by Ian Taylor
The forgotten heroes of a nation, does any one truly know what it was like? Nameless faces behind countless gas masks, the liquidators.
On the 25th of April 1986 the world’s worst nuclear disaster occurred at the Chernobyl plant, USSR. It had 4 reactors and whilst the fourth reactor was being experimented on, numerous safety regulations were broken, including the emergency cooling system being turned off and the control rods being lifted from the reactor. The operators could not control the power surge and a massive steam explosion caused the concrete and steel lid to be completely blown off. This was followed by another explosion 2 minutes later..
A total of 135,000 people had to be evacuated within a 20 mile radius due to the astronomical amount of harmful radiation this caused the plant to spew out. The Chernobyl incident killed more than 30 people instantly, and because of the radiation it would continue be the cause of future illness in the community for years to come. As a result 1 in 15 Ukrainian children are born with long term illnesses, including thyroid cancer, there is also a higher chance of children being disabled.
Following the event, around 700,000 volunteers, known as ‘The Liquidators’ where assigned to clean up and prevent further radiation leakage. These people were mainly soldiers, firemen and construction workers from parts of the USSR and Ukraine. They built the “sarcophagus” that entombs the remains of the reactor. Many of these workers, in a short time, absorbed over 50 times the annual amount of radiation. Many of these men will have died actually at Chernobyl and other will have gone on to have long term illnesses as a result.
The Liquidators help stop the spread of nuclear radiation that would have damaged the world forever. If they had not been there, the radiation leak at Chernobyl would have travelled across the globe and would have caused things such as radiation sickness, and an increased chance of getting terminal illnesses, such as thyroid cancer.
The liquidators inspire me mainly because of there unwavering bravery and loyalty to their cause. Also it has shown what we can do if people work as a team. They have shown me to respect life and to see a cause through to the end.
Sources from:
http://www.chernobyl.co.uk/
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Features/Chernobyl-15/liquidators.shtml
By Ian Taylor