1 00:01:37,350 --> 00:01:39,101 You work too hard. 2 00:01:40,686 --> 00:01:42,229 Where is everyone? 3 00:01:42,355 --> 00:01:43,773 They refused to come in. 4 00:01:45,149 --> 00:01:46,317 Why? 5 00:01:46,609 --> 00:01:48,402 It's Saturday. 6 00:01:50,821 --> 00:01:51,989 Why did you come in? 7 00:01:52,073 --> 00:01:53,157 I work too hard. 8 00:01:53,574 --> 00:01:54,867 It's boiling in here. 9 00:02:09,757 --> 00:02:12,218 Eight milliroentgen. A leak? 10 00:02:12,301 --> 00:02:13,302 No. 11 00:02:14,762 --> 00:02:17,098 It would've gone off before. It's coming from outside. 12 00:02:17,848 --> 00:02:18,933 The Americans? 13 00:02:59,682 --> 00:03:00,975 Iodine-131. 14 00:03:02,143 --> 00:03:05,396 It's not military. It's uranium decay, U-235. 15 00:03:06,147 --> 00:03:07,148 Reactor fuel? 16 00:03:10,276 --> 00:03:13,028 Ignalina. Maybe, uh, 240 kilometers away. 17 00:03:22,872 --> 00:03:25,833 Yes, this is Ulana Khomyuk with the Institute of Nuclear... 18 00:03:27,251 --> 00:03:28,252 Looking for... 19 00:03:33,507 --> 00:03:35,843 - All right, stay calm. - Don't tell me to stay calm. 20 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,183 They're at four. It's not them. 21 00:03:42,850 --> 00:03:43,851 Who's the next closest? 22 00:03:44,393 --> 00:03:46,979 It's Chernobyl, but that's not possible. They're 400 kilometers away. 23 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:49,398 That's too far for eight milliroentgen. 24 00:03:49,482 --> 00:03:50,691 They'd have to be split open. 25 00:03:51,484 --> 00:03:52,735 Maybe they know something. 26 00:04:01,202 --> 00:04:03,037 - Iodine. - Could it be a waste dump? 27 00:04:03,787 --> 00:04:04,788 No. 28 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:06,665 We'd be seeing other isotopes. 29 00:04:07,458 --> 00:04:09,043 Nuclear test? Uh... 30 00:04:09,919 --> 00:04:10,961 New kind of bomb? 31 00:04:11,045 --> 00:04:12,963 We'd have heard. That's what half our people work on here. 32 00:04:15,633 --> 00:04:19,720 Something with the space program like a satellite or... 33 00:04:22,264 --> 00:04:23,432 No one's answering the phone. 34 00:04:44,745 --> 00:04:46,163 Get everyone started on an IV. 35 00:04:46,247 --> 00:04:47,248 We don't have enough. 36 00:04:47,331 --> 00:04:49,166 - All the children, then. - But we don't have enough! 37 00:04:49,250 --> 00:04:50,292 As many as you can! 38 00:04:50,918 --> 00:04:53,420 - Where's the old man? - He's set up a burn ward in 16. 39 00:05:08,394 --> 00:05:09,603 What are you doing? What is that? 40 00:05:09,770 --> 00:05:12,106 Milk. It's milk. Much better than water. 41 00:05:12,189 --> 00:05:13,566 No, no, no. Stop. Stop! 42 00:05:13,649 --> 00:05:14,650 What are you doing? 43 00:05:14,733 --> 00:05:15,985 These are radiation burns! 44 00:05:16,068 --> 00:05:17,695 Their clothes are contaminated! 45 00:05:18,237 --> 00:05:19,738 Help me! 46 00:05:21,198 --> 00:05:22,199 Get it all off. 47 00:05:23,867 --> 00:05:25,578 We're taking it down to the basement. 48 00:05:28,747 --> 00:05:30,207 He was a firefighter from Chernobyl. 49 00:05:30,291 --> 00:05:31,709 Can you stop pushing, please? 50 00:05:36,005 --> 00:05:37,089 We have our orders! 51 00:05:37,590 --> 00:05:39,550 - Disperse! - Hey, there! Get him! 52 00:05:42,136 --> 00:05:43,721 Why are you keeping us out here? 53 00:06:40,611 --> 00:06:41,612 Professor Legasov? 54 00:06:42,571 --> 00:06:43,614 Oh, no, not yet. 55 00:06:44,198 --> 00:06:46,533 They're finishing up some other business. It'll be a few more minutes. 56 00:06:46,617 --> 00:06:47,660 Can I get you some tea? 57 00:06:47,743 --> 00:06:49,119 No, I'm fine. Thank you. 58 00:06:49,203 --> 00:06:51,038 Would you care to read Deputy Chairman Shcherbina's report 59 00:06:51,121 --> 00:06:52,122 while you're waiting? 60 00:06:52,206 --> 00:06:53,374 Certainly. Thank you. 61 00:07:53,517 --> 00:07:55,102 All right, Professor. They're ready. 62 00:07:56,895 --> 00:07:58,522 Professor Legasov? 63 00:08:24,006 --> 00:08:25,174 You have my support. 64 00:08:32,473 --> 00:08:34,391 Thank you all for your duty to this commission. 65 00:08:34,475 --> 00:08:37,478 We will begin with Deputy Chairman Shcherbina's briefing, 66 00:08:37,561 --> 00:08:41,023 and then, we will discuss next steps if necessary. 67 00:08:41,315 --> 00:08:43,192 Thank you, comrade General Secretary. 68 00:08:43,275 --> 00:08:47,613 I'm pleased to report that the situation in Chernobyl is stable. 69 00:08:47,696 --> 00:08:50,491 Military and civilian patrols have secured the region, 70 00:08:50,574 --> 00:08:52,451 and Colonel General Pikalov, 71 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:55,871 who commands troops specializing in chemical hazards, 72 00:08:55,954 --> 00:08:57,790 has been dispatched to the plant. 73 00:08:58,123 --> 00:08:59,458 In terms of radiation, 74 00:08:59,541 --> 00:09:03,754 plant director Bryukhanov reports no more than 3.6 roentgen. 75 00:09:04,171 --> 00:09:06,715 I'm told it's the equivalent of a chest X-ray. 76 00:09:06,799 --> 00:09:09,343 So if you're overdue for a check-up... 77 00:09:09,718 --> 00:09:11,804 - And foreign press? - Totally unaware. 78 00:09:12,513 --> 00:09:14,890 KGB First Deputy Chairman Charkov assures me 79 00:09:14,973 --> 00:09:17,643 that we have successfully protected our security interests. 80 00:09:18,227 --> 00:09:20,312 Good. Very good. 81 00:09:20,729 --> 00:09:23,065 Well, it seems like it's well in hand, so... 82 00:09:24,525 --> 00:09:26,985 If there's nothing else, meeting adjourned. 