Reading about Japan, and Chernobyl days are back into my memory.
Same feeling of “negative excitement”, I’d say. Something you definitely curious about, very dangerous potentially, already affected many people, and totally out of your control.
Another dimension: 25th anniversary of Chernobyl is in few weeks (April 26th). Not really reason to celebrate, but reason to recall those days.
So, some random memories.
Kiev, capitol of Ukraine, about 3.000.000 population, 60 miles south from Chernobyl.
Explosion happened at about 1:30am, April 26th, 1986.
As many others, I found out that “something happened in Chernobyl power plant” from coworkers who found out from other coworkers, etc., etc., etc. ZERO official information, only gossips.
During the day came more gossips based information: reactor exploded, everything is out of control, everything is under control, nuclear explosion had happened, nuclear explosion is not possible, nuclear explosion is very possible, we need to run out of city as soon as fast and as far as possible, no real reasons to worry about, etc., etc., etc.
I think later this day (April, 26th) or the next day, first official information came. Something about minor incident.
However, at that time “word of mouth” provided much more info about what is going on - thanks to foreign radio stations*, people who had friends or relatives in Chernobyl, or others who knew because of their work.
Next few days: no panic, everything looks as usual around.
Very little official information.
We knew that radiation is dangerous, but no one had any basis for comparison and, as became very clear, no one had any knowledge about radiation. You cannot see radiation, cannot taste it, cannot smell it, cannot feel it. Abstract knowledge “radiation is dangerous” doesn’t have any connection to everyday life. Very few realized danger**.
Feeling of “negative excitement” is on the air. At work people walk from room to room, from desk to desk and talk about what is going on in Chernobyl, what to do with kids, what could happen. Same time no one wears mask (I’ve seen only one or two people wearing mask on the streets), looks like no one is going to limit self-exposure to the environment.
May 1st, International Labor Day holiday. Usually official demonstrations (flags, music, flowers) and many people on the streets.
Something like “Probably government should cancel all official activities this time?” is floating around. Government did not cancel anything - many thousands went to the streets.
As we learned those days, in the Prypiat (city within few miles from Chernobyl, plant personal and families lived there) children played outside at the morning after explosion. Evacuation started next day afternoon, more than 36 hours after explosion. Now Prypiat is ghost town.
May 4th, World Bicycle Tour is going to Kiev.
Something like “I can’t believe they wouldn’t cancel this!” is floating around.
Nothing cancelled, thousands are on the streets, World Bicycle Tour is going as scheduled.
Many became very interested in what radiation is. Discussions about what those strange-sounding measurement units mean are all around. One day I noticed book about Nuclear Physics on the data entry operator’s desk.
I think at that time (around May 4th) became known that high government officials arranged airplane to send their children and grandchildren out to Bulgaria, just hours after explosion. People started to get really angry (“They KNEW how dangerous it is!!!”, “They didn’t tell US how bad is everything!!!!”, “They done nothing to save OUR children!!!”). Many started to take things much more serious than before.
More information became available from official sources - it was impossible to hide dozens of thousands people (engineers, workers, scientists, military personal) coming to Chernobyl, and all activities around.
Recommendations like “keep widows closed” started to come from official sources. However, weather is beautiful, and not so many people followed recommendations.
May 9th, Victory Day. Really big holiday for most of people (every family was affected by World War II). That year Victory Day went somehow unnoticed***.
Children evacuation started. Older ones (who could live without parents) were evacuated with their schools (a lot of resorts and summer camps were reserved for kids from Kiev and surrounding areas).
Families had to take care about young kids. Wives or husbands (whoever was able to go) with little kids went to any available relatives, preferably living as far from Kiev as possible. But many stayed in the city - if you don’t have place to go, you stay where you are.
Life around went as usual, work as usual, however everyone somehow stressed. But not depressed. I don’t remember any depression around.
Those days we learned about plant operators who managed to shot down whatever was possible to shot down, about workers who managed to close and seal doors, who went to deadly dangerous areas and done their job. About doctor who treated them right there, not having any protection.
All of them died, some within days, some within weeks.
Many firefighters came there****. Ones who came first died within weeks, however one or two of them survived.
Thousands of military people were brought to Chernobyl: to secure areas, to remove debris - very much radioactive debris. Few had protection. How many got cancer later?
Middle of May, our first Chernobyl project came (I worked for the company specialized in design of civil buildings: schools, hospitals, residential buildings, supermarkets, etc.).
