CHERNOBYL: THE PAST OR FUTURE? (Continued, p.2) According to the documentary that we watched, the leadership of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is not even informed the top leaders in Moscow about the true scale of what happened. The first who acknowledged the disaster at Chernobyl, were members of the nuclear power plant Forsmark, which was for the redistribution of the Soviet Union, in Sweden. When April 27 arrived on station the morning shift, radiation detectors, which were at the entrance to the station and registered a high level of radiation. First, station staff Forsmark felt that they had at the station there was a leak. But this assumption was illogical because the radiation had on those who came this morning from the street and not on those who worked at the plant at night. They contacted other nuclear plants in Sweden, and they said that their radioactivity sensors also give strange readings. This meant that the radiation source is located outside Sweden. Soon, the Swedish authorities concluded that the problems arose in one of the Soviet stations, and contacted with the Government of the USSR. In an interview with Mikhail Gorbachev spoke about the call from Sweden about the problem at Chernobyl. He noted that local authorities at Chernobyl were assured that the problems at nuclear power plants are insignificant, and they are totally in control. Only after a call from Sweden, Moscow realized that the situation in Chernobyl was much more serious than one might expect. Gorbachev said: "We learn from the Swedes, we have something wrong!" Pripyat Only then Moscow began to act to take control of the situation at Chernobyl. The region had been sent specially trained experts to tell local people about the radiation threat, and how to combat it. But since the destruction of a nuclear reactor before no one came across, at first no one knew how to eliminate this danger. They decided that they needed to start something covered the remains of the reactor and at the same time to interrupt the chain reaction in the core. After the explosion, radioactive uranium continued to "leak" out. You can compare this with a giant red-hot stove, that no one could turn off. April 27, six days after the accident happened, it was decided to evacuate the population of Pripyat and other settlements which were in close proximity to the Chernobyl accident. Prior to the accident in the town of Pripyat, which was only a kilometer away from Chernobyl, there were 50,000 residents. People who had to evacuate, believed that this is a temporary measure, and they will return home a few weeks. Even after the evacuation, people did not say how severe was the situation. Pripyat was so polluted with radioactive fallout that live in it can be several hundred years. Railway bridge Pripyat today - it's people abandoned ghost town, over which nature gradually takes over. Houses are still standing, but the trees are approaching nearer and nearer to the city center. Over the next 50 years will Pripyat looks more like a dense forest than in the city. If we understand correctly, the people who once lived in Pripyat, and not allowed back into town and pick up their belongings. In the film, said that they were allowed to take only the essentials. According to an article in Wikipedia, the city was looted. (Article in Russian Wikipedia does not mention about the vandalism in Pripyat. Ed.) We believe that, because when we were on tour in the Pripyat River, we saw how people were taken to a different things to remember. Abandoned house in Pripyat fight for control over the reactor continued for several weeks. At the final stage directly into the reactor were dumped bags of sand and boron. Bor - one of the key elements in the reactor it had to absorb neutrons. It is supported by a chain reaction of neutrons in the emergency bay. Placing the boron in the reactor, planned to slow down or completely stop the chain reaction. Or, in other words, the boron could turn off the "overheated stove. Sand has been dumped into the reactor in order to close the radiation source and stop the flow of radioactive substances originating from a reactor. Later in the core was dumped lead. This yielded some results. Lead is melted and created a sort of hood over reactor. Unfortunately, this plan was a side effect - and the lead evaporated into the atmosphere. Since the lead - a poisonous metal, he also contributed to the contamination of the Chernobyl disaster. As a result of the reactor was set up the sarcophagus that held radioactive elements inside the reactor and let them into the environment. But this tragedy has not ended. Contrary to expectations, the situation under the "hood" was the only worsen. When firefighters struggled with the first fire, which appeared immediately after the explosion, the fire they used water. This water glass in the huge reservoir under reactor. Mixture of sand and boron slowed reaction, but the core is still an incandescent. The temperature in the reactor began to grow faster because of the cap, which prevented its dispersal. This can be compared to jogging on a hot day: you're running and you feel that you only gets hotter. If you wear a hat, warm pants and a thick jacket, the temperature begins to rise quickly, and you will be even hotter than it was. The reactor was heated, and soon it could lead to the fact that he could burn a hole in the base of the building. Red-hot core of the reactor, due to uncontrollable processes of self-heating, burned to the floor and fell into a pool of water that would lead to a loud explosion. Start material: Read more:
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