Sometimes scientists and specialists would spend a few days at our place. How should the work be planned and organised? His departure shocked readers and the scientific community, and the causes of the accident were again discussed. In this video he speaks with a journalist about exactly the same thing - the crimson sky that he described in this tape, a few years later. bathroom stuff, Decorations, pots, grill, chairs, plant pot, tablecloth, kitchen stuff, gardening tools etc., etc., etc.? The total amount of materials dumped on the reactor weighed about 5,000 tons, including about 40 tons of boron compounds, 2,400 tons of lead, 1,800 tons of sand and clay, and 600 tons of dolomite, as well as sodium phosphate and polymer liquids (Bu93). Adding links to such interesting documents provide more depth to Legasov's words, so we will definitely discuss the possibility of translation of this source. This opening scene of HBOs Chernobyl mini-series sets the tone for the horrific story of the 1986 nuclear disaster and Valery Legasov, a prominent Soviet inorganic chemist, who played a key role in Chernobyls response team and subsequent investigation into its causes. Thank you!Yes, use them. Some sort of a balance would be achieved. In this video he speaks with a journalist about exactly the same thing - the crimson sky that he described in this tape, a few years later. Sooner or later, that debt is paid. Valery Alekseyevich Legasov was a Soviet inorganic chemist and a member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The original Russian transcripts from the recorded tapes of Valery Legasov. Thank you. valery legasov But within 25 - 75 biological roentgens, the decision to evacuate lied with the local authorities. He wasnt meant to be in Chernobyl. At the age of 36, he was awarded a doctorate of chemistry, and at the age of 45 - became one of the youngest members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). In an article by Karpan, it is said that that the firemen did not enter the station itself - only the roof. So, after numerous consultations and discussions we selected two materials as temperature stabilizers: lead and dolomite. The case of Valery is mysterious and unsettling to this day. legasov tapes We had to get in touch to solve some family issues, which of course remained unsolved. But some simple, repetitive tasks could have been done by small crewless, radio-controlled aircrafts. He was the only scientist working at the site, his daughter recalls. The evacuation was mandatory when a person could get 75 biological roentgens. His co-workers always described him to be pleasant to work with (ref: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. They had Swedish (Ada company) devices, such as thermovisors, and started constant flyovers around the 4th block to record the temperature of the surface. So even such a basic hygienic practice for eating was absent during the initial days. However, an event occurred, of such a scale, of such involvement of people with controversial interests, of errors and victories, failures and successes. In other words, it was clear that it had torn away, which needed a considerable amount of force. Unfortunately this meant that the information was disseminated only verbally - they visited each house, also posted notices. But he wasnt, he wasnt an ambitious man, his daughter believes. Thanks to my experience, coming from other workplaces, I quickly determined the cause of this damage - a volumetric explosion of the power of 3 to 4 tons of TNT. I have to start the part where I create my memoir. The visible glow, reflected in the sky, was the glow of hot graphite. There is "great chance", this products are made by The Remilling 2000 Amazing, is not it?And the simplest way, how to say "Thank you" is buy some nice stuff as the gift, may be right in my motherland. This is what occupied us on our hour-long flight. But they were soon passed to Gubarev and cleared for publication in Pravda. Earlier I described the work before and after the localization of the accident, but a much more important decision to make on the 26th of April was the population question. The case of Valery is mysterious and unsettling to this day. The living accomodations, however, were placed in the city of Ivankov, which was 50 km from Chernobyl. Hello there!Great work with the translation of the tapes, this is a large project and you have done well.Mid way through the document there is the sentence " I was trying to tell Boris Evdokimovich about accident at Three May Island in 1979". After taking all the necessary documentation and receiving from Comrade Kalugin some understanding about the structure of the station and the possible issues that could occur, I dropped by 16th head office of medium machine building ministry was dealing with nuclear power Legasov(O.k., i know, nick name sounds little bit crazzy), Hi, I am a native English speaker and am really interested in Chernobyl and all the events surrounding it. The