83 00:09:28,278 --> 00:09:29,279 No! 84 00:09:32,241 --> 00:09:33,242 Pardon me? 85 00:09:34,284 --> 00:09:35,953 Uh, we can't adjourn. 86 00:09:36,578 --> 00:09:38,914 This is Professor Legasov of the Kurchatov Institute. 87 00:09:39,331 --> 00:09:40,916 Professor, if you have any concerns, 88 00:09:40,999 --> 00:09:42,793 feel free to address them with me later. 89 00:09:42,876 --> 00:09:45,796 I can't. I am sorry. I'm so sorry. 90 00:09:46,755 --> 00:09:50,384 Page three, the section on casualties. Uh... 91 00:09:51,343 --> 00:09:54,263 "A fireman was severely burned on his hand 92 00:09:54,346 --> 00:09:56,682 "by a chunk of smooth, black mineral 93 00:09:56,765 --> 00:09:59,268 "on the ground, outside the reactor building." 94 00:09:59,351 --> 00:10:01,186 Smooth, black mineral, graphite. 95 00:10:01,270 --> 00:10:03,105 There's graphite on the ground. 96 00:10:06,066 --> 00:10:09,069 Well, there was a tank explosion. There's debris. 97 00:10:09,444 --> 00:10:10,612 Of what importance that could be... 98 00:10:10,696 --> 00:10:14,283 There's only one place in the entire facility where you will find graphite. 99 00:10:14,366 --> 00:10:15,450 Inside the core. 100 00:10:15,534 --> 00:10:17,202 If there's graphite on the ground outside, 101 00:10:17,286 --> 00:10:19,454 it means it wasn't a control system tank that exploded. 102 00:10:19,538 --> 00:10:21,832 It was the reactor core. It's open! 103 00:10:25,127 --> 00:10:26,128 Um... 104 00:10:26,837 --> 00:10:27,921 Comrade Shcherbina? 105 00:10:28,005 --> 00:10:29,965 Comrade General Secretary, I can assure you 106 00:10:30,048 --> 00:10:31,550 that Professor Legasov is mistaken. 107 00:10:32,134 --> 00:10:34,469 Bryukhanov reports that the reactor core is intact. 108 00:10:34,636 --> 00:10:37,055 - And as for the radiation... - Yes, 3.6 roentgen, 109 00:10:37,139 --> 00:10:39,600 which, by the way, is not the equivalent of one chest X-ray, 110 00:10:39,683 --> 00:10:41,977 but rather 400 chest X-rays. 111 00:10:42,060 --> 00:10:44,396 That number's been bothering me for a different reason, though. 112 00:10:44,897 --> 00:10:48,233 It's also the maximum reading on low-limit dosimeters. 113 00:10:48,317 --> 00:10:50,402 They gave us the number they had. 114 00:10:51,236 --> 00:10:54,031 I think the true number is much, much higher. 115 00:10:54,114 --> 00:10:56,700 If I'm right, this fireman was holding the equivalent 116 00:10:56,783 --> 00:10:59,244 of four million chest X-rays in his hand. 117 00:10:59,328 --> 00:11:01,622 Professor Legasov, there's no place for alarmist hysteria... 118 00:11:01,705 --> 00:11:03,165 It's not alarmist if it's a fact! 119 00:11:03,248 --> 00:11:05,626 Well, I don't hear any facts at all. 120 00:11:06,835 --> 00:11:09,463 All I hear is a man I don't know 121 00:11:09,546 --> 00:11:12,633 engaging in conjecture in direct contradiction 122 00:11:12,716 --> 00:11:14,718 to what has been reported by party officials. 123 00:11:15,052 --> 00:11:17,179 I'm, uh... I apologize. 124 00:11:18,263 --> 00:11:20,223 I didn't mean, uh... 125 00:11:20,891 --> 00:11:24,478 Please, may I express my concern 126 00:11:24,561 --> 00:11:27,981 as calmly and as respectfully as I... 127 00:11:28,065 --> 00:11:30,776 - Professor Legasov... - Boris. 128 00:11:31,735 --> 00:11:32,778 I will allow it. 129 00:11:42,496 --> 00:11:43,830 Um... 130 00:11:45,958 --> 00:11:47,709 An RBMK reactor 131 00:11:48,710 --> 00:11:52,339 uses uranium-235 as fuel. 132 00:11:53,507 --> 00:11:57,469 Every atom of U-235 is like a bullet 133 00:11:58,136 --> 00:12:00,263 traveling at nearly the speed of light, 134 00:12:00,514 --> 00:12:02,683 penetrating everything in its path, 135 00:12:02,766 --> 00:12:04,851 woods, metal, concrete, flesh. 136 00:12:06,269 --> 00:12:09,231 Every gram of U-235 holds 137 00:12:09,314 --> 00:12:12,275 over a billion trillion of these bullets. 138 00:12:12,359 --> 00:12:13,902 That's in one gram. 139 00:12:13,986 --> 00:12:16,989 Now, Chernobyl holds over three million grams, 140 00:12:17,072 --> 00:12:18,532 and right now, it is on fire. 141 00:12:19,992 --> 00:12:24,121 Winds will carry radioactive particles across the entire continent, 142 00:12:24,579 --> 00:12:26,164 rain will bring them down on us. 143 00:12:26,248 --> 00:12:29,376 That's three million billion trillion bullets 144 00:12:29,459 --> 00:12:32,921 in the... In the air we breathe, 145 00:12:33,338 --> 00:12:35,841 the water we drink, the food we eat. 146 00:12:38,427 --> 00:12:41,805 Most of these bullets will not stop firing for 100 years. 147 00:12:42,889 --> 00:12:45,892 Some of them, not for 50,000 years. 148 00:12:46,184 --> 00:12:48,895 Yes, and this concern 149 00:12:50,022 --> 00:12:53,525 stems entirely from the description of a rock? 150 00:12:58,238 --> 00:12:59,239 Yes. 151 00:13:01,908 --> 00:13:02,909 Hmm. 152 00:13:06,455 --> 00:13:07,456 Comrade Shcherbina... 153 00:13:09,124 --> 00:13:10,834 I want you to go to Chernobyl. 154 00:13:11,710 --> 00:13:13,670 You take a look at the reactor, you personally, 155 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:15,797 and you report directly back to me. 156 00:13:16,006 --> 00:13:18,258 A wise decision, comrade General Secretary... 157 00:13:18,341 --> 00:13:19,968 And take Professor Legasov with you. 158 00:13:21,678 --> 00:13:22,971 Uh... 159 00:13:23,305 --> 00:13:26,224 Forgive me, comrade General Secretary, but I... 160 00:13:26,308 --> 00:13:28,268 Do you know how a nuclear reactor works? 161 00:13:30,729 --> 00:13:32,064 - No. - No. 162 00:13:32,147 --> 00:13:34,107 Well, then how will you know what you're looking at? 163 00:13:35,484 --> 00:13:36,651 Meeting adjourned. 