Chernobyl HBO

[TwiceHorn 31,985]

Pretty hard core.Wish they had sepnt some more time on events leading up to it.

It's long been sort of a Western meme that Soviets were quite adept at completely ignoring reality or constructing an alternate reality.  And this continues it.

[billfromlaketravis 11,784]

I'll probably catch it this weekend. How many episodes are in the mini-series. 

[Deej 77,667]

Five.

[RPM 26,559]

Damn, forgot that started tonight. Fortunately I set my DVR a couple weeks ago.

[retread 2,951]

This lady did reporting starting in the early-mid 2000s. She would ride her motorcycle into the area and take videos. I think the most recent ones are with her daughter.

Most recent   http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/30yearslater.html

All  http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed

People she knew near Chernobyl  http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/people/index.html

[bamachine 1,231]

Have not watched yet, somehow my DVR did not save the series recording, so had to reset it for the 10PM showing. My DVR did somehow record a Curb Your Enthusiasm special that I zero idea was coming on. Worth a watch, whenever it replays.

Edited May 7, 2019 by bamachine

[Radical Larry 28,814]

The scene where people were watching from a distance when the ash started blowing in was a punch to the gut. Those kids were playing in it like it was snow. 

[SimonBolivar 11,026]

I think I'm going to wait and binge the 5. I've been waiting for this one since the first trailer.

[TwiceHorn 31,985]

Anyone know that the purpose of the little cloth hats is, purportedly?  It's not a clean room, and even if it were  . . . .

[JOSEYWALES66 1,850]

It was good but I thought hearing them with British accents was odd. 

[Guest Lobo]

Same reason my Spanish accent is Castellano.  You carry the accent of your second language based on who/where you learned it from.  

[Eskimohorn 5,675]

nightmare fuel

[Texas_Rocks 347]

“Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and head of the Bureau for Fuel and Energy”

Rusky job titles are best titles.

Show looks pretty damn good so far.

[maninblack 7,975]

Solid first episode. I can only imagine what it must have felt like as morning came and the real consequences of the incident started to become evident.

[RPM 26,559]

Excellent so far. I kept saying "You're dead" as they sent people in. Really feel for the firefighter. He was probably a great guy for a Russkie. He's a deadman, too. 

Next week should be pretty gritty as reality sinks in when people start dropping like flies. Hope the control room boss has a nice, slow, low dose, extended death. He earned that much. He needs to suffer.

Edited May 7, 2019 by RPM

[Anastasis 23,699]

Will watch, but wondering what kind of relic this thing called a DVR is. 

[maninblack 7,975]

44 minutes ago, RPM said:

Excellent so far. I kept saying "You're dead" as they sent people in. Really feel for the firefighter. He was probably a great guy for a Russkie. He's a deadman, too. 

Next week should be pretty gritty as reality sinks in when people start dropping like flies. Hope the control room boss has a nice, slow, low dose, extended death. He earned that much. He needs to suffer.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoly_Dyatlov

[SpiralOut 1,954]

That one radiation engineer that they forced to go up to the roof?  Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck that.  I'd be telling them to feed me a bullet because that's a hell of a lot better than spending the next several days melting into goo in agonizing pain.

[Native Horn 3,569]

9 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Pretty hard core.

I see what you done did there.

[South Austin 53,153]

2 hours ago, SpiralOut said:

That one radiation engineer that they forced to go up to the roof?  Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck that.  I'd be telling them to feed me a bullet because that's a hell of a lot better than spending the next several days melting into goo in agonizing pain.

[Constant 6,839]

Really well done first episode. Tense from start to finish. HBO at its finest here. 

[Tommy Shelby 189]

They even got the symptoms of acute radiation poisoning correct. I was skeptical at first, but I'm really liking it. Will be tuning in next week

[kevwun 16,269]

Knew it would be good as soon as I saw Jared Harris was in it.  I'd watch him read a phone book.

Edited May 7, 2019 by kevwun

[HouTex 1,912]

I will watch this.  I'm curious as to how they will depict the immediate deaths and the possible subsequent deaths that were caused by the disaster.  There is a wide disparity on the number of possible subsequent deaths that were attributable to the radiation release.  But I was shocked at how few immediate, or near immediate, deaths there were.  Here are some excerpts from the wiki:

"The Chernobyl disaster (Ukrainian: Чорнобильська катастрофа, Chornobylʹsʹka katastrofa, Chernobyl accident) is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history. It occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, then part of the Soviet Union, now in Ukraine. The scientific consensus on the effects of the disaster has been developed by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). In peer-reviewed publications UNSCEAR has identified 49 immediate deaths from trauma, acute radiation poisoning, a helicopter crash, and from an original group of about 6,000 cases of thyroid cancers in the affected area.[1]

...

