Chernobyl (HBO Mini Series)
Discussion
take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:
Gary C said:
I was at Smolensk.
We got pissed quite a lot too. Had a audience with the station manager, I was white as a sheet and sweating ! everybody thought it was funny.
They do breathalyse every single member of staff as they come onto site, with that stuff (Vodka in the UK is total crap, Russian stuff is so easy to drink, especially when cooled in the freezer).
I was promised it didn't give you a hangover... They lied. We got pissed quite a lot too. Had a audience with the station manager, I was white as a sheet and sweating ! everybody thought it was funny.
They do breathalyse every single member of staff as they come onto site, with that stuff (Vodka in the UK is total crap, Russian stuff is so easy to drink, especially when cooled in the freezer).
Breakfast was an onion and dried meat salad
I needed an emergency 'visit' and got taken to the executive bathrooms, was interesting to see all the soviet era offices with their wax door seals so the occupants could see if the KGB had been into them. Which reminds me, our FSB minder was also drunk all the time
I do also remember the huge amount of fish served at every banquet !, because we were sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry, they had an excuse to make every evening meal an official one while we were on site. They then told us it was a Russian custom for the hosts and guests to toast in turn and that it was rude to leave much more than 10 minutes between each response.
Epic.
Edited by Gary C on Monday 29th June 18:43
LukeBrown66 said:
Aren't there numerous other sites using the same tech as Chernobyl? Shocked nothing else has happened, am presuming things were changed post the incident to prevent more incidents!!
Yep, lots of changes.Not least were the human performance changes which I was part of. We did a lot of operator exchange programs and training. We were in the control room of one unit and asked about their operating procedures and an operator proudly showed us a cabinet of pristine manuals. He was a little shocked when he saw our dogeared versions and then understood that, while we understand what we are doing, we read our instructions and follow them.
There were also lots of technical changes to prevent the same accident.
One error in the HBO series was the large computer screens in the control room, they didn't have them
Gary C said:
Yep, lots of changes.
Not least were the human performance changes which I was part of. We did a lot of operator exchange programs and training. We were in the control room of one unit and asked about their operating procedures and an operator proudly showed us a cabinet of pristine manuals. He was a little shocked when he saw our dogeared versions and then understood that, while we understand what we are doing, we read our instructions and follow them.
There were also lots of technical changes to prevent the same accident.
One error in the HBO series was the large computer screens in the control room, they didn't have them
When I went in the MCR, they had just reinstated smoking permission. I asked why... Our chaperone opened the access door at the end of panels and took me behind to show me the cigeratte burns on the backs of some (class 2 meters IIRC but could have been C1) ... I had to admit this was a wise choice Not least were the human performance changes which I was part of. We did a lot of operator exchange programs and training. We were in the control room of one unit and asked about their operating procedures and an operator proudly showed us a cabinet of pristine manuals. He was a little shocked when he saw our dogeared versions and then understood that, while we understand what we are doing, we read our instructions and follow them.
There were also lots of technical changes to prevent the same accident.
One error in the HBO series was the large computer screens in the control room, they didn't have them
This was late 90s and every desk had an lcd panel on it... The west chucked a lot of wedge at making RBMKs safer.
Would love to see how much we (the west) spent... It can't have been much more expensive for WEC or GE to throw up some PWRs instead.
Drclarke said:
El stovey said:
No spoilers please!
Sorry but I am going to have to spoil it.The reactor catches fire, there is a bloody Big Bang and lots of destruction.
It was a hydrogen tank explosion and some mild contamination from the feedwater! How else can an RMBK reactor explode. Donut.
Vickers_VC10 said:
Drclarke said:
El stovey said:
No spoilers please!
Sorry but I am going to have to spoil it.The reactor catches fire, there is a bloody Big Bang and lots of destruction.
It was a hydrogen tank explosion and some mild contamination from the feedwater! How else can an RMBK reactor explode. Donut.
littlebasher said:
Gary C said:
and the radiation was within limits, the meters told them so !
It was only 3.6 Roentgen. Not great, not terribleIn a parallel; the other day I was looking at a procedure that said if dose rate was >10Sv/h on instrument A, go get instrument B. Since that was full scale for instrument A..... Not a location I or anyone else was planning to be I hasten to add!
llewop said:
that does appear to be the quote that has stuck in peoples heads!
It's certainly memorable, not least because it lends itself so well to memes. But, also, it absolutely epitomises the initial refusal to acknowledge how serious the situation was and to grasp at false hope.
llewop said:
that does appear to be the quote that has stuck in peoples heads!
In a parallel; the other day I was looking at a procedure that said if dose rate was >10Sv/h on instrument A, go get instrument B. Since that was full scale for instrument A..... Not a location I or anyone else was planning to be I hasten to add!
10Sv/hr ! crikeyIn a parallel; the other day I was looking at a procedure that said if dose rate was >10Sv/h on instrument A, go get instrument B. Since that was full scale for instrument A..... Not a location I or anyone else was planning to be I hasten to add!
I remember, my lifetime dose was 3mSv when I went to Russia and I doubled that in one day looking into the ponds and watching refuelling at Smolensk.
Andy S15 said:
Just wanted to say a quick thanks to all those in the trade who have posted some fascinating insights into the world of nuclear energy. It's really added to my enjoyment of this series.
Chernobyl has been a personal interest of mine for about 15 years, and I jumped for joy when I watched the trailer for this series 6 months or so ago - I'd always wanted a series like this and it exceeded my expectations. I had been looking into doing a tour back in the days where it was more akin to you being smuggled into the zone... expect the prices of this to increase these days though as it's bound to become more popular now! Fantastic series respectfully created. Bravo.
For those unaware - I believe this website was one of the earliest to document a visit into the zone with lots of great pictures on the 'net. Lots of pictures before things were quite so overgrown too. Glad it's still up, even if it i very dated now, it's well worth some of your time: http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chernobyl-revisited/
just found out that Elena still travel to Chernobyl, here is video from her latest trips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GeXGiPcHtEChernobyl has been a personal interest of mine for about 15 years, and I jumped for joy when I watched the trailer for this series 6 months or so ago - I'd always wanted a series like this and it exceeded my expectations. I had been looking into doing a tour back in the days where it was more akin to you being smuggled into the zone... expect the prices of this to increase these days though as it's bound to become more popular now! Fantastic series respectfully created. Bravo.
For those unaware - I believe this website was one of the earliest to document a visit into the zone with lots of great pictures on the 'net. Lots of pictures before things were quite so overgrown too. Glad it's still up, even if it i very dated now, it's well worth some of your time: http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chernobyl-revisited/
Edited by Andy S15 on Friday 7th June 08:18
pidsy said:
Channel 5 now.
Ben fogle goes to the zone. Some interesting bits so far but Ben is an awful presenter for the subject.
you're not wrong!Ben fogle goes to the zone. Some interesting bits so far but Ben is an awful presenter for the subject.
Did shudder at the white clothing they gave him to enter the control room etc, bad memories about how rubbish they were!
The bit I'd like to go back to see would be towards the end, inside the arch looking up at the shelter and everything.
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