164 00:14:36,461 --> 00:14:38,046 How does a nuclear reactor work? 165 00:14:38,130 --> 00:14:40,382 - What? - It's a simple question. 166 00:14:42,384 --> 00:14:44,261 It's hardly a simple answer. 167 00:14:44,344 --> 00:14:47,597 Of course, you presume I'm too stupid to understand. 168 00:14:48,431 --> 00:14:51,726 So I'll restate. Tell me how a nuclear reactor works, 169 00:14:51,810 --> 00:14:54,354 or I'll have one of these soldiers throw you out of the helicopter. 170 00:15:04,865 --> 00:15:08,201 A nuclear reactor makes electricity with steam. 171 00:15:08,743 --> 00:15:11,663 The steam turns a turbine which generates electricity. 172 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:13,623 Where a typical power plant 173 00:15:14,166 --> 00:15:15,959 makes steam by burning coal, 174 00:15:16,334 --> 00:15:18,003 a nuclear plant... 175 00:15:23,550 --> 00:15:27,596 In a nuclear plant, we use something called fission. 176 00:15:29,222 --> 00:15:33,894 We take an unstable element like uranium-235, 177 00:15:34,644 --> 00:15:36,646 which has too many neutrons. 178 00:15:36,730 --> 00:15:38,648 - A neutron is, uh... - The bullet. 179 00:15:41,026 --> 00:15:42,694 Yes, the bullet. 180 00:15:43,820 --> 00:15:46,656 So, bullets are flying off of uranium. 181 00:15:46,740 --> 00:15:47,741 Now, 182 00:15:47,824 --> 00:15:52,454 if we put enough uranium atoms close together, 183 00:15:53,330 --> 00:15:56,750 the bullets from one atom will eventually strike another atom. 184 00:15:57,626 --> 00:16:00,670 The force of this impact splits that atom apart, 185 00:16:00,754 --> 00:16:03,840 releasing a tremendous amount of energy, fission. 186 00:16:04,216 --> 00:16:06,843 - And the graphite? - Ah... Yes. 187 00:16:07,177 --> 00:16:11,014 The neutrons are actually traveling so fast, we call this "flux." 188 00:16:11,389 --> 00:16:13,892 It's relatively unlikely that the uranium atoms 189 00:16:14,017 --> 00:16:15,268 will ever hit one another. 190 00:16:16,102 --> 00:16:20,774 In RBMK reactors, we surround the fuel rods with graphite 191 00:16:20,857 --> 00:16:25,028 to moderate, slow down, the neutron flux. 192 00:16:29,074 --> 00:16:30,116 Good. 193 00:16:31,076 --> 00:16:33,370 I know how a nuclear reactor works. 194 00:16:35,580 --> 00:16:36,998 Now I don't need you. 195 00:16:56,851 --> 00:16:58,687 Can you help me? I need to find my husband. 196 00:16:58,770 --> 00:16:59,813 No. Not now. 197 00:17:04,276 --> 00:17:05,485 - Mikhail! - Lyudmilla. 198 00:17:05,568 --> 00:17:07,195 Take her. 199 00:17:07,529 --> 00:17:09,281 Take her away from here, please. 200 00:17:09,364 --> 00:17:12,033 Get away from them! You want to get sick? Go! 201 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:13,493 Please take her, please take her. 202 00:17:13,576 --> 00:17:14,911 Please take her, please. 203 00:17:14,995 --> 00:17:17,122 Please! Please! 204 00:17:17,455 --> 00:17:19,040 Please take her! 205 00:17:23,128 --> 00:17:24,254 Um... 206 00:17:24,754 --> 00:17:27,340 Excuse me, I am Vasily Ignatenko's wife. 207 00:17:27,674 --> 00:17:29,926 He's a fireman. Ignatenko. 208 00:17:31,678 --> 00:17:34,347 Ignatenko, Sixth Paramilitary Fire and Rescue Unit. 209 00:17:34,431 --> 00:17:36,725 I need to find him. Please. 210 00:17:40,645 --> 00:17:42,105 Ignatenko... 211 00:17:42,188 --> 00:17:44,399 He's being transported by helicopter to Moscow. 212 00:17:44,899 --> 00:17:46,026 Hospital number six. 213 00:17:46,568 --> 00:17:48,653 Why, is he all right? Can I see him? 214 00:17:48,737 --> 00:17:50,113 You want to see him? Go to Moscow. 215 00:17:50,572 --> 00:17:52,240 But they're not letting us leave here. 216 00:17:55,243 --> 00:17:56,703 Tell them Major Burov allows it. 217 00:17:58,955 --> 00:18:00,457 When are they taking him? 218 00:18:01,333 --> 00:18:02,334 Now. 219 00:18:33,239 --> 00:18:34,657 We're approaching the power plant. 220 00:18:41,039 --> 00:18:42,248 What have they done? 221 00:18:44,042 --> 00:18:45,210 Can you see inside? 222 00:18:45,627 --> 00:18:46,836 I don't have to. 223 00:18:48,004 --> 00:18:50,840 Look. That's graphite on the roof. 224 00:18:50,924 --> 00:18:53,093 The whole building's been blown open. 225 00:18:53,176 --> 00:18:54,552 The core's exposed! 226 00:18:54,636 --> 00:18:56,513 I can't see how you can tell that from here. 227 00:18:56,596 --> 00:18:58,973 For God's sakes. Look at that glow! 228 00:18:59,599 --> 00:19:02,143 That's radiation ionizing the air! 229 00:19:02,352 --> 00:19:04,062 Well, if we can't see, we don't know. 230 00:19:04,312 --> 00:19:05,563 Get us directly over the building! 231 00:19:05,647 --> 00:19:07,065 - Boris... - Don't use my name! 232 00:19:07,148 --> 00:19:09,692 If we fly directly over an open reactor, we'll be dead within a week! 233 00:19:09,776 --> 00:19:10,819 Dead! 234 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:13,405 Sir? 235 00:19:13,488 --> 00:19:16,324 Get us over that building, or I'll have you shot! 236 00:19:20,829 --> 00:19:22,747 If you fly directly over that core, I promise you, 237 00:19:22,831 --> 00:19:24,541 by tomorrow morning, you'll be begging for that bullet. 238 00:20:13,214 --> 00:20:14,924 Perhaps if you came back another day. 239 00:20:20,221 --> 00:20:21,723 Just wonderful. 240 00:20:22,807 --> 00:20:24,392 Deputy Secretary Garanin. 241 00:20:25,602 --> 00:20:29,314 Ulana Khomyuk of the Byelorussian Institute for Nuclear Energy. 242 00:20:29,481 --> 00:20:30,482 What a pleasure. 243 00:20:30,899 --> 00:20:33,026 - Let me introduce... - I'm here about Chernobyl. 