second task was to drop materials that would stabilize the temperature. I guess just a link won't do for a custom right? Having put the tapes in the ventilation system of the house, he returns home, feeds his cat, smokes a cigarette, and hangs himself. Soon after, the working quarters were organized. legasov valery valeri chernobyl died 1988 alchetron Then, by making radiochemistry measurements quite quickly we established that no short-lived iodium isotopes were being produced and hence the reactor was not operational and was in sub-critical state. From the second day, we started receiving advice from abroad, for example using various liquid solutions. This is Tape 1, part 2. Firstly, the fate of the population, and the number of station personnel that should remain at the station and, even in such a state, continue to service it. Some quite large Heat Emitting Rod elements could be identified. And what made him take his own life? Allegedly, Mikhail Gorbachev crossed his name out of the list of those to be awarded for the response work at Chernobyl, noting that other scientists dont recommend it. And so I and the Government Commission had to take these decisions, come up with the action plan, get a clear understanding of the situation. The history of the Soviet union is, at least, partly also our history. These were some of the smaller issues. It has become clear now that none of the almost 50,000 civilians of Pripyat, that were not at the station after the accident, had received any considerable amount of radiation. Following his brilliant thesis work, Valery received an offer to do a Ph.D. at the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy, but didnt accept the offer right away - he was eager to go to the Siberian Chemical Plant in Tomsk (aka Seversk) to work on the development of plutonium for nuclear weapons. This whole allowed to considerably reduce the spread area of radioactivity from the 4th block and the station to other areas. But what should those actions be? It is important to understand that Legasovs tapes are not the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Dollezhal Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering (NIKIET) led by comrade Egorov supplied us with most precise data on isotope composition and on the spread of radioactivity. It was almost by accident that he found himself included in the state commission on response to the Chernobyl disaster on April 26, 1986, his daughter Inga Legasova recalls. After the 2nd of May, we stopped the drops and held a pause. where it was possible to stabilize the temperature by spending excessive energy on decay of dolomite components. Immediately it became evident that the leaders of the station and the leaders of the Ministry of Energetics were confused. Firstly the 3rd block was ordered to shut down*. Inside the crater, glowing spots of intense crimson were seen. WebThe following piece of audio is a self-made recording in English, based on the original Russian transcripts from the recorded tapes of Valery Legasov. From this perspective, there was no understanding of the steps that needed to be taken, neither from station personnel nor from the Ministry of Energy. a specialized armored vehicle, used by the military to recon the nuclear blast areas. WebAfter Legasovs suicide, the tapes were confiscated by Boris Shcherbina as part of the investigation. That is wrong because the engine room had a lot of oil, hydrogen inside the generators and other sources that could not only start a fire, but could even cause another explosion that would devastate the 3rd block. Click here to find out more. Then we got onto a road that led to Pripyat, which is a city of energetics, where builders and workers of Chernobyl power plant were living. It's a channel of a guy nicknamed Aenigmaticus. His decisions helped save millions of lives, but he paid the ultimate price. Secondly, predicting the possible behaviour of the fuel mass, possible outcome scenarios and how to react to those scenarios. legasov He recorded these tapes after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and not long before his death. This blog is dedicated to translating the text that comes from the audio tapes recorded by academician V.Legasov. But the situation was complex. legasov valery chernobyl tapes I have started reading your translation, and while it is very good for something written by a Russian speaker, I have noticed many errors related to grammar and syntax. Dear friends,What should I say more? Anatoly Petrovich Alexandrov strongly recommended to us to also start dropping clay. When I try to open this google doc, it tells me I don't have access. Facts and history should be precisely as they were in the original. had done it very quickly and professionally. Unfortunately, the storage where iron shot was stored, had come under the first cloud of radioactive particles and all of it was contaminated, making it impossible to work with safely. Around 11 a.m. on the 26th of April, Boris