People worked around reactor 24 hours, however no one had 8 hours shift - too dangerous. As closer to reactor as shorter shift. Some had shift less than 10 min per day. To keep everything running around the clock a lot of people were necessary.
Temporary settlement within few miles from the plant was set for them, and they needed a lot of water. Settlement needed sewer and other infrastructure. This project came to us. Temporary pipe lines wouldn’t handle this, so it was decided to build permanent grade water pipe line, about two dozens of miles long. No one ordered or asked us to work extra hours - we just knew that we must do everything fast and very well. Long hours in the office. I wouldn’t name this enthusiasm (this term usually associated with something positive), we just knew that people THERE somehow depend on us, and we must do our part. I don’t recall such level of cooperation as was those days.
As any construction project, this one required geological survey (drill, get samples, test samples, some hydrology research, etc.). Company had field team to do this, but that time their department manager went to the field together with them. He was in his sixties, in retirement age already, he was WWII veteran. He didn’t have to go anywhere, he could get retired “effective immediately”. He spent all necessary time there with his people. Two of them - department manager and drill master (man about forty years old) died from cancer within few years. Survey group manager (also went to the field himself) died from cancer few years later.
Generally, life during that summer was somehow interesting, I’d say.
Some realities of that time:
Summer, great weather;
Many people got more free time (kids sent out);
Many temporary singles (wife or husband is out of city with kids);
General stress and worries from the situation itself;
Long work hours for many (a lot of people got involved in Chernobyl related projects);
Many had to cancel summer vacations;
Liqueur became a little bit more available *****
From this combination of factors - whatever direction your imagination is taking now, you are probably right :-) :-).
Several times during the summer group of coworkers went after work to someones place, just to relax. We talked, listened to the music, of course liqueur was involved. I wouldn’t name those events as “parties”. I think under the circumstances it was just comforting to get together with people you know.
30 km security zone around Chernobyl was established within days after explosion. All residents had to be relocated, permanently. Many of them weren’t allowed to take anything from their homes, they had to go as is. Many people came to existing villages and small towns and got settled in temporary houses. As came, it was not enough bathing facilities around, no places to take shower. Since relocation was permanent, government decided to build dozens of small public bathing facilities in villages and small towns.
At the end of June we got our portion. Such kind of project may sound somehow not very serious, but no smiles and no jokes were around. It was our part, and we had to do it.
At the end of August construction of protective concrete container around Chernobyl reactor was under way, it was clear that things are not going to be worse, no more Chernobyl projects came to work, people get used to the situation. I think at that time level of stress went down.
My college class mate, met him year ago on the Internet (have not seen him since college).
“How are you?”
“Retired already”
“Why?”
“Chernobyl.... We did some work there”
G-d saved Kiev.
I’m not religious, but this is the only way how I see it.
It was strong wind from the South (Chernobyl is north from Kiev) during the first four days. Wind moved contaminated clouds out from Kiev to the areas with magnitudes less population.
Let’s pray for the people in Japan.
-----------------------------------------
Notes:
* Those years many people listened to foreign russian-speaking radio stations. Government tried to make it impossible (using technical and not only technical measures), but someone always knew more than government told.
Particularly in this case, first information about elevated radiation level came from Sweden (they assumed that it was THEIR research reactor leaking). Hours later Soviet government had to admit that something happened in Chernobyl.
Of course, all foreign radio stations re-translated this news.
** “F*** radiation! I’m going to the beach anyway!” - it was amazing how often you could hear something like this those days and during the summer.
*** My both parents participated in WWII, and May 9th we usually had many guests. That year I don’t remember many people coming. Not much “holiday spirit” around.
**** According to emergency protocol, firefighters from all around of Ukraine went to Chernobyl as fast as they could.
***** In 1985 Gorbachev established sort of “Prohibition”. It wasn’t real prohibition - government just closed most of liqueur stores. Many wine producing plants were closed, many grape plantations destroyed, huge anti-alcohol campaign in press launched. To get bottle of Champaign you had to spend hours and hours in lines. There were cases when old people died in those lines. It was bad. People got upset, angry and innovative: from drinking any kind of substances containing alcohol (e.g. lotions) to making high quality liqueur at home.
After explosion, topic of how alcohol helps to fight radiation became THE TOPIC in many conversations around (“What kind of BS government is going to tell us NOW?”). In fact, after explosion liqueur became more available, at least in Kiev.
