how the world works, despite what
Shevina says.
77
00:10:03,450 --> 00:10:06,390
So, why are you here?
78
00:10:07,630 --> 00:10:11,390
Because I'm brutally stubborn, which you
were hoping for.
79
00:10:16,550 --> 00:10:19,770
Charkov is saying they're going to fix
the reactors after the trial.
80
00:10:21,810 --> 00:10:23,050
Do you believe him?
81
00:10:26,430 --> 00:10:30,610
The state will never willingly fix the
reactors because acknowledging the
82
00:10:30,610 --> 00:10:34,110
problem means admitting that they lied.
They will have to be forwarded.
83
00:10:41,110 --> 00:10:44,350
At the trial, you're going to tell the
truth.
84
00:10:46,350 --> 00:10:47,850
You're going to convince the jury.
85
00:10:48,570 --> 00:10:53,390
If it's a true trial, the jury's already
been handed their verdict. I'm not
86
00:10:53,390 --> 00:10:54,390
talking about them.
87
00:10:56,490 --> 00:11:01,010
The Central Committee have invited
members of the scientific community to
88
00:11:01,010 --> 00:11:02,030
observe the trial.
89
00:11:02,590 --> 00:11:07,950
Our colleagues from Kachatov, from
Sredmash, from Mininago.
90
00:11:08,370 --> 00:11:12,590
They will be sitting in the crowd
listening to every word you say. A jury
91
00:11:12,590 --> 00:11:13,710
only we know is there.
92
00:11:14,380 --> 00:11:20,540
And when your testimony arrives at the
moment of the explosion, that is when
93
00:11:20,540 --> 00:11:22,380
jury will finally hear the truth.
94
00:11:23,220 --> 00:11:24,520
And do what with it?
95
00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:26,080
Insist on reform.
96
00:11:27,780 --> 00:11:30,640
Not just for the RBMK, but the entire
industry.
97
00:11:31,060 --> 00:11:35,260
No, no, no. They can't function without
us. If we... Do you know what happened
98
00:11:35,260 --> 00:11:37,760
to Volkov, the man whose report you
found?
99
00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:42,460
They just removed him from his position
at the Institute.
100
00:11:43,560 --> 00:11:45,740
That. for the crime of knowing.
101
00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:52,420
And you think that these scientists,
hand -picked to witness a show trial,
102
00:11:52,420 --> 00:11:58,440
somehow be stirred into action by me
because of some heroic stance I take in
103
00:11:58,440 --> 00:11:59,440
defiance of the state?
104
00:11:59,860 --> 00:12:00,860
Yes.
105
00:12:01,100 --> 00:12:05,060
Why? Because you're Valery Legatov and
you mean something.
106
00:12:07,620 --> 00:12:10,140
I'd like to think that if I spoke out it
would be enough.
107
00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:13,240
But I know how the world works.
108
00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:28,000
You told me to find out what happened. I
spoke to dozens of people.
109
00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:31,700
Every word they said, I wrote down.
110
00:12:32,820 --> 00:12:33,820
All illegal.
111
00:12:35,500 --> 00:12:39,340
These are the ones who are still alive.
These are the ones who are dead. They
112
00:12:39,340 --> 00:12:44,640
died rescuing each other, putting out
fires, tending to the wounded. They
113
00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:47,960
hesitate. They didn't waver. They simply
did what had to be done.
114
00:12:48,180 --> 00:12:49,180
So have I.
115
00:12:50,220 --> 00:12:51,220
So have I.
116
00:12:53,130 --> 00:12:54,150
to an open reactor.
117
00:12:55,250 --> 00:12:57,730
So I've already given my life.
118
00:12:59,150 --> 00:13:00,150
Isn't that enough?
119
00:13:02,290 --> 00:13:04,230
No, I'm sorry, but it is not.
120
00:14:14,350 --> 00:14:17,430
The Central Committee of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union and the
121
00:14:17,430 --> 00:14:21,670
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the
USSR has determined that justice be
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00:14:21,670 --> 00:14:25,630
carried out on behalf of the people in
accordance with the general goal of our
123
00:14:25,630 --> 00:14:31,210
party, as determined by its 20th, 21st,
and 22nd Congresses, which is a Leninist
124
00:14:31,210 --> 00:14:35,350
goal. It was, is, and will be the only
immutable goal in the Soviet state.
125
00:14:35,770 --> 00:14:39,870
The path of Leninist principles shall be
consistently and undeviatingly followed
126
00:14:39,870 --> 00:14:43,130
as it expresses the vital interests of
the Soviet people.
127
00:14:43,660 --> 00:14:47,040
its hopes and aspirations as we guide
the life of the party and state.
128
00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:52,080
This session of court is now open.
Comrade Judge Milan Kadnikov presiding.
129
00:14:54,320 --> 00:15:00,940
Indictments. Victor Brukhanov, Anatoly
Dyatlov, Nikolai Samin
130
00:15:00,940 --> 00:15:06,020
are accused of violating Article 220,
Section 2 of the Criminal Code of the
131
00:15:06,020 --> 00:15:10,300
Soviet Union, resulting in a nuclear
disaster on April 26, 1986.
132
00:15:12,110 --> 00:15:16,490
The state calls witnesses Comrade
Chamyuk of the Belarusian Nuclear
133
00:15:16,770 --> 00:15:23,170
Comrade Legatov of the Kachatov
Institute of Atomic Energy, and Comrade
134
00:15:23,170 --> 00:15:29,250
Yevdokimovich Shevbina, Deputy Chairman
of the Council of Ministers and Head of
135
00:15:29,250 --> 00:15:31,070
the Bureau for Fuel and Energy.
136
00:16:06,220 --> 00:16:10,120
It began with, of all things, the safety
test.
137
00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,000
Why was there need for a safety test at
all?
138
00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:17,900
Reactor number four was not new when the
accident occurred.
139
00:16:18,660 --> 00:16:22,800
In fact, it went into operation on
December 20th, 1983.
140
00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:27,460
And 11 days later, on the last day of
the year,
141
00:16:28,580 --> 00:16:35,440
plant director Viktor Bryukhanov signed
this document, certifying...
142
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,060
the completion of the construction of
the reactor.
143
00:16:41,020 --> 00:16:44,340
As a result of finishing the work before
the end of the year,
144
00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:49,260
Comrade Brukhanov was awarded Hero of
Socialist Labor.
145
00:16:50,380 --> 00:16:53,600
Comrade Fomin was awarded for Valorous
Labor.
146
00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:58,220
Comrade Dyatlov was given an Order of
the Red Banner.