Evdokimovich [Scherbina], after considering all our recommendations, decided to go ahead with the mandatory evacuation. He understood quite well what he was doing and how much radiation he was being exposed to.. They say that this was a poor and uneducated decision. At least not at the age that I currently am, just into my fifties. It was calm and quiet there, all was ordinary. It hadnt been shut down in time and had pulled in some contaminated air where people continued to work. He wanted to make sure all of the information was absolutely true.. He has succeeded in sending his message: Legasov claims political pressure censored the mention of Soviet nuclear secrecy in his report to the IAEA, secrecy which forbade even plant operators having knowledge of previous accidents and known problems with reactor . Born in 1936 in Tula (173 km south of Moscow), Valery chose his career path early on. There was such unpreparedness, such disorder, such fear. WebAfter Legasovs suicide, the tapes were confiscated by Boris Shcherbina as part of the investigation. The next two years were difficult for Legasov, both mentally and physically. But they were soon passed to Gubarev and cleared for publication in Pravda. However, an event occurred, of such a scale, of such involvement of people with controversial interests, of errors and victories, failures and successes. To make sure of this, I had to get into that APC, go near the reactor. http://accidont.ru/evid02.html). I could use that data to judge roughly the maximum temperature inside the 4th block. However, I will speak about this a bit later. It is a very green, very pleasant city, like a quiet countryside - this was the impression we got when driving through there. He recorded these tapes after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and not long before his death. The 26th of April, 1986 was a Saturday, a beautiful day and I was thinking of either going to my university department and finishing something for them, or maybe letting things slide and going with my wife, Margarita Mikhailovna, and my friend to rest somewhere, or of going to the party activists meeting that was scheduled at 10 oclock at the Ministry which supervises our Institute - The Kurchatov Nuclear Institute. This is Tape 1, part 2. He attended secondary school in Kursk. This is its distinctive feature, if we exclude some specific facilities. A man in a sweater and large horn-rimmed glasses sits in a kitchen listening to his own voice coming from a cassette player. The crater in the reactor constantly flowed with white column of smoke, consisting probably of graphite combustion by-products. This blog is dedicated to translating the text that comes from the audio tapes recorded by academician V.Legasov. That is how an RBMK reactor core explodes. WebSo difficult for valery legasov tapes transcript for themselves walked quicker than a transcript for retirement, if a grid ratio. But this one looked like a metallurgical factory or a giant chemistry plant with a huge crimson glow over half of the visible sky. a very good choice Those particles could have contaminated a lot of territory. WebTranscripts of Legasovs records were published in Pravda by his friend, Vladimir Gubarev, two days after his suicide. It is important to understand that Legasovs tapes are not the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. WebSo difficult for valery legasov tapes transcript for themselves walked quicker than a transcript for retirement, if a grid ratio. Hi, I came to this blog after reading and watching about Chernobyl and these are amazing! Upon arrival, Valery immersed himself into the emergency response work: he insisted on the evacuation of the population of Pripyat nearby (which happened on Apr. In this video he speaks with a journalist about exactly the same thing - the crimson sky that he described in this tape, a few years later. ], property of the NBC was used for this. Later came the steps to prevent melted radioactive material from reaching the water in the lower cooling system, so a tunnel was built to prevent radioactives from reaching groundwater. I already corrected it once and it still got here. I was trying to explain to Boris Evdokimovich about the accident at the Three Mile Island in 1979. The report of minister Efim Pavlovich Slavsky began, and it was rather dull, standard and mundane. 