Photos
Quotes
-
Anatoly Dyatlov : What does the dosimeter say?
Alexandr Akimov : 3.6 roentgen. But that's as high as the meter...
Anatoly Dyatlov : 3.6 - not great, not terrible.
-
Bryukhanov : I take it the safety test was a failure?
Anatoly Dyatlov : We have the situation under control.
Fomin : Under control? It doesn't look like it's under control.
Bryukhanov : Shut up, Fomin. I have to tell the Central Committee about this. Do you realize that? I have to get on the phone and tell Maryin, or God forbid Frolyshev, that my power plant is on fire.
Anatoly Dyatlov : No one can blame you for this, Director Bryukanov.
Bryukhanov : Of course no one can blame me for this. How can I be responsible? I was sleeping.
-
[Sitnikov reports back to his bosses]
Bryukhanov : Well?
Sitnikov : I sent my dosimetrists into the reactor building. The large dosimeter from the safe, the one with the 1,000-roentgen capacity...
Anatoly Dyatlov : [impatiently] What was the number?
Sitnikov : There was none. The meter burned out the second it was turned on.
Anatoly Dyatlov : [to Bryukhanov] It's typical.
Bryukhanov : See, this is what Moscow does. Sends us shit equipment, then wonders why things go wrong.
Sitnikov : We found another dosimeter, from the military fire department. It only goes to 200 roentgen, but it's better than the small ones.
Fomin : And?
Sitnikov : It maxed out. 200 roentgen.
Fomin : [suspiciously] What game are you playing?
Sitnikov : No, I-I... I asked him, he took multiple measurements, he's my best man.
Bryukhanov : It's another faulty meter. You're wasting our time.
Sitnikov : I checked the meter against the control.
Anatoly Dyatlov : What's wrong with you? How do you get that number from feedwater leaking from a blown tank?
Sitnikov : You don't.
Anatoly Dyatlov : Then what the fuck are you talking about?
Sitnikov : [steeling himself] I... I walked around the exterior of Building 4. I think there's graphite on the ground, in the rubble.
Anatoly Dyatlov : You didn't see graphite.
Sitnikov : I did.
Anatoly Dyatlov : You didn't. You DIDN'T, because it's not there!
Fomin : What, are you suggesting the core... what? Exploded?
Sitnikov : [softly] Yes.
-
[Sitnikov has just told his bosses that the core has exploded]
Fomin : Sitnikov, you're a nuclear engineer. So am I. Now, please tell me how an RBMK reactor core explodes. Not a meltdown. An explosion. I'd love to know.
Sitnikov : I can't.
Fomin : Are you stupid?
Sitnikov : No.
Fomin : Then why can't you?
Sitnikov : I... I don't see how it could explode. But it did.
Anatoly Dyatlov : Enough. I'll go up to the vent block roof. From there, you can look right down into Reactor Building 4. I'll see it with my own...
[he stops, as if holding something back]
Anatoly Dyatlov : ... my own eyes.
[he suddenly vomits all over the table; everyone stares in shock]
Anatoly Dyatlov : [dazed] I apologize.
[he collapses]
Bryukhanov : [flinging the door open] Guards! Guards! Get him to the medic, or the, or the hospital, whatever he needs!
[the guards rush in and carry Dyatlov out]
Fomin : It's the feedwater. Been around it all night.
[he turns to Sitnikov]
Fomin : You go, then.
Sitnikov : [incredulously] What?
Fomin : Go to the vent block roof, and report back what you see.
Sitnikov : No. No, I won't do that.
Bryukhanov : Of course you will.
[another guard walks in; Fomin pats Sitnikov on the shoulder]
Fomin : You'll be fine. You'll see. Come on.
[the guard escorts Sitnikov out]
-
[Akimov's voice slowly fades in immediately after the explosion]
Alexandr Akimov : Comrade Dyatlov! Comrade Dyatlov! Comrade Dyatlov! Comrade Dyatlov! Comrade Dyatlov!
Anatoly Dyatlov : What just happened?