244 00:20:35,778 --> 00:20:36,988 Such a lovely time. 245 00:20:37,655 --> 00:20:39,908 - Visit again, soon. - I will. Thank you. 246 00:20:52,837 --> 00:20:55,590 I must tell you, this is why no one likes scientists. 247 00:20:56,382 --> 00:20:58,468 When we have a disease to cure, where are they? 248 00:20:58,801 --> 00:21:02,180 In a lab, noses in their books, and so Grandma dies. 249 00:21:02,805 --> 00:21:05,308 But when there isn't a problem, they're everywhere, spreading fear. 250 00:21:05,391 --> 00:21:06,809 I know about Chernobyl. 251 00:21:06,893 --> 00:21:08,061 Oh? 252 00:21:08,144 --> 00:21:10,980 I know that the core is either partially or completely exposed. 253 00:21:11,064 --> 00:21:13,399 - Whatever that means. - And that if you don't immediately 254 00:21:13,483 --> 00:21:16,194 issue iodine tablets and then evacuate this city, 255 00:21:16,277 --> 00:21:18,530 hundreds of thousands of people are going to get cancer, 256 00:21:18,947 --> 00:21:20,698 and God knows how many more will die. 257 00:21:21,241 --> 00:21:22,283 Yes, very good. 258 00:21:23,076 --> 00:21:25,203 There has been an accident at Chernobyl, 259 00:21:25,286 --> 00:21:27,080 but I've been assured there is no problem. 260 00:21:27,413 --> 00:21:28,915 I'm telling you that there is. 261 00:21:29,457 --> 00:21:31,084 I prefer my opinion to yours. 262 00:21:31,876 --> 00:21:33,670 I'm a nuclear physicist. 263 00:21:34,921 --> 00:21:37,924 Before you were Deputy Secretary, you worked in a shoe factory. 264 00:21:39,425 --> 00:21:42,053 Yes, I worked in a shoe factory. 265 00:21:43,888 --> 00:21:45,139 And now, I'm in charge. 266 00:21:48,268 --> 00:21:49,769 "To the workers of the world." 267 00:22:12,792 --> 00:22:17,505 Stable iodine will keep your thyroid from absorbing radioactive iodine. 268 00:22:19,007 --> 00:22:21,092 Take one a day for as long as they last. 269 00:22:21,884 --> 00:22:23,011 And go east. 270 00:22:23,970 --> 00:22:25,597 Get as far from Minsk as you can. 271 00:22:59,881 --> 00:23:00,882 It's overkill. 272 00:23:01,424 --> 00:23:03,551 Pikalov's showing off to make us look bad. 273 00:23:03,635 --> 00:23:05,678 It doesn't matter how it looks. 274 00:23:06,471 --> 00:23:08,264 Shcherbina is a pure bureaucrat, 275 00:23:08,848 --> 00:23:10,850 as stupid as he is pigheaded. 276 00:23:11,392 --> 00:23:13,353 We'll tell him the truth in the simplest terms possible. 277 00:23:13,436 --> 00:23:14,646 We'll be fine. 278 00:23:18,191 --> 00:23:19,192 Pikalov! 279 00:23:45,593 --> 00:23:48,262 Comrade Shcherbina, Chief Engineer Fomin, 280 00:23:48,346 --> 00:23:51,557 Colonel General Pikalov and I are honored at your arrival. 281 00:23:51,641 --> 00:23:52,975 Deeply, deeply honored. 282 00:23:53,267 --> 00:23:56,229 Naturally, we regret the circumstances of your visit, 283 00:23:56,312 --> 00:23:58,356 but, as you can see, we are making excellent progress 284 00:23:58,439 --> 00:24:00,024 in containing the damage. 285 00:24:00,108 --> 00:24:05,113 We have begun our own inquiry into the cause of the accident, 286 00:24:05,196 --> 00:24:08,241 and I have a list of individuals 287 00:24:08,324 --> 00:24:10,576 who we believe are accountable. 288 00:24:33,474 --> 00:24:34,892 Professor Legasov, I understand 289 00:24:34,976 --> 00:24:37,270 you've been saying dangerous things. 290 00:24:37,353 --> 00:24:38,730 Very dangerous things. 291 00:24:39,105 --> 00:24:41,023 Apparently, our reactor core exploded. 292 00:24:42,108 --> 00:24:45,987 Please, tell me how an RBMK reactor core explodes. 293 00:24:48,364 --> 00:24:50,408 I'm not prepared to explain it at this time. 294 00:24:51,159 --> 00:24:53,536 As I presumed, he has no answer. 295 00:24:53,619 --> 00:24:55,913 It's disgraceful, really. 296 00:24:56,789 --> 00:24:59,375 To spread disinformation at a time like this. 297 00:25:05,882 --> 00:25:08,217 Why did I see graphite on the roof? 298 00:25:09,177 --> 00:25:10,803 Graphite is only found in the core, 299 00:25:10,887 --> 00:25:13,806 where it's used as a neutron flux moderator. 300 00:25:14,307 --> 00:25:15,349 Correct? 301 00:25:16,684 --> 00:25:20,229 Fomin, why did the Deputy Chairman see graphite on the roof? 302 00:25:21,314 --> 00:25:22,690 Well, that can't be. 303 00:25:24,066 --> 00:25:26,736 Comrade Shcherbina, my apologies, but graphite... 304 00:25:26,944 --> 00:25:27,987 That's not possible. 305 00:25:28,154 --> 00:25:30,239 Perhaps you saw burnt concrete. 306 00:25:30,323 --> 00:25:31,657 Now there you made a mistake, 307 00:25:32,283 --> 00:25:34,702 because I may not know much about nuclear reactors, 308 00:25:35,161 --> 00:25:36,454 but I know a lot about concrete. 309 00:25:37,413 --> 00:25:39,791 - Comrade, I assure you... - I understand. 310 00:25:40,666 --> 00:25:42,335 You think Legasov is wrong? 311 00:25:43,586 --> 00:25:44,796 How shall we prove it? 312 00:25:46,798 --> 00:25:48,966 Our high-range dosimeter just arrived. 313 00:25:50,092 --> 00:25:52,303 We could cover one of our trucks with lead shielding, 314 00:25:53,137 --> 00:25:54,764 mount the dosimeter on the front. 315 00:26:01,312 --> 00:26:03,981 Have one of your men get as close to the fire as he can. 316 00:26:04,649 --> 00:26:06,317 Give him every bit of protection you have. 317 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,904 But understand that even with lead shielding, it may not be enough. 318 00:26:12,406 --> 00:26:13,574 Then I'll do it myself. 319 00:26:19,038 --> 00:26:20,039 Good. 320 00:28:18,783 --> 00:28:19,825 He's back. 321 00:28:49,563 --> 00:28:50,731 It's not three roentgen. 322 00:28:51,565 --> 00:28:52,566 It's 15,000. 