Today is the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
It is not over. Chernobyl spread radioactive particles across Europe and beyond. The fire in reactor #4 burned for over a month, releasing massive amounts of radionuclides which then would fallout and embed into the #ecosystem.
37 years later we still find food contaminated with Chernobyl fallout every year. Often with cesium-137 which is very adept at transporting in an ecosystem once the particle has deposited from the fallout cloud.
I fear that tomorrow or Thursday we will witness the largest #nuclear disaster the world has ever seen.
The #Kremlin has repeated today that it expects that #Ukraine will blow up the #Zaporizhzhia#npp. That is of course Russia-speak for the fact that they are planning to do this themselves and blame Ukraine.
When the enormous disaster at #Chernobyl happened, it involved only one reactor. The nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia has six reactors. If #Russia decides to blow up all six, it would be one of the biggest disasters the world has ever seen.
I truly hope that I am wrong and there are reasons for Russia not to do this. Mainly that the #fallout would spread to Russia itself (as well as the occupied Ukrainian territories that it has now illegally annexed), it would expose Russian soldiers to radiation poisoning and it would serve little tactical purpose.
But this is Russia. They have consistently done things during this war that made little sense, from starting the invasion in the first place to blowing up the dam at Nova Kakhovna, which left #Crimea without its main source of drinking water. So, blowing up the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine is not at all unthinkable, especially now that Russia is losing this war.
Human "bio-robots" had to make homemade lead lined suits to then spend 40 seconds to 2 minutes on the roof of reactor #3 shoveling bits of the reactor core into the hole where reactor #4 used to be. 3,500 people did this task.
"In Ukrainian folk culture, rushnik is a bridge across the river of life, a return to the world of ancestors. Worn at weddings and funerals, a rushnik accompanies a person from birth to burial and decorates every home. The hidden symbolism of the ornament takes the material object to the spiritual dimension." —Zarina Zabrisky for Orion Magazine
#OnThisDay, April 26, 1986, one of the worst nuclear disasters in human history occurred when an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction caused the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant’s No. 4 reactor core to rupture (depicted in HBO’s Chernobyl, 2019)
The thriving gray wolf population in the Chernobyl exclusion zone (CEZ) has been the subject of recent media interest. While some sensationalist reports have referred to “mutant wolves” with “superpowers,” other news outlets have offered more sober discussions of the science behind the story. #AureFreePress#News#press#headline#Ukraine#Russia#Putin#cancer#Chernobyl
As always with this shoddy work, the study only considers external gamma wave levels, while the primary risk to people in Fukushima is internalizing radioactive particles. Limit your inquiry, but globalize your conclusions.
#Europe’s #Boars Still Hold #Radioactivity. What Surprised Scientists Is Why.
Some wild #boar hunted in #German forests have radiation levels that exceed the limit deemed safe for human consumption. New research suggests that it’s not just because of #Chernobyl.Why is the radiation in the wild boar population relatively high, when most other wildlife are uncontaminated, many generations after the accident? (Spoiler: It’s because they eat deer truffles.)
Np Paywall: https://archive.ph/36xk9
DVK-3, Soviet desktop computer compatible with PDP-11.
Even today it's common to find remains of such computers around the Chernobyl disaster area, says Alex the video host, "in a very destroyed condition, but this one... is intact."
The other day I finished watching the miniseries of #Chernobyl
It was really well done.
I'm trying to wrap my head around the radioactivity and how it works, which alone is super fascinating. (Sometimes I have hard time at understanding things due to processing issues :D)
Then my partner told that Kyle Hill had made a little series of Chernobyl and his visit there!
"The nuclear accident in Chernobyl in 1986 led to the spread of radioactivity across Sweden and Europe. In a long-term study now published in Environmental Epidemiology, researchers have used new, more specific calculation methods to show the connection between radiation dose and certain types of cancer."
#Helicopters played a critical role in the emergency response to the 1986 #Chernobyl NPP accident. They fulfilled many different missions. Read the 1998 paper Operation of Helicopters During the Chernobyl Accident by Major General Masharovsky (State Emergency Service of Ukraine). 🚁 #VerticalFlight#VTOL
I just watched the 2019 HBO miniseries "Chernobyl". What an amazing project, with terrific writing, stellar performances & impressive visuals.
However, what struck me most was the parallels to Covid- the politicization of a disaster, government lies & attempts to underplay its gravity, burying facts & silencing scientists who sought the truth.
The Famous Photo of Chernobyl’s Most Dangerous Radioactive Material Was a Selfie
The Elephant’s Foot would have killed anyone within a couple of minutes.
by David Goldenberg January 24, 2016 Updated: August 10, 2022
"... This picture first came to America in the late 1990s, after the newly independent Ukrainian government took over the plant and set up the Chornobyl Center for Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Waste and Radioecology (spelling often gets changed as words go from Russian to English). Soon after, the center invited other governments to collaborate on nuclear safety projects. The U.S. Department of Energy tapped the Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL)—a bustling science center up in Richland, Washington—to help..."
Ukraine and Germany intend to build wind farm around Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (www.pravda.com.ua)
Ukraine and Germany have signed a declaration of intent to build a wind farm around the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).
These CCTV cameras recorded the Chernobyl disaster (www.youtube.com)
For the first time, this is an in-depth review of historical CCTV systems that were used with nearly all Chernobyl robots back in the 80-s.