The total number of deaths, including future deaths, is highly controversial, and estimates range from up to 4,000 (by a team of over 100 scientists[9][3]) to the Union of Concerned Scientists estimate of approximately 27,000 based on the LNT model,[10] to 93,000—200,000 (by Greenpeace[11]). Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment, published by the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, but without NYAS explicit approval,[12][Notes 1] is a 2007 Russian publication that concludes that there were 985,000 premature deaths as a result of the radioactivity released.[13] The controversy arises because most of the deaths cannot be measured: any cancer deaths that may be caused by the accident are small compared to background rates of cancer. Theoretical estimates must rely instead on controversial models such as LNT or hormesis models.[14]

...

In the list following are 37 people whose deaths are officially directly attributable to the Chernobyl disaster. Of these, two died at the scene, four died in a single helicopter accident, 29 died within a few months of Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) and three died later from medical complications possibly caused by the accident. Of these people, one was a cinematographer, one a physician, five military personnel (four in a single helicopter), seven firefighters, two security guards and the rest staff at the power plant or subcontractors. At least one unidentified person is reported to have died of a coronary thrombosis at the scene, and nine children died of thyroid cancer (in 2005 that number was raised to 15[15]), but identifications are not known. "

[Guest Lobo]

 What about the scuba divers  that died saving most of eastern Europe ?

[Jimbaround 987]

If there is one thing in this world I would trust it would be the ability of the Soviets to admit a mistake and accurately report fatalities.

 

[JimmyHoffa 1,188]

48 minutes ago, HouTex said:

I will watch this.  I'm curious as to how they will depict the immediate deaths and the possible subsequent deaths that were caused by the disaster.  There is a wide disparity on the number of possible subsequent deaths that were attributable to the radiation release.  But I was shocked at how few immediate, or near immediate, deaths there were.  Here are some excerpts from the wiki:

"The Chernobyl disaster (Ukrainian: Чорнобильська катастрофа, Chornobylʹsʹka katastrofa, Chernobyl accident) is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history. It occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, then part of the Soviet Union, now in Ukraine. The scientific consensus on the effects of the disaster has been developed by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). In peer-reviewed publications UNSCEAR has identified 49 immediate deaths from trauma, acute radiation poisoning, a helicopter crash, and from an original group of about 6,000 cases of thyroid cancers in the affected area.[1]

...

The total number of deaths, including future deaths, is highly controversial, and estimates range from up to 4,000 (by a team of over 100 scientists[9][3]) to the Union of Concerned Scientists estimate of approximately 27,000 based on the LNT model,[10] to 93,000—200,000 (by Greenpeace[11]). Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment, published by the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, but without NYAS explicit approval,[12][Notes 1] is a 2007 Russian publication that concludes that there were 985,000 premature deaths as a result of the radioactivity released.[13] The controversy arises because most of the deaths cannot be measured: any cancer deaths that may be caused by the accident are small compared to background rates of cancer. Theoretical estimates must rely instead on controversial models such as LNT or hormesis models.[14]

...

In the list following are 37 people whose deaths are officially directly attributable to the Chernobyl disaster. Of these, two died at the scene, four died in a single helicopter accident, 29 died within a few months of Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) and three died later from medical complications possibly caused by the accident. Of these people, one was a cinematographer, one a physician, five military personnel (four in a single helicopter), seven firefighters, two security guards and the rest staff at the power plant or subcontractors. At least one unidentified person is reported to have died of a coronary thrombosis at the scene, and nine children died of thyroid cancer (in 2005 that number was raised to 15[15]), but identifications are not known. "

 

This. Nuclear is a very scary word but um facts and such-

 

 

 

[Zepol87 9,308]

Watched it and really enjoyed. Chernobyl always fascinated me and was before I was born so I will stick with it. Need to find a few good books about it also. 

[usmc0331horn 986]

I just threw up again after watching it.

[Schulz2.0 29,241]

I did nuclear power plant operations in the Navy. So did my wife. I specifically did radiation controls work and radiation surveys. Part of our training is learning about Chernobyl and all the things they did to fuck up. We both tuned in. It looks to be very accurate and well done. It’s crazy how much the Soviets DGAF about safety. The reactor design was completely retarded. 

[usmc0331horn 986]

Going in there without any safety protocols/special suits or anything was hilarious. I'm so happy they finally put something like this on HBO.

[Guest Lobo]

sad how the entertainment industry in this country has turned on the Soviets/Russia.  