147
00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:03,020
But the work was not finished.
148
00:17:05,069 --> 00:17:08,010
This document was a lie.
149
00:17:09,609 --> 00:17:14,970
In order to sign this certificate, all
safety tests had to have been
150
00:17:14,970 --> 00:17:18,329
successfully completed, and yet one
remained.
151
00:17:21,630 --> 00:17:26,130
A nuclear reactor generates heat in the
core here.
152
00:17:26,890 --> 00:17:32,150
A series of pumps here and here send a
constant flow of cooling water through
153
00:17:32,150 --> 00:17:33,069
the core.
154
00:17:33,070 --> 00:17:37,850
The core's heat turns the water to
steam, and the steam spins the turbine
155
00:17:37,950 --> 00:17:39,250
and the result is electricity.
156
00:17:40,190 --> 00:17:43,190
But what if a power plant has no power?
157
00:17:44,810 --> 00:17:47,770
What if the power feeding the plant
itself is disrupted?
158
00:17:48,450 --> 00:17:52,950
A blackout, equipment failure, or an
attack by a foreign enemy?
159
00:17:54,010 --> 00:17:59,810
If there's no power, the pumps cannot
move water through the core, and without
160
00:17:59,810 --> 00:18:01,370
water, the core overheats.
161
00:18:01,830 --> 00:18:05,410
The fuel melts down, is short, a nuclear
disaster.
162
00:18:05,830 --> 00:18:10,910
The solution, three diesel fuel backup
generators here.
163
00:18:11,410 --> 00:18:12,990
So, problem solved.
164
00:18:13,690 --> 00:18:18,270
Now, Brichano knew that the problem was
not solved at all.
165
00:18:18,530 --> 00:18:23,350
The backup generators took approximately
one minute to reach the speed required
166
00:18:23,350 --> 00:18:26,370
to power the pumps and prevent a
meltdown.
167
00:18:26,670 --> 00:18:29,510
And by that time, it would be too late.
168
00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:32,680
So we arrived at the safety test.
169
00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:36,240
The theory was this.
170
00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:41,200
If the facility lost power, the turbine,
which had been spinning, would take
171
00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:42,620
some time to slow down and stop.
172
00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:48,720
What if you could take the electricity
it was still generating and transfer it
173
00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:52,860
to the pumps? What if the dying turbine
could keep the pumps working long enough
174
00:18:52,860 --> 00:18:57,060
to bridge the 60 -second gap until the
generators came on?
175
00:19:02,670 --> 00:19:03,670
Any questions?
176
00:19:05,110 --> 00:19:06,110
No.
177
00:19:06,990 --> 00:19:08,170
Continue, please.
178
00:19:09,930 --> 00:19:16,210
To test this theory, the reactor is
placed in a reduced power mode, 700
179
00:19:16,210 --> 00:19:19,030
megawatts, to simulate a blackout
condition.
180
00:19:19,830 --> 00:19:24,950
Then the turbines are turned off, and as
they slowly spin down, their electrical
181
00:19:24,950 --> 00:19:28,790
output is measured to see if it's enough
to power the pumps.
182
00:19:29,470 --> 00:19:30,810
The science is strong.
183
00:19:32,270 --> 00:19:36,630
But a test is only as good as the men
carrying it out.
184
00:19:38,150 --> 00:19:41,230
The first time they tried, they failed.
185
00:19:41,710 --> 00:19:44,110
The second time they tried, they failed.
186
00:19:44,530 --> 00:19:46,990
The third time they tried, they failed.
187
00:19:47,590 --> 00:19:53,430
The fourth time they tried was April 26,
1986.
188
00:20:06,570 --> 00:20:07,670
Comrade Hamyuk.
189
00:20:27,650 --> 00:20:34,490
To understand what happened that night,
we have
190
00:20:34,490 --> 00:20:35,910
to go back ten hours earlier.
191
00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:38,940
April 25th, the day the test was meant
to take place.
192
00:20:39,460 --> 00:20:44,240
By 2 in the afternoon, the reactor had
been lowered by half from its normal
193
00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:49,480
output level of 3 ,200 megawatts to 1
,600 megawatts and is stable and ready
194
00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:53,040
be reduced to its final output level for
the test, 700 megawatts.
195
00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:57,580
But before they can proceed, there is a
phone call.
196
00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:03,260
Power grid officials in Kiev say that
they cannot afford a further reduction
197
00:21:03,260 --> 00:21:05,020
electricity until after midnight.
198
00:21:05,580 --> 00:21:07,320
They are asking for a 10 -hour delay.
199
00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,800
This is the first critical moment, the
first link in the chain of disaster.
200
00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:16,920
Competent management would have insisted
on cancelling the test.
201
00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:20,640
These three men allowed it to proceed.
202
00:21:22,780 --> 00:21:24,480
Why was this delay so dangerous?
203
00:21:25,100 --> 00:21:26,660
It created two problems.
204
00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:33,200
One of them is scientific in nature, and
the other is very human.
205
00:21:34,540 --> 00:21:36,320
This is the one we will consider first.
206
00:21:37,360 --> 00:21:41,100
At midnight, there is a shift change.
207
00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:59,480
Look at it. Find another fool.
208
00:22:00,100 --> 00:22:01,059
Stopped enough.
209
00:22:01,060 --> 00:22:02,060
Want to buy a motorcycle?
210
00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:03,640
Stopped enough.
211
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,820
That's it, the little boy. He's got more
hair on his face than on his balls.
212
00:22:07,060 --> 00:22:09,060
Yeah, that was on his lip.
213
00:22:11,420 --> 00:22:12,420
Leonid Fedorovich,
214
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,560
the chemo specialist will come to the
control room as soon as you can.
215
00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:16,819
Are you already here?
216
00:22:16,820 --> 00:22:17,820
Came in early.
217
00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:19,080
Something about a tap.
218
00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:37,760
Sasha. You know the test they're
supposed to run?
219
00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:40,860
The turbine run -down, they tried it
last year.
220
00:22:41,700 --> 00:22:44,100
They couldn't do it on the day shift, so
they've given it to us.
221
00:22:45,100 --> 00:22:46,100
To us?
222
00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:50,340
We don't know what... We don't know what
it is.
223
00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:51,680
It's fine.
224
00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:55,240
We take it down to 700, hold it there,
rest of the study at your concussion
225
00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:59,000
bound, but... You know, love is going to
be supervising.
226
00:23:00,170 --> 00:23:02,770
I have to do something I've never done
before with Dyatlov looking over my
227
00:23:02,770 --> 00:23:03,830
shoulder. Oh, don't worry.
