I was so physically uncomfortable. Just the idea of looking into a reactor like that and knowing you’re going to suffer a torturous death and nothing can stop you.
I think people didn’t know and understand it the way we do today. I think that is one of the reason why alot people kind of downplayed the whole risk and didn’t panic..it’s like they didn’t know better. But I agree, it’s like every action they took made me go, -oh that’s not what you should be doing..
That doesn't make sense to me. At that point in the Cold War (1986), the world had gotten close to MAD multiple times. I doubt that people weren't terrified or didn't know just how destructive nuclear technology could be. I think that people who weren't panicking either didn't realize the full extent of the disaster yet, or more likely, were resigned to a tired and bleak outlook on the world.
As the three trucks from Fire Station Number Two drew up beside Unit Four, a fire prevention officer from the plant came running out to meet them. He had witnessed the explosion and called in the alarm. Anatoly Zakharov jumped down from his cab and looked around. The ground was littered with blocks of graphite, many of them still glowing red with intense heat. Zakharov had watched the reactor being constructed from the inside out and knew exactly what they were.
“Tolik, what is it?” one of the men asked.
“Lads, it’s the guts of the reactor,” he said. “If we survive until the morning, we’ll live forever.”
The podcast accompanying the series mentions this, saying that it might be embellished and not actually true. So it's likely that maybe some of them suspected, but it's hard to say for sure.
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u/nowhereman86 May 07 '19
Just watched it. This is honestly more terrifying than anything a horror movie can come up with.