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CIRCLE WITH A DOT

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  3. 40 years ago, 25/26 April 1986, reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, contaminating huge swaths of land regionally and across Europe.

40 years ago, 25/26 April 1986, reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, contaminating huge swaths of land regionally and across Europe.

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  • w_lucht@mstdn.socialW w_lucht@mstdn.social

    40 years ago, 25/26 April 1986, reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, contaminating huge swaths of land regionally and across Europe.

    I remember it well. I worked at an Institute for Nuclear Physics (working on space particles). We put instruments on the roof to check whether the gvmt told the truth.

    I remember taking refuge in doorways when it started raining - we did not want to get touched by ... rain drops. It was terrible.

    And don't give me "can't happen here".

    jenshannemann@mastodon.onlineJ This user is from outside of this forum
    jenshannemann@mastodon.onlineJ This user is from outside of this forum
    jenshannemann@mastodon.online
    wrote last edited by
    #3

    @W_Lucht I remember. We did the same thing in our AP physics class. We lived close to the thorium reactor in Hamm, and they used the fallout to cover up an incident in the THTR. That’s when we learned that you can’t trust the nuclear industry even if it would be possible to safely operate nuclear plants. The temptation to cut corners is just too strong.

    Link Preview Image
    THTR-300 - Wikipedia

    favicon

    (en.wikipedia.org)

    anlomedad@fedifreu.deA 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • w_lucht@mstdn.socialW w_lucht@mstdn.social

      40 years ago, 25/26 April 1986, reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, contaminating huge swaths of land regionally and across Europe.

      I remember it well. I worked at an Institute for Nuclear Physics (working on space particles). We put instruments on the roof to check whether the gvmt told the truth.

      I remember taking refuge in doorways when it started raining - we did not want to get touched by ... rain drops. It was terrible.

      And don't give me "can't happen here".

      dmacphee@mas.toD This user is from outside of this forum
      dmacphee@mas.toD This user is from outside of this forum
      dmacphee@mas.to
      wrote last edited by
      #4

      @W_Lucht and because Russia hid it, wasn’t it only detected because countries such as Sweden, Germany?, etc detected radioactivity in the atmosphere?

      precariousmind@neopaquita.esP 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • dmacphee@mas.toD dmacphee@mas.to

        @W_Lucht and because Russia hid it, wasn’t it only detected because countries such as Sweden, Germany?, etc detected radioactivity in the atmosphere?

        precariousmind@neopaquita.esP This user is from outside of this forum
        precariousmind@neopaquita.esP This user is from outside of this forum
        precariousmind@neopaquita.es
        wrote last edited by
        #5

        @dmacphee @W_Lucht yes, I believe a Swedish station detected it first outside the URRS (it's in Wikipedia, too lazy to check now).

        anlomedad@fedifreu.deA 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • jenshannemann@mastodon.onlineJ jenshannemann@mastodon.online

          @W_Lucht I remember. We did the same thing in our AP physics class. We lived close to the thorium reactor in Hamm, and they used the fallout to cover up an incident in the THTR. That’s when we learned that you can’t trust the nuclear industry even if it would be possible to safely operate nuclear plants. The temptation to cut corners is just too strong.

          Link Preview Image
          THTR-300 - Wikipedia

          favicon

          (en.wikipedia.org)

          anlomedad@fedifreu.deA This user is from outside of this forum
          anlomedad@fedifreu.deA This user is from outside of this forum
          anlomedad@fedifreu.de
          wrote last edited by
          #6

          @JensHannemann @W_Lucht

          Something, just this one thing, could not happen here: that a central government orders the May festivities to take place in Ukraine as planned, all the while they secretly inject cloud seeding aerosols between Chernobyl and Moscow to make the fallout fall out of the sky far before Moscow.

          A second thing could not happen here: that experts fear Gulag for speaking out or for acting according to expert best knowledge, against orders.
          The fear component doesn't apply in most "western" societies. As long - how long? - the rule of law is working.
          And from memory, it was this culture of fear that caused several moments in the chain of events leading up to the Chernobyl explosion. Had fear not existed, the total disaster would have been preventable.

          dmitry@mastodon.circle.ltD 1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • precariousmind@neopaquita.esP precariousmind@neopaquita.es

            @dmacphee @W_Lucht yes, I believe a Swedish station detected it first outside the URRS (it's in Wikipedia, too lazy to check now).

            anlomedad@fedifreu.deA This user is from outside of this forum
            anlomedad@fedifreu.deA This user is from outside of this forum
            anlomedad@fedifreu.de
            wrote last edited by
            #7

            @precariousmind @dmacphee @W_Lucht

            Ja, staff of a Swedish nuclear reactor set off radiation alarms arriving to their shift. Not when leaving their shift, but arriving at work. That got the ball rolling.

            w_lucht@mstdn.socialW 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • w_lucht@mstdn.socialW w_lucht@mstdn.social

              40 years ago, 25/26 April 1986, reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, contaminating huge swaths of land regionally and across Europe.