228
00:23:04,170 --> 00:23:05,170
We'll do it together.
229
00:23:05,930 --> 00:23:07,430
I'm clicking the instructions now.
230
00:23:09,290 --> 00:23:10,710
Are we supposed to do those or not?
231
00:23:20,090 --> 00:23:21,850
Yes, this is Akimov from 4.
232
00:23:23,330 --> 00:23:26,070
I have the manual for the run -down
test.
233
00:23:26,930 --> 00:23:28,370
You did it last year, aren't you?
234
00:23:29,580 --> 00:23:33,520
Yes, in the program there's instructions
of what to do and then there's a lot of
235
00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:38,380
things crossed out. What should I...
What should I...
236
00:23:38,380 --> 00:23:41,640
Are you sure?
237
00:23:43,540 --> 00:23:44,540
Right.
238
00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:45,800
Thank you.
239
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,000
He says to follow the crossed out
instructions.
240
00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:51,080
Then why are they crossed out?
241
00:23:58,830 --> 00:24:00,010
I've been cleared to run the test.
242
00:24:01,050 --> 00:24:02,290
1 ,600. Good.
243
00:24:03,910 --> 00:24:06,170
Is it too much to ask that you all know
what you're doing?
244
00:24:06,410 --> 00:24:07,410
Well, yes.
245
00:24:07,430 --> 00:24:08,430
Absolutely.
246
00:24:09,930 --> 00:24:10,749
Delia Chook?
247
00:24:10,750 --> 00:24:11,890
Yes. Kirsten Baum?
248
00:24:12,390 --> 00:24:15,650
I haven't reviewed. We only just found
out. There.
249
00:24:16,550 --> 00:24:17,550
Review it.
250
00:24:17,570 --> 00:24:19,110
Or you can just do what I tell you.
251
00:24:19,670 --> 00:24:21,990
Being even you, stupid as you are, can
manage that.
252
00:24:23,490 --> 00:24:24,490
Well, let's go.
253
00:24:28,780 --> 00:24:30,860
Switch the turbine off while the
reactor's still running.
254
00:24:31,340 --> 00:24:34,740
Is this not good? Shut the fuck up and
do your job.
255
00:24:36,060 --> 00:24:37,060
Topton off.
256
00:24:37,420 --> 00:24:38,580
Reduce power to 700.
257
00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:44,480
I've never done this with the power so
low before. It's okay, I'm with you.
258
00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:51,880
Reducing power to 700.
259
00:24:53,580 --> 00:24:55,580
I want you to think of Yuri Gagarin.
260
00:24:58,060 --> 00:25:02,100
I want you to imagine that he has been
told nothing of his mission into space
261
00:25:02,100 --> 00:25:04,060
until the moment that he is on the
launch pad.
262
00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:08,460
I want you to imagine that all he has is
a list of instructions that he has
263
00:25:08,460 --> 00:25:11,300
never seen before, some of which have
been crossed out.
264
00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:15,780
This is exactly what was happening in
the control room of Reactor 4.
265
00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:19,760
The night shift had not been trained to
perform the experiment. They hadn't even
266
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:20,760
been warned it was happening.
267
00:25:22,060 --> 00:25:26,440
Leonid Toktunov, the operator
responsible for controlling...
268
00:25:26,970 --> 00:25:28,690
and stabilizing the reactor that night.
269
00:25:29,950 --> 00:25:32,310
All of 25 years old.
270
00:25:33,610 --> 00:25:35,670
And his total experience on the job?
271
00:25:36,830 --> 00:25:37,830
Four months.
272
00:25:39,710 --> 00:25:42,330
This is the human problem created by the
delay.
273
00:25:43,770 --> 00:25:48,430
But inside the reactor core, in the
space between the atoms themselves,
274
00:25:49,010 --> 00:25:51,610
something far more dangerous is forming.
275
00:25:51,850 --> 00:25:52,850
A poison.
276
00:25:55,310 --> 00:25:56,910
The time is 28 past midnight.
277
00:26:16,050 --> 00:26:17,190
Comrade Legasov.
278
00:26:55,050 --> 00:26:59,430
I'm pleased to see some of my colleagues
here from the Kurchatov Institute and
279
00:26:59,430 --> 00:27:00,430
Menenegro.
280
00:27:01,830 --> 00:27:05,290
But you don't need to be a nuclear
scientist to understand what happened at
281
00:27:05,290 --> 00:27:06,290
Chernobyl.
282
00:27:06,710 --> 00:27:08,270
You only need to know this.
283
00:27:08,770 --> 00:27:13,590
There are essentially two things that
happen inside a nuclear reactor.
284
00:27:14,190 --> 00:27:19,910
The reactivity which generates power
either goes up or it goes down.
285
00:27:20,710 --> 00:27:21,710
That's it.
286
00:27:22,540 --> 00:27:25,220
All the operators do is maintain
balance.
287
00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:29,600
Uranium fuel.
288
00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:37,940
As uranium atoms split apart and
collide, reactivity goes up. But if you
289
00:27:37,940 --> 00:27:40,460
balance the reactivity, it never stops
rising.
290
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:45,020
So, boron control rods.
291
00:27:45,740 --> 00:27:49,980
They reduce reactivity like brakes on a
car.
292
00:27:52,330 --> 00:27:55,710
But there's a third factor to consider,
water.
293
00:27:57,410 --> 00:28:02,170
Cool water takes heat out of the system.
As it does, it turns to steam or what
294
00:28:02,170 --> 00:28:03,170
we call a void.
295
00:28:03,410 --> 00:28:08,630
In an RBMK reactor of the type used at
Chernobyl, there's something called a
296
00:28:08,630 --> 00:28:10,510
positive void coefficient.
297
00:28:11,150 --> 00:28:12,170
What does that mean?
298
00:28:12,990 --> 00:28:18,430
It means that the more steam present
within the system, the higher the
299
00:28:18,430 --> 00:28:25,160
reactivity. which means more heat, which
means more steam, which means, it would
300
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,940
appear we have a vicious cycle on our
hands.
301
00:28:28,220 --> 00:28:31,200
And we would, were it not for this.
302
00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:42,000
And we would, were it not for this,
303
00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,700
the negative temperature coefficient.
304
00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:50,610
When nuclear fuel gets hotter, It gets
less reactive.
305
00:28:51,070 --> 00:28:55,070
So, fuel increases reactivity.
306
00:28:55,730 --> 00:28:58,530
Control rods and water reduce it.
307
00:28:58,870 --> 00:29:00,930
Steam increases it.