Alexandr Akimov : I don't know.
[Brazhnik runs in]
Brazhnik : There's a fire in the turbine hall.
Anatoly Dyatlov : The turbine hall. The control system tank. Hydrogen.
[he looks at Akimov and Toptunov]
Anatoly Dyatlov : You and Toptunov, you morons blew the tank.
Leonid Toptunov : No, that's not...
Anatoly Dyatlov : This is an emergency, everyone stay calm. Our first priority is -
[Perevozchenko runs in]
Perevozchenko : It's exploded!
Anatoly Dyatlov : We know. Akimov, are we cooling the reactor core?
Alexandr Akimov : We shut it down, but the control rods are still not... they're not all the way in, I disengaged the clutch...
Anatoly Dyatlov : All right, I'll disconnect the servos from the standby console.
[he looks at Stolyarchuk and Kirschenbaum]
Anatoly Dyatlov : You two, get the backup pumps running. We need water moving through the core, that is all that matters.
Perevozchenko : There IS no core! It exploded, the core exploded!
[everyone freezes, suddenly afraid]
Anatoly Dyatlov : He's in shock, get him out of here.
Perevozchenko : The lid is off. The stack is burning. I saw it.
Anatoly Dyatlov : [picking up a phone and dialing] You're confused, RBMK reactor cores don't explode. Akimov!
Leonid Toptunov : [sotto voce, to Akimov] Sasha...
Alexandr Akimov : Don't worry, we did everything right. Something... something strange has happened.
Leonid Toptunov : Do you taste metal?
Anatoly Dyatlov : Akimov!
Alexandr Akimov : Comrade Perevozchenko, what you're saying is physically impossible, the core can't explode. It has to be the tank.
Anatoly Dyatlov : We're wasting time. Let's go!
[he hangs the phone and heads for the door]
Anatoly Dyatlov : Get the hydrogen out of the generators and pump water into the core.
Brazhnik : What about the fire?
Anatoly Dyatlov : [annoyed] Call the fire brigade.
[he walks out]
-
Vyacheslav Brazhnik : What about the fire?
Anatoly Dyatlov : Call the fire brigade.
-
Perevozchenko : It exploded. The core exploded.
Anatoly Dyatlov : He's in shock. Get him out of here.
Perevozchenko : The lid is off. The stack is burning. I saw it.
Anatoly Dyatlov : You're confused. RBMK reactor cores don't explode.
-
Anatoly Dyatlov : 3.6 -- not great, not terrible.
-
Anatoly Dyatlov : Do we still have a phone line to the outside? Akimov? Call in the day shift.
Alexandr Akimov : But... if
Anatoly Dyatlov : We have to keep water flowing through the core. We need electricians, mechanics-- we need bodies. How many times do I have to say it?
[Dyatlov sees that Akimov is reluctant to bring more men to the plant, and will need stronger persuasion]
Anatoly Dyatlov : I'm going to the Administration Building now. To call Bryukhanov. And Fomin. They're going to want a full report. I don't know if I can make things better for you. But I can certainly make them worse.
[stops just short of Akhimov's face]
Anatoly Dyatlov : Call in the day shift, Comrade Akimov.
-
Viktor Bryukhanov : Tell me what happened. Quickly.
Anatoly Dyatlov : [with Fomin standing right next to him] We ran the test exactly as Chief Engineer Fomin approved. Unit Shift Chief Akimov and Engineer Toptunov encountered technical difficulties, leading to an accumulation of hydrogen in the control system tank. It regrettably ignited, damaging the plant and setting the roof on fire.
Nikolai Fomin : The tank is quite large. It's the only logical explanation. And of course, Deputy Chief Engineer Dyatlov was directly supervising the test, so he would know best.
-
Viktor Bryukhanov : What about radiation?
Anatoly Dyatlov : Obviously down here it's nothing. But in the reactor building I'm being told 3.6 roentgen per hour.
Viktor Bryukhanov : That's not great. But it's not horrifying.