              I remember it well. I worked at an Institute for Nuclear Physics (working on space particles). We put instruments on the roof to check whether the gvmt told the truth.

              I remember taking refuge in doorways when it started raining - we did not want to get touched by ... rain drops. It was terrible.

              And don't give me "can't happen here".

              jonpsp@mstdn.socialJ This user is from outside of this forum
              jonpsp@mstdn.socialJ This user is from outside of this forum
              jonpsp@mstdn.social
              wrote last edited by
              #8

              @W_Lucht and in the UK, sheep in the northwest of England couldn't be eaten due to radioactive contamination. Obviously this had nothing to do with the nearby nuclear powerstations, even though it didn't seem to affect sheep in parts of the UK nearer Chernobyl.

              1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • drajt@fosstodon.orgD drajt@fosstodon.org shared this topic
              • w_lucht@mstdn.socialW w_lucht@mstdn.social

                40 years ago, 25/26 April 1986, reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, contaminating huge swaths of land regionally and across Europe.

                I remember it well. I worked at an Institute for Nuclear Physics (working on space particles). We put instruments on the roof to check whether the gvmt told the truth.

                I remember taking refuge in doorways when it started raining - we did not want to get touched by ... rain drops. It was terrible.

                And don't give me "can't happen here".

                ggmcbg@mstdn.plusG This user is from outside of this forum
                ggmcbg@mstdn.plusG This user is from outside of this forum
                ggmcbg@mstdn.plus
                wrote last edited by
                #9

                @W_Lucht

                Watchtower. Mayday in Kiev.
                https://youtu.be/WwoJEKf5-G0

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • w_lucht@mstdn.socialW w_lucht@mstdn.social

                  40 years ago, 25/26 April 1986, reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, contaminating huge swaths of land regionally and across Europe.

                  I remember it well. I worked at an Institute for Nuclear Physics (working on space particles). We put instruments on the roof to check whether the gvmt told the truth.

                  I remember taking refuge in doorways when it started raining - we did not want to get touched by ... rain drops. It was terrible.

                  And don't give me "can't happen here".

                  rickf@indieweb.socialR This user is from outside of this forum
                  rickf@indieweb.socialR This user is from outside of this forum
                  rickf@indieweb.social
                  wrote last edited by
                  #10

                  @W_Lucht @akamran

                  I was in eighth grade and I remember being at a friend’s house, looking up at the sky and wondering when the radioactive cloud would arrive.

                  w_lucht@mstdn.socialW 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • anlomedad@fedifreu.deA anlomedad@fedifreu.de

                    @JensHannemann @W_Lucht

                    Something, just this one thing, could not happen here: that a central government orders the May festivities to take place in Ukraine as planned, all the while they secretly inject cloud seeding aerosols between Chernobyl and Moscow to make the fallout fall out of the sky far before Moscow.

                    A second thing could not happen here: that experts fear Gulag for speaking out or for acting according to expert best knowledge, against orders.
                    The fear component doesn't apply in most "western" societies. As long - how long? - the rule of law is working.
                    And from memory, it was this culture of fear that caused several moments in the chain of events leading up to the Chernobyl explosion. Had fear not existed, the total disaster would have been preventable.

                    dmitry@mastodon.circle.ltD This user is from outside of this forum
                    dmitry@mastodon.circle.ltD This user is from outside of this forum
                    dmitry@mastodon.circle.lt
                    wrote last edited by
                    #11

                    @anlomedad @JensHannemann @W_Lucht #Belarus. That is the place between #Chernobyl and Moscow where #Russia decided to make the fallout go by seeding the radioactive clouds.

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                    • System shared this topic
                    • anlomedad@fedifreu.deA anlomedad@fedifreu.de

                      @precariousmind @dmacphee @W_Lucht

                      Ja, staff of a Swedish nuclear reactor set off radiation alarms arriving to their shift. Not when leaving their shift, but arriving at work. That got the ball rolling.

                      w_lucht@mstdn.socialW This user is from outside of this forum
                      w_lucht@mstdn.socialW This user is from outside of this forum
                      w_lucht@mstdn.social
                      wrote last edited by
                      #12

                      @anlomedad @precariousmind @dmacphee
                      And the Soviet Union publicity acknowledged what had happened only after three days.