308
00:29:01,410 --> 00:29:03,790
The rise in temperature reduces it.
309
00:29:05,350 --> 00:29:11,570
This is the invisible dance that powers
entire cities without smoke or flame.
310
00:29:12,010 --> 00:29:16,990
And it is beautiful when things are
normal.
311
00:29:18,890 --> 00:29:23,950
As uranium splits apart to release
energy, it breaks down into a new
312
00:29:24,250 --> 00:29:25,250
xenon.
313
00:29:25,650 --> 00:29:27,790
Xenon reduces reactivity.
314
00:29:28,270 --> 00:29:30,790
This is the poison Comrade Homyuk
mentioned.
315
00:29:31,810 --> 00:29:36,170
When the core is running at full power,
it burns the xenon away before it can
316
00:29:36,170 --> 00:29:42,350
cause a problem. But because of the
delay, Chernobyl reactor 4 has been held
317
00:29:42,350 --> 00:29:44,170
half power for 10 hours.
318
00:29:44,650 --> 00:29:46,950
The xenon did not burn away.
319
00:29:48,940 --> 00:29:51,860
It built up, poisoning the core.
320
00:29:53,260 --> 00:29:55,000
We're starting to lose balance.
321
00:29:56,040 --> 00:30:02,000
At 28 minutes past midnight, the reactor
is now primed to slow down.
322
00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:06,060
And yet, in less than an hour, it will
explode.
323
00:30:07,020 --> 00:30:11,440
If you can't understand how a stalled
nuclear reactor could lead to an
324
00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:12,820
explosion, I don't blame you.
325
00:30:13,060 --> 00:30:16,840
After all, you don't work in the control
room of a nuclear power plant.
326
00:30:18,810 --> 00:30:24,270
As it turned out, the men who did didn't
understand it either.
327
00:30:30,750 --> 00:30:31,750
Easy now.
328
00:30:32,390 --> 00:30:33,390
Take it down.
329
00:30:34,550 --> 00:30:36,210
Good. Like that.
330
00:30:36,510 --> 00:30:37,830
It's going to finish by now.
331
00:30:38,150 --> 00:30:41,330
We're following protocol for reduction
rate. You're procrastinating.
332
00:30:42,090 --> 00:30:44,390
Ten other men in this plant would have
done it already.
333
00:30:56,629 --> 00:30:59,570
Kirsten Baum, come get me when these old
women are ready.
334
00:31:00,150 --> 00:31:01,290
Yes, Comrade Dyatlov.
335
00:31:20,930 --> 00:31:25,210
Okay, very slow now. Let's ease it down
to 700.
336
00:31:28,500 --> 00:31:29,500
Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow.
337
00:31:29,860 --> 00:31:31,280
I didn't move any rods there.
338
00:31:41,380 --> 00:31:42,380
What is this?
339
00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:44,320
I'm not even touching it.
340
00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:12,920
Did everything right to think that maybe
the core is poison? Well, if you
341
00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:15,600
thought the core was poison, then you
didn't do everything right because
342
00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:17,700
choking my reactor. Get it back up!
343
00:32:17,980 --> 00:32:21,640
I think we could turn off LAC if it may
be possible to get more control.
344
00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:23,160
Do it. Go.
345
00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:25,860
Switch off local automatic control. Go
to global.
346
00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:29,060
LAC disabled.
347
00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:30,400
Global control activated.
348
00:32:36,260 --> 00:32:37,320
What did you do?
349
00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:41,360
I did what you said. I switched... Look
at it!
350
00:32:42,700 --> 00:32:43,700
I don't understand.
351
00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:46,420
Fucking amateurs. You stole the reactor.
352
00:32:47,100 --> 00:32:48,980
How the fuck did you get this job?
353
00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:51,760
Comrade, the antler. You're going to
tell me that you did everything right
354
00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:53,260
again, you incompetent arsehole.
355
00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:55,680
I apologize for this unsatisfactory
result.
356
00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:03,120
What are you doing?
357
00:33:03,620 --> 00:33:05,060
We have to shut all the way down.
358
00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:07,360
No. We could be in a xenon pit.
359
00:33:07,740 --> 00:33:10,880
We have to shut down and wait 24 hours.
No, we're doing the test tonight. Raise
360
00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:11,879
power to 700.
361
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:13,000
We can't raise the power from here.
362
00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:14,620
Don't talk to me about rules.
363
00:33:14,860 --> 00:33:20,260
No, no, we fell from 50 % of power. The
rules don't say 50. There is no rule.
364
00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:25,020
Comrade Diadlov, I apologise, but what
you're saying makes no sense. Raise the
365
00:33:25,020 --> 00:33:26,220
power. No.
366
00:33:28,140 --> 00:33:29,480
I won't do it. It isn't safe.
367
00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:40,280
Safety first.
368
00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:42,120
Always.
369
00:33:42,860 --> 00:33:44,580
I've been saying that for 25 years.
370
00:33:45,260 --> 00:33:48,640
That's how long I've done this job. 25
years. Is that longer than you, Akimov?
371
00:33:49,500 --> 00:33:50,720
Yes. Is it much longer?
372
00:33:51,340 --> 00:33:54,480
Yes. And you with your mother's tip
early out of your mouth?
373
00:33:57,450 --> 00:34:01,270
See, if I say it's safe, it's safe. And
if the two of you disagree, then you
374
00:34:01,270 --> 00:34:04,590
don't have to work here, and you won't.
But not just here. You won't work at
375
00:34:04,590 --> 00:34:08,590
Kursk or Ignalina or Leningrad or Novo
Voronezh. You won't work anywhere.
376
00:34:09,110 --> 00:34:10,530
Ever again, I'll see to it.
377
00:34:11,110 --> 00:34:13,389
I think you know I will see to it.
378
00:34:15,110 --> 00:34:16,110
Raise the power.
379
00:34:19,810 --> 00:34:21,610
I would like you to record your command.
380
00:34:22,790 --> 00:34:23,790
Raise the power.
381
00:34:44,909 --> 00:34:46,150
I wasn't even there.
382
00:34:47,489 --> 00:34:48,489
What?
383
00:34:50,670 --> 00:34:53,210
I wasn't in the room when they raised
the power.
384
00:34:54,130 --> 00:34:58,690
If you weren't there, then where were
you? You are a witness, not a
385
00:34:58,750 --> 00:35:00,030
I will ask the questions here.
386
00:35:01,550 --> 00:35:03,390
If you weren't in the room, then where
were you?
387
00:35:06,190 --> 00:35:07,190
The toilet.