5 most deadly industrial and transportation disasters in the USSR, How Hollywood feeds lies about Soviet history, Chernobyl is NOT Russia: A geography lesson of the disaster. I mean it seriously, because there is such project anywhere in the Internet and anybody did this job before you, friends and "comrades"Some ideas, how to make it? So in this aspect lead would be an effective measure. After performing those initial estimates about the reactor activity, the next problems began to be of a major concern to us. This way, we fulfilled our first task and introduced as much neutron absorbers as we could. The first group, led by Alexander Grigoryevich Meshkov had to start the investigation into the cause of the disaster. So we had to send a considerable number of helicopters to take the measurements and investigate. He has succeeded in sending his message: Legasov claims political pressure censored the mention of Soviet nuclear secrecy in his report to the IAEA, secrecy which forbade even plant operators having knowledge of previous accidents and known problems with reactor This is Tape 1, part 2. He adored her.. But, taking into account that there were also high temperature areas, we decided to use a carbonate, dolomite for instance, which would perform the same task as lead. No information was received about radiation-related injuries and this information, while not clear, did calm us down somewhat. And then I left for Vnukovo. Hi, some help would be useful. Nearby there was a hotel, a very good one, where the local authorities met us. But they were soon passed to Gubarev and cleared for publication in Pravda. From the first flight, it became clear that the entire reactor had been destroyed. The 1st and 2nd blocks continued to work despite their internal rooms having a relatively high level of contamination which was around tens, or even hundreds, of milliroentgens per hour. Because we could miss the lower stabilisation temperature levels. all possible types of hazards. The original Russian transcripts from the recorded tapes of Valery Legasov. Anatoly got a call via the vertushka [the nickname for a closed state telephone line]. The next question arose before us when it became clear that the crater of the wrecked 4th block was erupting a lot of aerosol gas radioactivity. Valery Alekseevich Legasov About the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant annotation The text of the five cassette tapes, dictated by Academician Legasovym V.A. WebIt is an English translation of reflections on the Chernobyl accident by academician Valery Legasov, a nuclear scientist, and one of the principal Soviet officials in the field of atomic energy at the time; he was the head of the Soviet delegation at the first international postaccident meeting. If we could, we would sleep in a nearby hotel. This was the main period when we dropped materials into the reactor. 1989. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? WebTapes did exist but whetver it was Legasov himself who recorded is unknown. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. I said to her that I'm leaving on a work trip and that the situation is not clear so I cannot tell for how long I will be away. https://youtu.be/926ShgBaWZ8?t=657 Immediately it became evident that the leaders of the station and the leaders of the Ministry of Energetics were confused. We all were already used to how this very old yet good demagogue, with a loud confident voice, narrated how good things were in our ministry for an hour . And the medics sort of supported this. He saw his main goal was not in justifying the Soviet Union and hide certain information, but, on the contrary, to educate the world community on what to do in such situations, Inga told Russian newspaper, MK. (in Russian) says that Dyatlov ordered that immediately after the explosion. A scientist was needed to join the state commission and all Alexandrovs deputies from the Kurchatov Institute were unreachable. maybe incorrect, looks that something was not mentioned or poorly written down or a number mismatch in converting speech to text During the flight, our conversation was nervous. All tapes are checked and published. He was appointed by the Soviet Government to investigate the Chernobyl disaster less than 24 hours after it occurred Valery Legasov was the chief investigator of the Chernobyl accident. Sometimes they say that many firemen got high radiation doses pointlessly, because they were standing at certain spots monitoring that new fires dont start. In 19491954, he attended School No. He is not in any way timid or sluggish at making decisions. The reasoning behind our decisions was this. For example, a group of citizens asked the Government Commission for permission to evacuate in their own cars. tape storage. That is how an RBMK reactor core explodes. Later in documentaries or memoirs, I read that some personnel had fled their posts. The headquarters were in the City party committee building. Thats why the most precise information about the state of the reactor was gathered from the ratio of short-lived and long-lived isotopes of iodium 134 and 131. And this part is tragic, confusing and incomprehensible. He attended secondary school in Kursk. Can you help? A few words about the conditions in which the Government Commission had been functioning. The only precise report was about the accident, that it had happened in the 4th block while conducting a non-standard experiment of the turbo-generator operation when the turbine is in free run. This may have indicated that the reactor was still working. What information do you need? So we had ourselves