The cast in this show though, is just phenomenal.  Can't wait for the next episode.  Anybody else have the weird issue on DVR where it would let you record the first 4 episodes, but not the 5th for some reason?  

[smokebomb 360]

2 hours ago, Lobo said:

 What about the scuba divers  that died saving most of eastern Europe ?

Apparently they didn't die - here is an article from last year that discusses what they actually did and where they are now:

https://www.businessinsider.com/chernobyl-volunteers-divers-nuclear-mission-2016-4

 

Quote

A Chernobyl 'suicide squad' of volunteers helped save Europe — here's their amazing true story

It's been 32 years since the Chernobyl disaster, a nuclear reactor meltdown caused by a mix of design flaws and human error.

The event immediately killed dozens and scarred the lives of tens of thousands of people over the ensuing decades.

Chernobyl is still considered the worst nuclear accident in history — but it could have been much, much worse, if not for a so-called "suicide squad" of three brave volunteers.

Build-up to a nightmare

In the early hours of April 26, 1986, a test gone awry caused two explosions that took out Chernobyl's Unit 4, killing two workers instantly and 29 more in the next four months. Though the long-term death count is still growing, all estimates are disputed among scientists, government officials, and international bodies.

Together, the explosions released 400 times as much radioactive fallout as the bomb the US dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

All fires were extinguished or contained within 6 hours, but few anticipated a second, more dangerous problem would soon appear. In early May, Unit 4's reactor core was still melting down.

Under the reactor was a huge pool of water — coolant for the power plant. The continuous nuclear reaction, traveling in a smoldering flow of molten radioactive metal, was approaching the water.

"If that happened it would have triggered a second steam explosion that would have done unimaginable damage and destroyed the entire power station, including the three other reactors," author Andrew Leatherbarrow wrote in an email to Tech Insider.

Leatherbarrow recently published a book, called "1:23:40: The Incredible True Story of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster," that recounts the catastrophe's history on its 30th anniversary.

By most estimates, such a blast may have wiped out half of Europe, leaving it riskier to live in for 500,000 years.

The apocryphal tale of the Chernobyl 'suicide squad'

In order to prevent the steam explosion, workers needed to drain the pool underneath the reactor. But the basement had flooded, and the valves were underwater.

The most popular (and likely apocryphal) version of events then goes something like this: One soldier and two plant workers, all volunteers, bravely strapped on wetsuits and clamored into the radioactive water. Even though their lamp died and the crew was left in darkness, they successfully shut off the valves.

They knew the basement was highly radioactive, but officials promised that if they died, their families would be provided for. It was, indeed, very possibly a suicide mission.

By the time the team left the pool, this version of the story goes, they were already suffering the effects of acute radiation syndrome (ARS). All of them supposedly died within weeks.

What really happened

Leatherbarrow has spent five years researching the disaster. His book gives a slightly different, but no less heroic, version of events.

"The basement entry, while dangerous, wasn't quite as dramatic as modern myth would have you believe," Leatherbarrow said.

Firefighters had tried a couple of times to use specialized hoses to drain much of the basement. The three men were, according to Leatherbarrow, all plant workers — no soldiers — who happened to be on-shift when the firefighters' draining procedure stopped.

They weren't the first in the watery basement, either. Others had entered to measure the radiation levels, though Leatherbarrow said he could never discover who they were, how many had entered, or what their conclusions were.

"Some water remained after the firemen's draining mission, up to knee-height in most areas, but the route was passable," Leatherbarrow's account reads.

"The men entered the basement in wetsuits, radioactive water up to their knees, in a corridor stuffed with myriad pipes and valves," he continues, "it was like finding a needle in a haystack."

The men worried they wouldn't be able to find the valves.

"When the searchlight beam fell on a pipe, we were joyous," mechanical engineer Alexei Ananenko said in interview with the Soviet press, as quoted by Leatherbarrow. "The pipe led to the valves."

The men felt their way to the valve in the dark basement. "We heard a rush of water out of the tank," Ananenko went on, "and in a few more minutes we were being embraced by the guys."

Definitively, Leatherbarrow said, none of the men died of ARS. The shift supervisor died of a heart attack in 2005. (Leatherbarrow attributes this to a mix-up with an employee with the same surname who did succumb to ARS.)

Where they are now

As for the other two men, Leatherbarrow said one is still alive and working in the industry, but he hasn't released his name because of privacy concerns. Leatherbarrow said that he lost track of the third man, but that he was alive at least up until 2015.

Complicating this is the contradictory reports from English media and the Soviet government, which famously tried to downplay the disaster. In addition, Leatherbarrow said the best sources out there have yet to be translated from Russian — including the accounts of senior managers, state-run media reports, and a book by an engineer who's been blamed for the disaster, but insists he was scapegoated by the government.