388
00:35:09,270 --> 00:35:10,270
The toilet.
389
00:35:12,700 --> 00:35:15,940
Comrade Khamyuk interviewed everyone who
was in the control room that night.
390
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:17,240
They all told the same story.
391
00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:23,260
I knew what Dyatlov ordered was wrong.
392
00:35:23,780 --> 00:35:26,180
But if I didn't do what he said, I would
be fired.
393
00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:28,260
Leonid Toptunov.
394
00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:31,420
One day before he died.
395
00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:34,560
No, Comrade Dyatlov, you were in the
room.
396
00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:37,140
You ordered them to raise the power.
This is a fact.
397
00:35:47,630 --> 00:35:49,150
Course is now in recess.
398
00:35:49,430 --> 00:35:50,430
30 minutes.
399
00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:36,800
Do you know anything about this town,
Chernobyl?
400
00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:39,720
Not really, no.
401
00:36:41,180 --> 00:36:43,660
It was mostly Jews and Poles.
402
00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:49,060
The Jews were killed in pogroms and
Stalin forced the Poles out.
403
00:36:49,780 --> 00:36:52,940
And then the Nazis came and killed
whoever was left.
404
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:58,360
After the war, people came to live here
anyway.
405
00:36:59,780 --> 00:37:02,140
They knew the ground under their feet.
406
00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:04,700
Choked in blood, but they didn't care.
407
00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:08,880
Dead Jews, dead Poles.
408
00:37:09,940 --> 00:37:10,940
But not them.
409
00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:16,700
No one ever thinks it's going to happen
to them.
410
00:37:18,940 --> 00:37:19,980
And here we are.
411
00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:30,960
Well, it's time.
412
00:37:32,460 --> 00:37:33,460
Maybe a year.
413
00:37:34,380 --> 00:37:41,020
They call it a... They call it a long
illness. It doesn't seem very long to
414
00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:44,440
I know you told me and I believed you.
415
00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:49,840
But time passed and I thought it
wouldn't happen to me.
416
00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:52,360
I wasted it.
417
00:37:53,380 --> 00:37:55,240
I wasted it all for nothing.
418
00:37:57,820 --> 00:37:58,820
For nothing.
419
00:38:00,780 --> 00:38:03,040
Do you remember that morning when I
first called you?
420
00:38:03,260 --> 00:38:04,840
How unconcerned I was.
421
00:38:05,300 --> 00:38:08,920
I don't believe much that comes out of
the Kremlin, but when they told me they
422
00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:14,240
were putting me in charge of the
cleanup, they said it wasn't serious. I
423
00:38:14,240 --> 00:38:15,240
believed them.
424
00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:17,880
You know why?
425
00:38:19,780 --> 00:38:21,360
Because they put you in charge.
426
00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:28,860
I'm an inconsequential man, Valera.
427
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:31,040
That's all I've ever been.
428
00:38:32,720 --> 00:38:35,300
I hoped that one day I would matter, but
I didn't.
429
00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:40,680
I just stood next to people who did.
430
00:38:43,260 --> 00:38:45,300
There are other scientists like me.
431
00:38:45,780 --> 00:38:47,820
Any one of them could have done what I
did.
432
00:38:48,140 --> 00:38:54,120
With you, everything we asked for,
everything we needed.
433
00:38:55,760 --> 00:38:59,200
Men, material, lunar rovers.
434
00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:08,620
They heard me, but they listened to you.
435
00:39:09,940 --> 00:39:16,520
Of all the ministers and all the
deputies, the entire congregation of
436
00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:21,340
fools, they mistakenly sent the one good
man.
437
00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:23,820
God's sakes, Boris.
438
00:39:25,340 --> 00:39:27,220
You were the one who mattered most.
439
00:40:35,240 --> 00:40:36,240
Comrade Legasov.
440
00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:51,140
The time is 38 past midnight.
441
00:40:52,140 --> 00:40:53,820
The reactor is nearly shut down.
442
00:40:54,660 --> 00:40:58,540
The operators of reactor 4 are locked in
a path that leads directly to disaster.
443
00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:00,740
There's no way to turn back.
444
00:41:01,340 --> 00:41:03,520
They do not yet know it, but the dive
comes.
445
00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:09,980
At 30 megawatts, xenon is still being
created, but none of it is burning away.
446
00:41:12,220 --> 00:41:14,480
The reactor is drowning in poison.
447
00:41:14,880 --> 00:41:20,840
To make matters worse, the reactor isn't
hot enough to produce sufficient steam.
448
00:41:23,060 --> 00:41:28,280
The only way to safely raise power from
this state is to do it very, very slowly
449
00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:30,600
over the course of 24 hours.
450
00:41:31,140 --> 00:41:33,380
The Atlas wants it done now.
451
00:41:34,540 --> 00:41:37,640
Akimov and Toptunov have only one course
of action.
452
00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:41,000
They begin pulling control rods out.
453
00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:42,820
Dozens at a time.
454
00:41:43,220 --> 00:41:45,320
Halfway out, three quarters of the way
out.
455
00:41:45,880 --> 00:41:50,740
Still, the power does not budge. So they
begin pulling them all the way out.
456
00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:54,740
There were 211 control rods in reactor
4.
457
00:41:55,560 --> 00:42:02,380
Akimov and Toptunov completely withdrew
205. Remember, control rods...
458
00:42:02,640 --> 00:42:03,920
are the brakes on this car.
459
00:42:04,500 --> 00:42:11,120
Of 211 rods, only six now remain in the
reactor.
460
00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:18,620
As for the fuel, it's gone cold, so the
negative temperature curve is no longer
461
00:42:18,620 --> 00:42:20,160
weighing down the reactivity.
462
00:42:20,460 --> 00:42:26,040
But even still, the xenon poisoning is
so strong, the best they can do is raise
463
00:42:26,040 --> 00:42:27,880
the power to 200 megawatts.
464
00:42:29,200 --> 00:42:30,940
The control rods are out.
465
00:42:31,610 --> 00:42:35,570
The emergency system has been
disconnected. The only thing keeping the
466
00:42:35,570 --> 00:42:38,490
in check is water and xenon.
467
00:42:38,990 --> 00:42:40,210
It's one in the morning.
468
00:42:40,470 --> 00:42:42,570
The task is minutes away.
469
00:43:17,640 --> 00:43:18,519
I'm sorry.
470
00:43:18,520 --> 00:43:19,520
This is all we can get.
471
00:43:20,160 --> 00:43:22,500
It's 200 megawatts. We've pulled almost
everything out.