                      The US were lucky with Three Mile Island in Harrisburg in 1979. That remained contained but the core did melt down.

                      So 1979 in the US, 1986 in the Soviet Union, 2011 in Fukushima, that's about the rate of major failure, three in 50 years. And that doesn't even count a lot of close calls.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • rickf@indieweb.socialR rickf@indieweb.social

                        @W_Lucht @akamran

                        I was in eighth grade and I remember being at a friend’s house, looking up at the sky and wondering when the radioactive cloud would arrive.

                        w_lucht@mstdn.socialW This user is from outside of this forum
                        w_lucht@mstdn.socialW This user is from outside of this forum
                        w_lucht@mstdn.social
                        wrote last edited by
                        #13

                        @rickf @akamran
                        So scary.

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • w_lucht@mstdn.socialW w_lucht@mstdn.social

                          40 years ago, 25/26 April 1986, reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, contaminating huge swaths of land regionally and across Europe.

                          I remember it well. I worked at an Institute for Nuclear Physics (working on space particles). We put instruments on the roof to check whether the gvmt told the truth.

                          I remember taking refuge in doorways when it started raining - we did not want to get touched by ... rain drops. It was terrible.

                          And don't give me "can't happen here".

                          peterp@masto.aiP This user is from outside of this forum
                          peterp@masto.aiP This user is from outside of this forum
                          peterp@masto.ai
                          wrote last edited by
                          #14

                          @W_Lucht
                          It’s Chornobyl in Ukrainian.

                          w_lucht@mstdn.socialW 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • w_lucht@mstdn.socialW w_lucht@mstdn.social

                            40 years ago, 25/26 April 1986, reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, contaminating huge swaths of land regionally and across Europe.

                            I remember it well. I worked at an Institute for Nuclear Physics (working on space particles). We put instruments on the roof to check whether the gvmt told the truth.

                            I remember taking refuge in doorways when it started raining - we did not want to get touched by ... rain drops. It was terrible.

                            And don't give me "can't happen here".

                            peterluschny@mathstodon.xyzP This user is from outside of this forum
                            peterluschny@mathstodon.xyzP This user is from outside of this forum
                            peterluschny@mathstodon.xyz
                            wrote last edited by
                            #15

                            @W_Lucht
                            It was 6 a.m., and my friend called me from Stockholm. He had just gone out to buy milk for his children’s breakfast, but they wouldn’t sell him any, without giving any explanation. He asked me if I knew why. Later that same morning, I realized what was going on. I studied the wind map and drove to Lisbon.

                            w_lucht@mstdn.socialW 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • peterp@masto.aiP peterp@masto.ai

                              @W_Lucht
                              It’s Chornobyl in Ukrainian.

                              w_lucht@mstdn.socialW This user is from outside of this forum
                              w_lucht@mstdn.socialW This user is from outside of this forum
                              w_lucht@mstdn.social
                              wrote last edited by
                              #16

                              @peterp 👍

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • peterluschny@mathstodon.xyzP peterluschny@mathstodon.xyz

                                @W_Lucht
                                It was 6 a.m., and my friend called me from Stockholm. He had just gone out to buy milk for his children’s breakfast, but they wouldn’t sell him any, without giving any explanation. He asked me if I knew why. Later that same morning, I realized what was going on. I studied the wind map and drove to Lisbon.

                                w_lucht@mstdn.socialW This user is from outside of this forum
                                w_lucht@mstdn.socialW This user is from outside of this forum
                                w_lucht@mstdn.social
                                wrote last edited by
                                #17

                                @peterluschny
                                Wow. Thanks for sharing!

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • w_lucht@mstdn.socialW w_lucht@mstdn.social

                                  40 years ago, 25/26 April 1986, reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, contaminating huge swaths of land regionally and across Europe.

                                  I remember it well. I worked at an Institute for Nuclear Physics (working on space particles). We put instruments on the roof to check whether the gvmt told the truth.

                                  I remember taking refuge in doorways when it started raining - we did not want to get touched by ... rain drops. It was terrible.

                                  And don't give me "can't happen here".

                                  violettejean@mstdn.socialV This user is from outside of this forum
                                  violettejean@mstdn.socialV This user is from outside of this forum
                                  violettejean@mstdn.social
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #18

                                  @W_Lucht

                                  In France my parents told me the news said it is alright the wind turned away from our country!
                                  WHAT?
                                  Anyway, lots of people afterwards getting thyroid cancer and people, oh no, going Bald!

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