323 00:28:53,943 --> 00:28:55,236 Comrade Shcherbina... 324 00:28:56,404 --> 00:28:57,905 What does that number mean? 325 00:28:57,989 --> 00:28:59,907 It means the core is open. 326 00:29:00,616 --> 00:29:02,743 It means the fire we're watching with our own eyes 327 00:29:02,827 --> 00:29:04,370 is giving off nearly twice the radiation 328 00:29:04,453 --> 00:29:06,205 released by the bomb in Hiroshima. 329 00:29:06,288 --> 00:29:08,124 And that's every single hour. 330 00:29:08,207 --> 00:29:11,168 Hour after hour, 20 hours since the explosion, 331 00:29:11,252 --> 00:29:12,878 so 40 bombs' worth by now. 332 00:29:13,129 --> 00:29:14,296 Forty-eight more tomorrow. 333 00:29:14,588 --> 00:29:17,133 And it will not stop. Not in a week, not in a month. 334 00:29:17,216 --> 00:29:18,759 It will burn and spread its poison 335 00:29:18,843 --> 00:29:20,928 until the entire continent is dead. 336 00:29:24,765 --> 00:29:26,976 Please escort Comrades Bryukhanov and Fomin 337 00:29:27,059 --> 00:29:28,602 to the local party headquarters. 338 00:29:29,437 --> 00:29:30,896 - Thank you for your service. - Comrade... 339 00:29:30,980 --> 00:29:32,148 You're excused. 340 00:29:33,024 --> 00:29:34,650 Dyatlov was in charge. 341 00:29:36,277 --> 00:29:37,570 It was Dyatlov! 342 00:29:38,029 --> 00:29:40,614 - Tell me how to put it out. - We'll use helicopters. 343 00:29:40,865 --> 00:29:42,450 We'll drop water on it like a forest fire. 344 00:29:42,533 --> 00:29:45,244 No, no, no. You don't understand. This isn't a fire. 345 00:29:46,162 --> 00:29:50,082 This is a fissioning reactor core burning at over 2,000 degrees. 346 00:29:50,166 --> 00:29:51,876 The heat will instantly vaporize the water... 347 00:29:51,959 --> 00:29:53,169 How do we put it out? 348 00:29:56,422 --> 00:29:58,424 You are dealing with something 349 00:29:58,507 --> 00:30:02,428 that has never occurred on this planet before. 350 00:30:04,930 --> 00:30:05,931 Boron. 351 00:30:07,475 --> 00:30:08,934 Boron and sand. 352 00:30:09,852 --> 00:30:12,396 Well, that'll create problems of its own, 353 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:14,190 but I don't see any other way. 354 00:30:14,940 --> 00:30:16,734 Of course, it's going to take thousands of drops, 355 00:30:16,817 --> 00:30:19,403 because you can't fly the helicopters directly over the core, 356 00:30:19,487 --> 00:30:21,072 so most of it is going to miss. 357 00:30:21,155 --> 00:30:23,324 - How much sand and boron? - Well, I can't be... 358 00:30:23,407 --> 00:30:26,744 - For God's sake, roughly! - Five thousand tons. 359 00:30:27,536 --> 00:30:30,289 And obviously, we're going to need to evacuate an enormous area... 360 00:30:30,372 --> 00:30:31,999 Never mind that. Focus on the fire. 361 00:30:32,083 --> 00:30:34,126 I am focusing on the fire. 362 00:30:34,752 --> 00:30:38,130 The wind, it's carrying all that smoke. 363 00:30:39,173 --> 00:30:40,716 All that radiation. 364 00:30:41,133 --> 00:30:43,969 At least evacuate Pripyat. It's three kilometers away. 365 00:30:44,053 --> 00:30:46,097 - That's my decision to make. - Then make it. 366 00:30:46,180 --> 00:30:48,891 - I've been told not to. - Is it or is not your decision? 367 00:30:48,974 --> 00:30:50,142 I'm in charge here! 368 00:30:50,768 --> 00:30:52,394 This will go much easier if you talk to me 369 00:30:52,478 --> 00:30:53,771 about the things you do understand 370 00:30:53,854 --> 00:30:55,940 and not about the things you do not understand. 371 00:31:00,444 --> 00:31:01,737 Where are you going? 372 00:31:01,821 --> 00:31:05,032 I'm going to get you 5,000 tons of sand and boron. 373 00:31:13,499 --> 00:31:14,750 There's a hotel. 374 00:32:11,473 --> 00:32:12,725 I'd prefer one of those. 375 00:32:21,525 --> 00:32:23,110 Superstitious? 376 00:32:32,203 --> 00:32:33,913 Moscow? 377 00:32:37,416 --> 00:32:39,293 Are you here because of the fire? 378 00:32:44,173 --> 00:32:46,592 Anything we should be worried about? 379 00:32:51,847 --> 00:32:52,890 No. 380 00:33:58,414 --> 00:34:01,000 We're in position. Approaching drop. 381 00:34:02,334 --> 00:34:03,669 Clear to proceed. 382 00:34:05,629 --> 00:34:08,841 Copy. We'll go one by one in rotation. 383 00:34:14,013 --> 00:34:15,806 Remind them about the perimeter. 384 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:21,687 They cannot fly directly over the fire. 385 00:34:21,770 --> 00:34:24,189 A minimum of a ten-meter perimeter. 386 00:34:24,273 --> 00:34:25,482 Ten-meterperimeter. Copy. 387 00:34:25,816 --> 00:34:29,361 Lead One, perpre-flight, maintain minimum ten-meterperimeter. 388 00:34:29,903 --> 00:34:30,946 Copy that. 389 00:34:31,030 --> 00:34:34,533 Forty meters, 35, 30... 390 00:34:38,537 --> 00:34:39,538 No, no, no. 391 00:34:39,621 --> 00:34:41,373 They're too close. 392 00:34:41,457 --> 00:34:43,208 If they can't get over the fire, how are they supposed... 393 00:34:43,292 --> 00:34:44,835 The wind will have to carry it. 394 00:34:44,918 --> 00:34:47,546 Tell them, they cannot go over the core. 395 00:34:50,174 --> 00:34:51,383 Lead One is too close. 396 00:34:51,467 --> 00:34:53,886 I repeat, they are too close. 397 00:34:53,969 --> 00:34:55,220 Copy. 398 00:34:56,055 --> 00:34:58,182 Lead One, you are inside the perimeter. 399 00:34:59,016 --> 00:35:02,269 Did not copy. Signal's breaking up. 400 00:35:04,063 --> 00:35:05,105 Lead One? 401 00:35:06,565 --> 00:35:07,566 Do you copy? 402 00:35:08,525 --> 00:35:09,902 Lead One, do you copy? 403 00:35:10,903 --> 00:35:12,780 Lead One, come in. 404 00:35:12,863 --> 00:35:14,615 Do you copy, Lead One? 405 00:35:14,698 --> 00:35:15,866 Lead One! 406 00:35:34,426 --> 00:35:36,553 Sir? What do I tell the others? 