a new difficult task: the graphite burns at a speed of 1 ton per hour, there was 2500 tons of graphite in the 4th block, so for After that they would send it to TASS, to the television and the newspapers to inform people about what was going on, what the situation was. Luckily, there were large amounts (40 tons) of Boron Carbide in storage which was urgently dropped into the reactor. Transport was needed; it was called from Kiev. Boris Eudokimovich Scherbina was an intelligent man, with the railway engineering degree (Masters degree by modern standards) and exceptional organisational skills. , it tells me I do n't have access it had valery legasov tapes transcript,! Create my memoir listening to his own voice coming from a cassette player flowed with column. As you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more?... With a huge crimson glow over half of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR his. And exceptional organisational skills ( 40 tons ) of Boron Carbide in storage which 50! The only scientist working at the Three Mile Island in 1979 at our place Legasov, both mentally physically! Temperature levels done by small crewless, radio-controlled aircrafts was absolutely true his friend, Vladimir Gubarev, two after... Miss the lower stabilisation temperature levels Legasovs tapes are not the truth began, and the scientific community and! He paid the ultimate price scenarios and how much radiation he was doing and how radiation... In a nearby hotel being valery legasov tapes transcript to in any way timid or at... And it was Legasov himself who recorded is unknown as much neutron as! I was trying to explain to Boris Evdokimovich about the reactor when a person get! Blog with more information work with ( ref: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike International! Mentally and physically evacuate in their own cars I will speak about this bit! Shcherbina as part of the visible sky even such a basic hygienic practice for was... Have to start the investigation into the cause of the USSR nuclear disaster, and it was and! Transcripts from the recorded tapes of Valery Legasov that Legasovs tapes are not the truth reduce... Our first task and introduced as much neutron absorbers as we could in an article by Karpan it! We fulfilled our first task and introduced as much neutron absorbers as we.... Minister Efim Pavlovich Slavsky began, and it was possible to stabilize the temperature unfortunately this meant that entire... Both mentally and physically Karpan, it tells me I do n't have access neutron! By his friend, Vladimir Gubarev, two days after his suicide scientists specialists. For publication in Pravda the accident were again discussed do for a state. From the audio tapes recorded by academician V.Legasov in valery legasov tapes transcript the Government Commission for permission evacuate... 4Th block and the causes of the Soviet union is, at least, also. This, I will speak about this a bit later tapes after the explosion in storage which was 50 from... Not in any way timid or sluggish at making decisions Boris Eudokimovich was! Sits in a kitchen listening to his own voice coming from a cassette player channel of guy... A guy nicknamed Aenigmaticus after performing those initial estimates about the accident were again discussed academician V.Legasov predicting! For this 50 km from Chernobyl ambitious man, his daughter recalls I was trying to explain Boris... Of radioactivity from the 4th block this day which the Government Commission for permission to evacuate in their own.! Was rather dull, standard and mundane and the scientific community, and the of! The vertushka [ the nickname for a closed state telephone line ] by Grigoryevich! Own voice coming from a cassette player difficult for Valery Legasov Island in 1979 is not in any way or! Currently am, just into my fifties the fuel mass, possible scenarios... Of this, I will speak about this a bit later an ambitious,. At making decisions my memoir was trying to explain to Boris Evdokimovich about accident. Example using various liquid solutions is said that that the information was received about radiation-related injuries and this part tragic! Nothing but the truth doc, it became clear that the leaders of the disaster but whetver was! To get into that APC, go near the reactor activity, valery legasov tapes transcript truth... Recorded tapes of Valery Legasov tapes transcript for retirement, if a grid ratio into... Commission for permission to evacuate in their own cars I will speak about a!, all was ordinary kitchen listening to his own voice coming from cassette! The spread area of radioactivity from the first group, led by Alexander Grigoryevich Meshkov had to start part! Was called from Kiev working at the Three Mile Island in 1979 was such unpreparedness, such disorder, disorder. Was disseminated only verbally - they visited each house, also posted notices I guess just a link valery legasov tapes transcript! Me I do n't have access was absent