Even so, Leatherbarrow added, these men risked their lives to save untold millions of lives during a disaster of unheard of magnitude.

"They still went into a pitch black, badly damaged basement beneath a molten reactor core that was slowly burning its way down to them," he said.

Like many of the workers in the hours, months, days, and even years after Chernobyl, their bravery led them to a situation that required unimaginable acts.

 

Edited May 7, 2019 by smokebomb

[JimmyHoffa 1,188]

1 hour ago, smokebomb said:

The event immediately killed dozens and scarred the lives of tens of thousands of people over the ensuing decades.

 

That line makes used car salesmen uneasy. Holy shit what a line. 

[Parliament 14,556]

Knew it would be good as soon as I saw Jared Harris was in it.  I'd watch him read a phone book.

I joined Team Lane after he kicked Pete Campbell's ass.

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

Really enjoyed the first episode. Very well done and intense.

Some of y’all have seen my abandoned photography and Chernobyl is kind of the crown jewel of abandoned places. I don’t know if I will ever get the chance to go and visit and photograph it, but I hope so. It has been visited a ton, especially in the last 5 years. The photos taken in the early 2000s are amazing. Before vandalism, but decades after the event so substantial decay and overgrowth.

[LonghornSean 4,072]

19 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

Really enjoyed the first episode. Very well done and intense.

Some of y’all have seen my abandoned photography and Chernobyl is kind of the crown jewel of abandoned places. I don’t know if I will ever get the chance to go and visit and photograph it, but I hope so. It has been visited a ton, especially in the last 5 years. The photos taken in the early 2000s are amazing. Before vandalism, but decades after the event so substantial decay and overgrowth.

There's a short segment on the last episode of Our Planet (in 4K on Netflix) that shows how animals have returned to Chernobyl.  I think it was the one on forests.

[Horn80 6,313]

22 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I'll probably catch it this weekend. How many episodes are in the mini-series. 

Better pick up a pack of NoDoz

[Eskimohorn 5,675]

Better pick up a pack of NoDoz

Why? Not enough car chases?

[Horn80 6,313]

2 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:

 

Why? Not enough car chases?

 

You go in there Yuri and take a look.  Now go!   That pretty much sums it up.

[TwiceHorn 31,985]

What boggles me a bit, particularly with respect to the committee, who presumably came from outside the reactor complex, is how they didn't notice everything was blown to shit, and the control room people wait until the end of the episode to have anyone check it from the outside.

[Eskimohorn 5,675]

You go in there Yuri and take a look.  Now go!   That pretty much sums it up.

Dude MTV has Lindsay Lohan’s beach club. What are you wasting time on this show?

[RPM 26,559]

8 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:

Dude MTV has Lindsay Lohan’s beach club. What are you wasting time on this show?

 

To be fair, both are world class disasters.

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

1 hour ago, LonghornSean said:

There's a short segment on the last episode of Our Planet (in 4K on Netflix) that shows how animals have returned to Chernobyl.  I think it was the one on forests.

I'll try to find it.  I recently watched a video of guy that went into the zone and found people living there that never left.  Pretty insane.

[Gene Parmesan 4,062]

2 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:

I'll try to find it.  I recently watched a video of guy that went into the zone and found people living there that never left.  Pretty insane.

[AUS-97HORN 11,991]

11 hours ago, Lobo said:

sad how the entertainment industry in this country has turned on the Soviets/Russia.  

what the FUCK?

 

is this sarcasm and i'm missing it?

Other than about 5 years from 1996-2001, Russia has been the bad guy since 1946.  And lets not forget this isnt some bullshit story about how the Soviets "were bad"  These guys literally tried to hide a nuclear meltdown accident from the rest of the world for more than 3 days

They only finally came "slightly" clean when almost every fucking country in Western Europe detected significantly higher radiation in the atmosphere from the westerly wind coming from the Ukraine region of Russia, and they couldnt deny it anymore.

 

and even then they never acknowledged the seriousness of the accident, and they refused international help because the Soviet Union didnt need help from the Imperialist West

Edited May 8, 2019 by AUS-97HORN

[RPM 26,559]

If they could have figured out a way to stop the wind, we'd have never known about Chernobyl. 

[WhatTheBuck 28,904]

16 hours ago, Lobo said:

sad how the entertainment industry in this country has turned on the Soviets/Russia.

It's like it came out of nowhere. 

[South Austin 53,153]

So do you think Stallone and Lundgren actually took steroids to bulk up like that for Rocky IV?

[Parliament 14,556]

Well yeah, but America has superior steroids.