407 00:35:39,264 --> 00:35:41,183 Is there any other way, Legasov? 408 00:35:49,775 --> 00:35:50,943 Send the next one in. 409 00:35:53,153 --> 00:35:54,738 Tell them to approach from the west. 410 00:35:55,906 --> 00:35:58,992 Lead Two, approach from the west. 411 00:36:20,305 --> 00:36:22,266 Kurchatov Institute Laboratory Four. 412 00:36:23,016 --> 00:36:26,728 Marina Gruzinskaya, it's Ulana Khomyuk from Minsk. 413 00:36:29,273 --> 00:36:30,274 Oh, yes. 414 00:36:30,357 --> 00:36:32,901 How nice of you to phone. It's been too long. 415 00:36:32,985 --> 00:36:34,111 It has. 416 00:36:34,194 --> 00:36:36,822 I was actually calling about our friend. 417 00:36:36,905 --> 00:36:39,158 - You know, the one in the country. - Oh, yes, of course. 418 00:36:39,241 --> 00:36:42,786 I wanted to see how he's doing. It's so hot there right now. 419 00:36:42,870 --> 00:36:45,330 Yes, it's extremely hot, 420 00:36:45,414 --> 00:36:46,915 but his nephews are flying down, 421 00:36:46,999 --> 00:36:48,917 and they always bring cool weather. 422 00:36:49,001 --> 00:36:50,419 Oh, which nephews? 423 00:36:51,587 --> 00:36:54,840 Simka, who's 14, and little Boris, who's five. 424 00:36:55,382 --> 00:36:56,758 Well, that's wonderful. 425 00:36:56,842 --> 00:36:58,719 Though children can make you even hotter 426 00:36:58,802 --> 00:37:00,387 when they're crawling all over you. 427 00:37:00,471 --> 00:37:01,722 Maybe I should visit them. 428 00:37:01,805 --> 00:37:03,932 No, they don't want visitors. 429 00:37:04,016 --> 00:37:06,101 I'm sorry, um, I have to get back to work. 430 00:37:06,185 --> 00:37:08,103 It's very busy right now. Goodbye. 431 00:37:11,482 --> 00:37:13,817 They're dropping sand and boron on the fire. 432 00:37:15,027 --> 00:37:16,111 It's what I would do. 433 00:37:18,238 --> 00:37:20,073 Yes, I'm sure it is. 434 00:37:42,429 --> 00:37:43,639 Where are you going? 435 00:37:44,723 --> 00:37:45,724 Chernobyl. 436 00:37:54,066 --> 00:37:56,902 It's been smooth. Twenty drops. 437 00:38:02,574 --> 00:38:04,159 What? 438 00:38:06,745 --> 00:38:10,415 There are 50,000 people in this city. 439 00:38:11,708 --> 00:38:15,003 Professor Ilyin, who's also on the commission, 440 00:38:15,087 --> 00:38:17,923 says the radiation isn't high enough to evacuate. 441 00:38:18,006 --> 00:38:20,175 Ilyin isn't a physicist. 442 00:38:20,259 --> 00:38:22,761 Well, he's a medical doctor. If he says it's safe, it's safe. 443 00:38:22,844 --> 00:38:25,347 - Not if they stay here. - We're staying here. 444 00:38:25,430 --> 00:38:28,767 Yes, we are, and we'll be dead in five years. 445 00:38:37,609 --> 00:38:39,987 I'm sorry, I... 446 00:38:40,070 --> 00:38:41,655 I'm sorry. 447 00:39:20,110 --> 00:39:22,195 Shcherbina. 448 00:39:32,623 --> 00:39:33,874 Thank you. 449 00:39:40,547 --> 00:39:44,343 A nuclear plant in Sweden has detected radiation 450 00:39:44,426 --> 00:39:47,471 and identified it as a byproduct of our fuel. 451 00:39:48,597 --> 00:39:50,974 The Americans took satellite photos. 452 00:39:52,351 --> 00:39:55,520 The reactor building, the smoke, the fire. 453 00:39:58,065 --> 00:39:59,775 The whole world knows. 454 00:40:06,782 --> 00:40:08,867 The wind has been blowing toward Germany. 455 00:40:10,827 --> 00:40:13,163 They're not letting children play outside 456 00:40:15,207 --> 00:40:16,667 in Frankfurt. 457 00:40:28,428 --> 00:40:29,471 Want a smoke? 458 00:40:45,862 --> 00:40:48,407 There has been a nuclear accident in the Soviet Union 459 00:40:48,490 --> 00:40:50,283 and the Soviets have admitted that it happened. 460 00:40:50,367 --> 00:40:51,743 The Soviet version is this, 461 00:40:51,868 --> 00:40:53,370 One of the atomic reactors 462 00:40:53,453 --> 00:40:56,707 at the Chernobyl Atomic Power Plant near the city of Kiev was damaged, 463 00:40:56,790 --> 00:40:58,625 and there is speculation in Moscow 464 00:40:58,709 --> 00:41:01,128 that people were injured and may have died. 465 00:41:01,211 --> 00:41:04,131 The Soviets may have been fairly quick to acknowledge the accident 466 00:41:04,214 --> 00:41:07,551 because evidence in the form of mild nuclear radiation 467 00:41:07,634 --> 00:41:11,096 had already reached beyond the Soviet borders to Scandinavia. 468 00:45:26,267 --> 00:45:29,187 I said turn around. This is a restricted zone. 469 00:45:29,270 --> 00:45:31,564 I'm from the Byelorussian Institute for Nuclear Energy. 470 00:45:31,648 --> 00:45:33,191 Do you have permission? 471 00:45:33,274 --> 00:45:35,777 Listen to me, I need to speak to someone urgently. 472 00:45:35,860 --> 00:45:37,070 Turn around right now, 473 00:45:37,153 --> 00:45:38,196 or I'll arrest you. 474 00:45:38,279 --> 00:45:42,117 If you arrest me, you should take me to the highest possible authority. 475 00:45:46,705 --> 00:45:49,249 We have to start a radiological survey. 476 00:45:49,332 --> 00:45:53,003 Sector by sector, on foot, dosimeters in hand. 477 00:45:54,963 --> 00:45:56,339 Are you all right? 478 00:45:59,134 --> 00:46:00,468 Of course. 479 00:46:01,928 --> 00:46:06,099 Comrades... The guards arrested this woman at the south checkpoint. 480 00:46:06,182 --> 00:46:07,767 I'd have put her in a cell... 481 00:46:07,851 --> 00:46:10,186 But he thought you should know that I know. 482 00:46:10,270 --> 00:46:12,230 I know that your reactor core is exposed. 483 00:46:12,313 --> 00:46:15,066 I know the graphite's on fire, the fuel is melting, 484 00:46:15,150 --> 00:46:17,277 and you're dropping sand and boron on it, 485 00:46:17,360 --> 00:46:20,280 which you probably thought was smart, but you've made a mistake. 