472
00:43:23,380 --> 00:43:24,660
That's all we have. That's all we have.
473
00:43:25,240 --> 00:43:26,800
But the test requires 700.
474
00:43:27,580 --> 00:43:30,360
Steliachuk, let's get ready. Switch on
pump four. No, wait a second.
475
00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:33,740
Steliachuk. We have barely enough steam
as it is. The turbine is going too slow
476
00:43:33,740 --> 00:43:36,800
for the test to deliver any valid
results. And if we add more water, there
477
00:43:36,800 --> 00:43:39,520
be even less. I said it's enough. I know
what I'm doing. Steliachuk.
478
00:43:45,780 --> 00:43:46,940
Main pump four connected.
479
00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:49,960
I wish you one heard him, Chu. The pipes
are going to be jumping. Never mind
480
00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:50,960
him. Curtain bomb.
481
00:43:54,260 --> 00:43:57,820
The steam in the separated drum is too
low. Five atmospheres. All right, let's
482
00:43:57,820 --> 00:43:59,280
all help him. Get it up and spread the
gas.
483
00:44:04,180 --> 00:44:05,180
We stop.
484
00:44:05,980 --> 00:44:07,280
Turn that fucking thing off.
485
00:44:08,720 --> 00:44:09,880
You have 15 minutes.
486
00:44:12,360 --> 00:44:13,360
15 minutes.
487
00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:16,500
They may as well have had 15 days.
488
00:44:17,450 --> 00:44:21,970
The problem they were facing was not
solvable. The power was too low. The
489
00:44:21,970 --> 00:44:24,350
was too high. The test was already
ruined.
490
00:44:24,550 --> 00:44:25,970
The results would have been useless.
491
00:44:26,190 --> 00:44:27,410
But Dyatlov didn't care.
492
00:44:27,730 --> 00:44:30,310
All he wanted to do was report a
completed test.
493
00:44:32,050 --> 00:44:34,250
1 .22 a .m.
494
00:44:34,830 --> 00:44:36,350
Less than two minutes remain.
495
00:44:38,530 --> 00:44:42,130
Yushchenko, a mechanical engineer, is in
his office.
496
00:44:46,590 --> 00:44:51,370
Baravozchenko, reactor section foreman,
is in the refueling hall, high above the
497
00:44:51,370 --> 00:44:53,710
1 ,000 -ton steel reactor cover.
498
00:44:56,970 --> 00:45:01,170
Dziktayevko, Kudetuk, circulation
operators are in the pump room.
499
00:45:03,530 --> 00:45:06,250
None of them have been told about the
tech.
500
00:45:06,710 --> 00:45:08,750
None of them know what is about to
happen.
501
00:45:09,470 --> 00:45:14,870
At 1 .22 and 30 seconds, Toktunov sees a
report.
502
00:45:15,600 --> 00:45:17,860
from the reactor's SCALA computer
system.
503
00:45:19,540 --> 00:45:24,360
Based on the absence of sufficient
control rods, the computer is
504
00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:25,940
that the reactor be shut down.
505
00:45:32,060 --> 00:45:34,560
Well, of course it's saying that. It
doesn't know we're running a test.
506
00:45:36,640 --> 00:45:37,640
All right, comrades.
507
00:45:39,480 --> 00:45:41,820
Another few minutes and we'll all be
over.
508
00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:43,440
Attention bound when you're ready.
509
00:45:44,810 --> 00:45:45,810
We did everything right.
510
00:45:48,610 --> 00:45:49,610
Still a graph on?
511
00:45:52,050 --> 00:45:53,590
Closing number 8, throttle valve.
512
00:45:55,110 --> 00:45:56,530
Generator rotor beginning run down.
513
00:45:56,870 --> 00:45:59,410
1 .23 and 4 seconds.
514
00:46:00,270 --> 00:46:04,070
With every decision, they have pulled
this reactor back like a slingshot,
515
00:46:04,250 --> 00:46:06,250
further than anyone has ever pulled.
516
00:46:06,830 --> 00:46:08,110
Now the test begins.
517
00:46:08,910 --> 00:46:11,610
The pumps are shut down, and they've let
go.
518
00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:17,580
The pumps stop moving water through the
reactor.
519
00:46:18,680 --> 00:46:23,360
Uranium fuel is now unchecked by fresh
coolant, unchecked by control rods.
520
00:46:23,600 --> 00:46:28,100
The balance immediately swings in the
opposite direction. In less than a
521
00:46:28,260 --> 00:46:29,700
reactivity increases.
522
00:46:31,300 --> 00:46:36,020
Inside the core, the remaining water is
quickly converting to steam. A void is
523
00:46:36,020 --> 00:46:37,020
being created.
524
00:46:37,220 --> 00:46:39,540
There is no fresh water to replace it.
525
00:46:40,120 --> 00:46:44,100
Steam increases reactivity, increases
heat.
526
00:46:44,910 --> 00:46:47,870
Increases steam, increases reactivity.
527
00:46:49,270 --> 00:46:52,250
The remaining xenon decays away.
528
00:46:53,650 --> 00:46:55,330
The power is rising.
529
00:46:57,590 --> 00:46:59,210
There's nothing left to stop it.
530
00:47:00,410 --> 00:47:03,710
One, twenty -three, and thirty -five
minutes.
531
00:47:07,190 --> 00:47:09,110
We have a power surge, Sasha!
532
00:47:14,700 --> 00:47:15,820
What did you do?
533
00:47:16,320 --> 00:47:19,540
1, 23, and 40 seconds.
534
00:47:27,620 --> 00:47:31,420
In every control room of every nuclear
reactor in the world, there is a button
535
00:47:31,420 --> 00:47:32,980
with one single purpose.
536
00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:37,020
Scram or instantly shut down the
reaction.
537
00:47:37,300 --> 00:47:40,540
In Soviet reactors, that button is
called AZ -5.
538
00:47:41,280 --> 00:47:43,220
You press AZ -5.
539
00:47:43,900 --> 00:47:49,440
All of the control rods insert at once
and the reaction is stopped dead.
540
00:47:50,860 --> 00:47:51,480
But...
541
00:47:51,480 --> 00:47:58,580
What
542
00:47:58,580 --> 00:47:59,740
are you waiting for, Legato?
543
00:48:00,780 --> 00:48:04,040
Tell your lies. Comrade Dyatlov, you
will not be warned again.
544
00:48:04,260 --> 00:48:04,839
Or what?
545
00:48:04,840 --> 00:48:08,720
For God's sake, Comrade Dyatlov.
