BUBBLER POOLS

A new deadly threat

Despite the process on cooling the reactor and the evacuation was a success. Legasov and his team soon found himself a new problem, it was discovered that the reactor’s core was still emitting intense heat and due to sand and boron they dropped to put out the fire.

To make matters worse. The smoldering graphite, fuel and other material above they dumped on the reactor fire, started to burn through the reactor floor and mixed with molten concrete from the reactor lining, creating corium, a radioactive semi-liquid material comparable to lava and wasmelting into the flooded basement

Because of rupture cooling water pipes and accumulated firefighting water days prior the if this mixture melted through the floor into the pool of water, the resulting steam production would further contaminate the area or even risk to cause a deadly thermal explosion.

Corium

The hardened corium inside the basement pipes of the power plant. It is still emitting high levels of radiation till this day

Corium is a term used to describe a highly radioactive and molten mixture that can form during a severe nuclear reactor accident. It is primarily composed of nuclear fuel, such as uranium or plutonium, along with other materials present in the reactor core. It is an extremely hazardous and corrosive substance, capable of burning through concrete and metal structures and it is also highly radioactive, emitting various types of ionizing radiation, including gamma radiation, which poses significant health risks such as cancer, acute radiation sickness and shortening the lifespan to humans.

PHASE 3 : DRAINING THE STEAM POOLS

DATE : 2 May, 1986 (Friday)

TIME PERIOD : 10.00am - 18.00pm

MANAGED BY : Chernobyl Disaster Goverment Commision, 3 Volunteers

AUTHORISE BY : Boris Scherbina and Valery Legasov

LOCATION : Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Reactor 4 building

Legasov and the commission immediately directed that the bubbler pools be drained by opening its sluice gates located in a flooded corridor in a subterranean annex adjacent to the reactor building.

The entire operation was handled by 3 volunteers, they were he engineers

Alexei Ananenko and Valeri Bezpalov (who knew where the valves were), and the shift supervisor Boris Baranov to locate and open two release valves to drain the water equipped in diving suits and respirators and dosimeters. The mission was completed successfully without complication.

Additional Info: The Chernobyl Trio

The engineers who drained the steam suppression pools at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant were not widely known by their individual names and identities in publicly available information at that time with the Soviet news agency still hiding many of the details of the catastrophe with them had previously been reported that all three had died and been buried in “tightly sealed zinc coffins.” But in reality Alexei and Bespalov are still alive today while Baranov died in 2005 of a heart attack (unrealted to the disaster) In 2018, all three men were awarded the Order For Courage by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. If the three courageous men were not successful in their mission the Chernobyl death toll was likely to reach the millions. The three unsung heroes details are listed below:

Alexei Ananenko

A nuclear engineer at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. He was crucial for the efforts as he is familiar with the basement layout and the location of the pipes.

Valeri Bezpalov

A senior plant mechanical engineer, who knows the location of all the pipe valves are and knows the underground layout of the reactor 4 building.

Boris Baranov

He was a shift supervisor and was capable on good decision making and had vast experience as a team leader and the working field in a Nuclear power plant

PHASE 4 : DEBRI REMOVAL ON REACTOR 4

DATE : 3 July - 1 August, 1986 (Monday)

TIME PERIOD : 4 to 5 weeks

MANAGED BY : Chernobyl Liquidators

AUTHORISE BY : Boris Scherbina and Valery Legasov

LOCATION : Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Reactor 3 & 4 Building Rooftop

In the weeks following the explosion, Legasov later advised the soviet government to build a sarcophagus to cover the reactor and prevent the spread. However, the contaminated debris left by the explosion has to be removed near the reactor to ensure safe space for the construction. Robots were initially intended to be used. Unfortunately, numerous attempts failed because of the challenging terrain and the negative effects of strong radiation fields on their batteries and electronic controls.

Hence Legasov was left with no choice but to employ Chernobyl liquidators from the military to remove them.

Consequently, the most highly radioactive materials were shoveled by Chernobyl liquidators from the military wearing heavy protective gear (dubbed “bio-robots”).

These soldiers could only spend a maximum of 90 seconds working on the rooftops of the surrounding buildings because of the extremely high doses of radiation given off by the blocks of graphite and other debris.

Though the soldiers were only supposed to perform the role of the “bio-robot” a maximum of once,

Though the soldiers were only supposed to perform the role of the “bio-robot” a maximum of once, some soldiers reported having done this task five or six times. Only 10% of the debris cleared from the roof was performed by robots; the other 90% was removed by approximately 5,000 men who absorbed, on average, an estimated dose of 25 rem (250 mSv) of radiation each.

After the cleanup effort, The Soviet Union government was able to initiate the upcoming construction of the sarcophagus. With Legasov advising the initial steps required to build it by giving lead line outfits to the construction workers to be protected from radiation, and crane drivers working from lead-lined control cabins.