486 00:46:20,363 --> 00:46:23,700 Ulana Yuriyvna Khomyuk, Chief Physicist, 487 00:46:23,783 --> 00:46:25,994 Byelorussian Institute for Nuclear Energy. 488 00:46:26,077 --> 00:46:29,497 And you are Valery Alexeyevich Legasov? 489 00:46:29,581 --> 00:46:31,916 Smothering the core will put the fire out, 490 00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:34,878 but the temperature will eventually increase... 491 00:46:34,961 --> 00:46:36,504 Believe me, I'm perfectly aware. 492 00:46:36,588 --> 00:46:38,631 But I estimate at least a month 493 00:46:38,715 --> 00:46:40,550 before it melts through the lower concrete pad, 494 00:46:40,633 --> 00:46:41,760 - which gives us time... - No. 495 00:46:41,843 --> 00:46:44,220 You don't have a month. You have approximately two days. 496 00:46:45,346 --> 00:46:46,514 Yes, 497 00:46:46,598 --> 00:46:48,600 the fuel would take a month 498 00:46:48,683 --> 00:46:50,685 to reach the concrete pad here. 499 00:46:51,144 --> 00:46:52,145 But first... 500 00:46:53,563 --> 00:46:56,775 it's going to burn through the biological shield here by Tuesday. 501 00:46:56,858 --> 00:46:58,318 And when it does, 502 00:46:58,401 --> 00:47:01,321 it's going to hit these tanks, bubbler pools, reservoirs... 503 00:47:01,404 --> 00:47:04,282 Reservoirs for the ECS. I understand your concern, 504 00:47:04,365 --> 00:47:06,493 but I confirmed it with plant personnel. 505 00:47:06,576 --> 00:47:08,870 - The tanks are nearly empty. - No, they were nearly empty. 506 00:47:10,121 --> 00:47:12,957 Each of these points here, here, 507 00:47:13,041 --> 00:47:15,668 and here all drain to the bubbler pools. 508 00:47:15,752 --> 00:47:18,421 I'm guessing that every pipe in the building ruptured. 509 00:47:18,505 --> 00:47:21,549 And then there are those fire engines that I saw on the way in. 510 00:47:21,633 --> 00:47:23,718 The fire hoses are still connected. 511 00:47:24,469 --> 00:47:27,180 They've been gushing water into the structure this whole time. 512 00:47:27,263 --> 00:47:28,556 The tanks are full. 513 00:47:30,058 --> 00:47:32,393 The tanks are full. 514 00:47:35,855 --> 00:47:38,566 From the Council of Ministers of the USSR. 515 00:47:38,900 --> 00:47:43,363 An accident has occurred at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station. 516 00:47:43,446 --> 00:47:46,658 One of the nuclear reactors has been damaged. 517 00:47:46,741 --> 00:47:50,411 Measures are being taken to address the consequences of the accident. 518 00:47:50,495 --> 00:47:53,123 Victims are receiving assistance. 519 00:47:53,206 --> 00:47:55,875 A government commission has been formed. 520 00:48:12,267 --> 00:48:16,479 I have 10 minutes, then I'm back on the phone 521 00:48:16,563 --> 00:48:19,482 apologizing to our friends, 522 00:48:19,566 --> 00:48:21,943 apologizing to our enemies. 523 00:48:23,027 --> 00:48:26,281 Our power comes from the perception of our power. 524 00:48:26,948 --> 00:48:29,993 Do you understand the damage this has done? 525 00:48:30,076 --> 00:48:32,120 Do you understand what's at stake? 526 00:48:34,455 --> 00:48:35,707 Boris. 527 00:48:38,251 --> 00:48:42,172 Professor Legasov will deliver our briefing. 528 00:48:44,382 --> 00:48:45,925 There is some good news. 529 00:48:46,009 --> 00:48:48,720 The air drops are working to douse the fire. 530 00:48:48,803 --> 00:48:52,599 There's been a reduction in radionuclide emissions, 531 00:48:52,682 --> 00:48:56,769 but the fire will not be extinguished for at least another two weeks. 532 00:48:59,314 --> 00:49:02,650 There is also an additional problem. 533 00:49:03,735 --> 00:49:05,570 Nuclear fuel doesn't turn cold 534 00:49:05,653 --> 00:49:08,364 simply because it is not on fire. 535 00:49:08,448 --> 00:49:09,741 In fact, the temperature will likely rise 536 00:49:09,824 --> 00:49:12,744 as a result of the blanket of sand we've dropped. 537 00:49:12,827 --> 00:49:15,663 The uranium will melt the sand, 538 00:49:15,747 --> 00:49:17,624 creating a kind of lava 539 00:49:17,707 --> 00:49:20,835 which will begin to melt down through the shield below. 540 00:49:20,919 --> 00:49:22,587 You have made lava? 541 00:49:24,797 --> 00:49:26,758 I anticipated this. 542 00:49:28,801 --> 00:49:33,223 I believed there was time to reinforce this lower concrete pad 543 00:49:33,306 --> 00:49:36,434 before the lava reached the Earth and contaminated the groundwater. 544 00:49:36,517 --> 00:49:39,646 But as it turned out, I was worried about the wrong thing. 545 00:49:39,729 --> 00:49:41,439 Uh... 546 00:49:41,522 --> 00:49:45,068 It was my understanding that these large water tanks 547 00:49:45,151 --> 00:49:47,862 under the reactor were essentially empty. 548 00:49:47,946 --> 00:49:51,032 This is Ulana Khomyuk of the Byelorussian Institute. 549 00:49:51,115 --> 00:49:53,284 Thanks to her insight, we are now aware 550 00:49:53,368 --> 00:49:56,829 that the tanks are, in fact, full. 551 00:49:56,913 --> 00:50:00,458 Of water. Why is that a problem, Professor? 552 00:50:04,796 --> 00:50:06,589 When the lava enters these tanks, 553 00:50:06,673 --> 00:50:09,092 it will instantly superheat and vaporize 554 00:50:09,175 --> 00:50:12,845 approximately 7,000 cubic meters of water, 555 00:50:12,929 --> 00:50:16,307 causing a significant thermal explosion. 556 00:50:17,016 --> 00:50:18,643 How significant? 557 00:50:18,726 --> 00:50:22,480 We estimate between two and four megatons. 