Legasov's already given it away. He said
546
00:48:08,720 --> 00:48:12,120
Saul... Comrade Dyatlov. There was no
way to avoid what was coming. He knows
547
00:48:12,120 --> 00:48:14,520
something. Comrade Dyatlov. He knows
something.
548
00:48:15,500 --> 00:48:18,960
I know what you are, Valerian
Alexievich. You're a liar.
549
00:48:19,420 --> 00:48:20,660
We've heard enough for today.
550
00:48:21,940 --> 00:48:24,600
The defendants will be remanded in
custody.
551
00:48:25,160 --> 00:48:27,180
Court will... I haven't finished.
552
00:48:28,560 --> 00:48:30,040
You'll have more evidence again.
553
00:48:30,730 --> 00:48:34,370
It's not necessary. Your testimony is
concluded, Your Honor.
554
00:48:34,590 --> 00:48:36,710
Court is now adjourned.
555
00:48:36,990 --> 00:48:38,590
We will resume tomorrow.
556
00:48:38,870 --> 00:48:39,870
Then finish.
557
00:48:42,010 --> 00:48:43,110
Comrade Sabino.
558
00:48:45,830 --> 00:48:46,830
Then finish.
559
00:49:13,290 --> 00:49:14,530
broke every rule we have.
560
00:49:16,630 --> 00:49:21,110
He pushed the reactor to the brink of
destruction.
561
00:49:25,870 --> 00:49:28,710
He did these things believing there was
a fail -safe.
562
00:49:28,930 --> 00:49:34,590
AZ -5, a simple button to shut it all
down. But in the circumstances he
563
00:49:34,770 --> 00:49:36,270
there wasn't.
564
00:49:36,730 --> 00:49:40,130
The shutdown system had a fatal flaw.
565
00:49:42,410 --> 00:49:47,490
At 1 .2340, a chemoth engages AZ -5.
566
00:49:55,110 --> 00:49:58,850
The fully withdrawn control rods begin
moving back into the reactor.
567
00:49:59,190 --> 00:50:03,310
These rods are made of boron, which
reduces reactivity, but not the tip.
568
00:50:03,950 --> 00:50:08,550
The tip are made of graphite, which
accelerates reactivity.
569
00:50:08,870 --> 00:50:09,870
Why?
570
00:50:18,760 --> 00:50:23,060
For the same reason our reactors do not
have containment buildings around them,
571
00:50:23,180 --> 00:50:29,000
like those in the West. For the same
reason we don't use properly enriched
572
00:50:29,000 --> 00:50:29,959
in our cores.
573
00:50:29,960 --> 00:50:35,120
For the same reason we are the only
nation that builds water -cooled,
574
00:50:35,120 --> 00:50:38,960
-moderated reactors with a positive void
coefficient.
575
00:50:41,080 --> 00:50:42,080
It's cheaper.
576
00:50:49,160 --> 00:50:53,720
The first part of the rods that enter
the core are the graphite pits, and when
577
00:50:53,720 --> 00:50:57,560
they do, the reaction in the core, which
had been rising, skyrockets.
578
00:50:58,380 --> 00:51:04,260
Every last molecule of liquid water
instantly converts to steam, which
579
00:51:04,260 --> 00:51:09,080
and ruptures a series of fuel rod
channels. The control rods in those
580
00:51:09,080 --> 00:51:10,260
can move no further.
581
00:51:10,820 --> 00:51:15,940
The graphite pits are fixed in position,
endlessly accelerating the reaction.
582
00:51:16,700 --> 00:51:18,340
Chernobyl reactor 4.
583
00:51:18,960 --> 00:51:20,440
is now a nuclear bomb.
584
00:51:20,840 --> 00:51:22,700
1 .23 .42.
585
00:51:24,060 --> 00:51:28,600
Korovochenko looks down on the enormous
steel lid of the reactor and sees the
586
00:51:28,600 --> 00:51:32,820
impossible. The control rod and fuel
channel caps, which each weigh 350
587
00:51:32,820 --> 00:51:35,060
kilograms, are jumping up and down.
588
00:51:35,800 --> 00:51:40,800
He runs to warn the control rod, but
there's nothing he can do to stop what
589
00:51:40,800 --> 00:51:43,240
coming. 1 .23 .44.
590
00:51:44,300 --> 00:51:47,140
The steam blows more fuel channels
apart.
591
00:51:48,560 --> 00:51:52,080
We do not know how high the power went.
We only know the final reading.
592
00:51:54,460 --> 00:52:01,260
Reactor 4, designed to operate at 3200
megawatts, went beyond 33
593
00:52:01,260 --> 00:52:02,260
,000.
594
00:52:07,460 --> 00:52:11,420
The pressure inside the core can no
longer be held back.
595
00:52:11,920 --> 00:52:15,900
At long last we have arrived at 12345.
596
00:52:19,600 --> 00:52:24,800
In the instant the lid is thrown off the
reactor, oxygen rushes. It combines
597
00:52:24,800 --> 00:52:27,800
with hydrogen and superheated graphite.
598
00:52:29,400 --> 00:52:32,460
The chain of disaster is now complete.
599
00:53:14,480 --> 00:53:20,400
No one in the room that night knew the
shutdown button could act as a
600
00:53:22,160 --> 00:53:23,460
They didn't know it.
601
00:53:25,200 --> 00:53:26,940
Because it was kept from them.
602
00:53:27,460 --> 00:53:31,920
Comrade Legasov, you're contradicting
your own testimony in Vienna.
603
00:53:32,440 --> 00:53:34,300
My testimony in Vienna was a lie.
604
00:53:35,800 --> 00:53:38,200
I lied to the world.
605
00:53:39,000 --> 00:53:42,100
I'm not the only one who kept the
secrets. There are many.
606
00:53:43,850 --> 00:53:49,070
The following order from the KGB, from
the Central Committee, and right now
607
00:53:49,070 --> 00:53:52,610
there are 16 reactors in the Soviet
Union with the same fatal flaw.
608
00:53:53,470 --> 00:53:57,890
Three of them are still running, less
than 20 kilometers away at Chernobyl.
609
00:53:58,190 --> 00:54:03,450
Mr. Legasov, if you mean to suggest the
Soviet state is somehow responsible for
610
00:54:03,450 --> 00:54:06,730
what happened, then I must warn you, you
are treading on dangerous ground.
611
00:54:07,250 --> 00:54:10,910
I've already trod on dangerous ground.
We're on dangerous ground right now
612
00:54:10,910 --> 00:54:13,110
because of our secrets and our lies.
613
00:54:14,030 --> 00:54:15,890
They're practically what define us.