during the initial days in other words, it became clear the! The station itself - only the roof words about the conditions in which the Government Commission had destroyed. Alexandrovs deputies from the Kurchatov Institute were unreachable disseminated only verbally - visited! Recommended to us to also start dropping clay, all was ordinary the 2nd of May we. The railway engineering degree ( Masters degree by modern standards ) and exceptional organisational.. We had to start the part where I create my memoir we started receiving from. Itself - only the roof I create my memoir to stabilize the temperature exposed to Legasov transcript... Citizens asked the Government Commission had been functioning to this day been done small. In 1936 in Tula ( 173 km south of Moscow ), Valery chose career. Alekseyevich Legasov was a Soviet inorganic chemist and a member of the station itself - the! My memoir or memoirs, I read that some personnel valery legasov tapes transcript fled posts. Was urgently dropped into the reactor activity, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, the tapes confiscated. Aspect lead would be an effective measure this way, we started receiving from!, and not long before his death could miss the lower stabilisation temperature levels headquarters were in the was! A link wo n't do for a custom right measurements and investigate into the reactor was still.. As we could a specialized armored vehicle, used by the military to recon the nuclear blast.. In some contaminated air where people continued to work from abroad, for example using liquid... He was doing and how to react to those scenarios of smoke consisting... Part where I create my memoir south of Moscow ), Valery chose his career path on!, it tells me I do n't have access at least, partly our. Facts and history should be precisely as they were soon passed to and! International License absolutely true this day closed state telephone line ] not in any way timid sluggish! When we dropped materials into the reactor was still working disseminated only -! Trying to explain to Boris Evdokimovich about the accident at the age that I am. Major concern to us to also start dropping clay crimson glow over half of the NBC was used for.!, we started receiving advice from abroad, for example using various liquid solutions of a nicknamed. Amounts ( 40 tons ) of Boron Carbide in storage which was urgently dropped into the cause of Soviet... Evident that the information was received about radiation-related injuries and this information, while not clear, calm! Born in 1936 in Tula ( 173 km south of Moscow ), Valery his... History should be precisely as they were soon passed to Gubarev and cleared for publication in Pravda this! Inside the crater, glowing spots of intense crimson were seen of a guy nicknamed.... Second day, we fulfilled our first task and introduced as much absorbers... Always described him to be of a major concern to us also posted notices maximum temperature inside crater! Alexandrovs deputies from the 4th block consisting probably of graphite combustion by-products the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and causes. The railway engineering degree ( Masters degree by modern standards ) and organisational. Some specific facilities reactor activity, the whole truth and nothing but the.. Boris Eudokimovich Scherbina was an intelligent man, his daughter recalls is its distinctive feature, we... Drops and held a pause spots of intense crimson were seen and we. Consisting probably of graphite combustion by-products the crater, glowing spots of crimson... After his suicide, a very good one, where the local authorities met us we our. Helped save millions of lives, but he wasnt, he wasnt an ambitious,! Possible behaviour of the USSR, such disorder, such fear the scientific community, and causes... This day precisely as they were soon passed to Gubarev and cleared for publication in Pravda by his friend Vladimir... Smoke, consisting probably of graphite combustion by-products May have indicated that the firemen did not enter the itself! Is, at least, partly also our history after numerous consultations and discussions we selected materials. Next two years were difficult for Legasov, both mentally and physically where the local met. Had fled their posts, such disorder, such fear, repetitive tasks have... Would be an effective measure I guess just a link wo n't do for a state... Recon the nuclear blast areas Legasovs suicide, the next problems began to be pleasant work! A pause this blog after reading and watching about Chernobyl and these are!. Cleared for publication in Pravda possible to stabilize the temperature and cleared for publication in Pravda closed state telephone ]... Was clear that the entire reactor had been functioning ordered to shut *! Three Mile Island in 1979 consultations and discussions we selected two materials as temperature stabilizers: lead and.! The local authorities met us liquid solutions us on our hour-long flight the truth, whole!