558 00:50:22,939 --> 00:50:25,525 Everything within a 30-kilometer radius 559 00:50:25,608 --> 00:50:27,527 will be completely destroyed, 560 00:50:27,610 --> 00:50:30,989 including the three remaining reactors at Chernobyl. 561 00:50:31,072 --> 00:50:34,450 The entirety of the radioactive material in all of the cores 562 00:50:34,534 --> 00:50:37,745 will be ejected at force 563 00:50:37,829 --> 00:50:39,872 and dispersed by a massive shock wave, 564 00:50:41,082 --> 00:50:43,209 which will extend 565 00:50:43,293 --> 00:50:46,129 approximately 200 kilometers 566 00:50:46,212 --> 00:50:49,257 and likely be fatal to the entire population of Kiev 567 00:50:49,340 --> 00:50:51,134 as well as a portion of Minsk. 568 00:50:51,718 --> 00:50:54,554 The release of radiation will be severe 569 00:50:54,637 --> 00:50:56,180 and will impact 570 00:50:56,264 --> 00:51:00,518 all of Soviet Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, 571 00:51:00,601 --> 00:51:05,023 Byelorussia, as well as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, 572 00:51:05,106 --> 00:51:07,400 Romania, and most of East Germany. 573 00:51:11,279 --> 00:51:14,073 What do you mean "impact?" 574 00:51:15,074 --> 00:51:17,660 For much of the area, a nearly permanent disruption 575 00:51:17,744 --> 00:51:19,454 of the food and water supply, 576 00:51:20,538 --> 00:51:23,374 a steep increase in the rates of cancer and birth defects. 577 00:51:23,458 --> 00:51:25,960 I don't know how many deaths there will be, but many. 578 00:51:26,878 --> 00:51:28,713 For Byelorussia and the Ukraine, 579 00:51:28,796 --> 00:51:31,466 "impact" means completely uninhabitable 580 00:51:31,549 --> 00:51:34,052 for a minimum of 100 years. 581 00:51:38,556 --> 00:51:41,893 There are more than 50 million people 582 00:51:41,976 --> 00:51:44,687 living in Byelorussia and Ukraine. 583 00:51:44,771 --> 00:51:46,731 Sixty, yes. 584 00:51:51,069 --> 00:51:52,820 And how long before this happens? 585 00:51:53,321 --> 00:51:55,698 Approximately 48 to 72 hours. 586 00:52:00,453 --> 00:52:02,705 But we may have a solution. 587 00:52:02,789 --> 00:52:04,749 We can pump the water from the tanks. 588 00:52:04,832 --> 00:52:08,002 Unfortunately, the tanks are sealed shut by a sluice gate, 589 00:52:08,086 --> 00:52:09,712 and the gate can only be opened 590 00:52:09,796 --> 00:52:11,756 manually from within the duct system itself. 591 00:52:11,839 --> 00:52:15,134 So, we need to find three plant workers 592 00:52:15,218 --> 00:52:17,637 who know the facility well enough to enter the basement, 593 00:52:17,720 --> 00:52:22,558 here, find their way through all these duct ways, 594 00:52:22,642 --> 00:52:25,019 get to the sluice gate valve here, 595 00:52:25,103 --> 00:52:29,357 and give us the access we need to pump out the tanks. 596 00:52:29,690 --> 00:52:32,318 Of course, we will need your permission. 597 00:52:32,610 --> 00:52:34,445 My permission for what? 598 00:52:34,529 --> 00:52:37,115 Uh, the water in these ducts, 599 00:52:37,198 --> 00:52:39,992 the level of radioactive contamination... 600 00:52:40,076 --> 00:52:41,869 They'll likely be dead in a week. 601 00:52:44,205 --> 00:52:47,750 We're asking for your permission to kill three men. 602 00:52:55,883 --> 00:52:57,552 Well... 603 00:52:57,635 --> 00:53:00,805 Comrade Legasov, 604 00:53:00,888 --> 00:53:03,558 all victories inevitably come at a cost. 605 00:54:29,185 --> 00:54:32,230 And open the sluice gate valve, here. 606 00:54:33,022 --> 00:54:37,026 The valve will be difficult to operate, so we'll need three men 607 00:54:37,109 --> 00:54:40,696 who will need to know the basement layout. 608 00:54:40,780 --> 00:54:44,575 And, of course, any volunteers will be rewarded. 609 00:54:45,076 --> 00:54:48,412 A yearly stipend of 400 rubles. 610 00:54:55,378 --> 00:55:00,132 And, uh, for those of you working in reactors one and two, promotions. 611 00:55:00,216 --> 00:55:04,011 Why are reactors one and two still operating at all? 612 00:55:04,554 --> 00:55:07,848 My friend was a security guard that night, and, uh, she's now dying. 613 00:55:08,432 --> 00:55:10,685 And we've all heard about the firemen. 614 00:55:10,768 --> 00:55:14,730 And now you want us to swim underneath a burning reactor? 615 00:55:15,398 --> 00:55:17,441 Do you even know how contaminated it is? 616 00:55:19,777 --> 00:55:21,612 I don't have an exact number. 617 00:55:21,696 --> 00:55:24,907 You don't need an exact number to know if it will kill us. 618 00:55:24,991 --> 00:55:26,242 But you can't even tell us that. 619 00:55:28,369 --> 00:55:30,705 Why should we do this? For what, 400 rubles? 620 00:55:34,333 --> 00:55:36,460 You'll do it because it must be done. 621 00:55:41,632 --> 00:55:44,176 You'll do it because nobody else can. 622 00:55:47,305 --> 00:55:50,891 And if you don't, millions will die. 623 00:55:52,143 --> 00:55:54,478 If you tell me that's not enough, I won't believe you. 624 00:55:56,314 --> 00:56:00,443 This is what has always set our people apart. 625 00:56:00,526 --> 00:56:03,446 A thousand years of sacrifice in our veins. 626 00:56:04,488 --> 00:56:06,949 And every generation must know its own suffering. 627 00:56:07,992 --> 00:56:11,078 I spit on the people who did this, 628 00:56:11,162 --> 00:56:13,080 and I curse the price I have to pay. 629 00:56:16,208 --> 00:56:20,171 But I'm making my peace with it, now you make yours. 630 00:56:20,713 --> 00:56:22,381 And go into that water. 631 00:56:24,925 --> 00:56:26,761 Because it must be done. 632 00:56:43,903 --> 00:56:45,363 Ananenko. 633 00:56:49,700 --> 00:56:51,160 Bezpalov. 634 00:56:56,123 --> 00:56:57,792 Baranov.