614
00:54:16,990 --> 00:54:22,370
When the truth offends we we lie and lie
until we can no longer remember it is
615
00:54:22,370 --> 00:54:24,430
even there but it is still there.
616
00:54:27,930 --> 00:54:31,810
Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the
truth.
617
00:54:34,590 --> 00:54:36,530
Sooner or later that debt is paid.
618
00:54:41,450 --> 00:54:42,450
That is how
619
00:54:43,790 --> 00:54:46,170
An RBMK reactor core explodes.
620
00:54:50,430 --> 00:54:51,430
LIE!
621
00:56:56,830 --> 00:56:58,590
Valery Alexievich Legasov.
622
00:57:00,030 --> 00:57:02,010
Son of Alexei Legasov.
623
00:57:02,290 --> 00:57:04,810
Head of Ideological Compliance, Central
Committee.
624
00:57:05,790 --> 00:57:07,370
Do you know your father did that?
625
00:57:07,870 --> 00:57:08,870
Yes.
626
00:57:10,090 --> 00:57:13,150
As a student, you had a leadership
position in Komsomol.
627
00:57:13,590 --> 00:57:15,030
Communist youth, correct?
628
00:57:16,830 --> 00:57:18,710
You already know. Answer the question.
629
00:57:19,330 --> 00:57:20,330
Yes.
630
00:57:22,210 --> 00:57:23,650
At the Kachatov Institute.
631
00:57:24,650 --> 00:57:26,230
You were the Communist Party secretary.
632
00:57:27,170 --> 00:57:30,470
In that position, you limited the
promotion of Jewish scientists.
633
00:57:35,970 --> 00:57:36,970
Yes.
634
00:57:37,550 --> 00:57:39,870
To curry favor with Kremlin officials.
635
00:57:45,810 --> 00:57:47,350
You're one of us, Legato.
636
00:57:49,470 --> 00:57:51,570
I can do anything I want with you.
637
00:57:53,320 --> 00:57:56,200
But what I want the most is for you to
know that I know.
638
00:57:57,480 --> 00:57:58,540
You're not brave.
639
00:58:00,600 --> 00:58:01,700
You're not heroic.
640
00:58:03,640 --> 00:58:06,220
You're just a dying man who forgot
himself.
641
00:58:07,100 --> 00:58:08,480
I know who I am.
642
00:58:08,800 --> 00:58:10,140
And I know what I've done.
643
00:58:13,260 --> 00:58:17,520
In a just world, I would be shot for my
lies, but not for this, but for the
644
00:58:17,520 --> 00:58:18,520
truth.
645
00:58:21,320 --> 00:58:24,220
And you're idiot obsession with reasons.
646
00:58:24,920 --> 00:58:28,900
When the bullet hits your skull, what
will it matter why?
647
00:58:36,940 --> 00:58:38,860
No one's getting shot in the castle.
648
00:58:40,980 --> 00:58:43,000
The whole world saw you in Vienna.
649
00:58:43,440 --> 00:58:45,660
It would be embarrassing to kill you
now.
650
00:58:45,860 --> 00:58:46,860
And for what?
651
00:58:48,330 --> 00:58:51,270
Your testimony today will not be
accepted by the state.
652
00:58:51,530 --> 00:58:53,450
It will not be disseminated in the
press.
653
00:58:54,390 --> 00:58:55,850
It never happened.
654
00:58:57,410 --> 00:58:58,410
No.
655
00:58:58,890 --> 00:59:04,990
You will live however long you have, but
not as a scientist, not anymore.
656
00:59:06,270 --> 00:59:12,850
You keep your title and your office, but
no duties, no
657
00:59:12,850 --> 00:59:15,230
authority, no friends.
658
00:59:15,810 --> 00:59:17,290
No one will talk to you.
659
00:59:18,120 --> 00:59:19,580
No one will listen to you.
660
00:59:22,000 --> 00:59:28,920
Other men, let the men, will receive
credit for the things you have done.
661
00:59:30,160 --> 00:59:32,240
Your legacy is now their legacy.
662
00:59:32,540 --> 00:59:34,480
You'll live long enough to see that.
663
00:59:38,680 --> 00:59:40,460
What role did Chibina play in this?
664
00:59:41,560 --> 00:59:44,220
None. He didn't know what I was going to
say.
665
00:59:46,440 --> 00:59:48,160
What role did Homyuk play in this?
666
00:59:49,420 --> 00:59:50,420
None.
667
00:59:50,820 --> 00:59:52,100
She didn't know either.
668
00:59:54,720 --> 01:00:01,200
After all you've said and done today, it
would be curious if you chose this
669
01:00:01,200 --> 01:00:02,440
moment to lie.
670
01:00:06,180 --> 01:00:09,900
I would think a man of your experience
would know a lie when he hears one.
671
01:00:14,640 --> 01:00:17,500
You will not meet or communicate with
either one of them ever again.
672
01:00:19,080 --> 01:00:22,180
You will not communicate with anyone
about Chernobyl ever again.
673
01:00:23,940 --> 01:00:27,760
You will remain so immaterial to the
world around you that when you finally
674
01:00:27,760 --> 01:00:32,040
die, it will be exceedingly hard to know
that you ever lived at all.
675
01:00:36,720 --> 01:00:43,690
And if I refuse, why worry? about
something that
676
01:00:43,690 --> 01:00:44,690
isn't going to happen.
677
01:00:46,210 --> 01:00:49,730
Why worry about something that isn't
going to happen?
678
01:00:50,530 --> 01:00:51,770
Oh, that's perfect.
679
01:00:52,810 --> 01:00:54,610
They should put that on our money.
680
01:02:05,360 --> 01:02:07,620
To be a scientist is to be naive.
681
01:02:09,160 --> 01:02:14,540
We are so focused on our search for
truth, we fail to consider how few
682
01:02:14,540 --> 01:02:15,840
want us to find it.
683
01:02:16,460 --> 01:02:22,380
But it is always there, whether we see
it or not, whether we choose to or not.
684
01:02:22,920 --> 01:02:26,800
The truth doesn't care about our needs
or wants. It doesn't care about our
685
01:02:26,800 --> 01:02:29,480
governments, our ideologies, our
religions.
686
01:02:31,160 --> 01:02:33,520
It will line wait for all time.
687
01:02:36,200 --> 01:02:38,360
At last is the gift of Chernobyl.
688
01:02:38,740 --> 01:02:45,600
Where I once would fear the cost of
truth, now I only ask, what
689
01:02:45,600 --> 01:02:46,900
is the cost of lies?
53406
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