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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:02,183 --> 00:00:03,073 - [Male Narrator] Our history is no more than a series 2 00:00:03,100 --> 00:00:04,470 of incredible events. 3 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:08,300 Each one of us can influence its course. 4 00:00:08,333 --> 00:00:10,433 The tiniest of our decisions can influence 5 00:00:10,466 --> 00:00:12,376 the future of mankind. 6 00:00:13,483 --> 00:00:17,173 To know the past is to anticipate the future. 7 00:00:21,150 --> 00:00:24,230 April 26, 1986 at 1:03 in the morning, 8 00:00:25,416 --> 00:00:27,396 Engineer Anatoly Dyatlov gives the order 9 00:00:27,433 --> 00:00:31,133 to start a test in the Chernobyl nuclear plant. 10 00:00:31,166 --> 00:00:33,166 25 minutes later, firefighters are 11 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:35,300 struggling to extinguish an enormous fire 12 00:00:35,333 --> 00:00:38,303 in the very core of the plant's reactor number four. 13 00:00:38,333 --> 00:00:40,003 (dramatic music) 14 00:00:40,033 --> 00:00:43,233 On May 5, 1986, three engineers sacrifice their lives 15 00:00:43,266 --> 00:00:45,266 when they dive into radioactive water to prevent 16 00:00:45,300 --> 00:00:49,170 the cataclysmic explosion of the plant. 17 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:51,300 These three, intimately connected events, 18 00:00:51,333 --> 00:00:53,323 are key moments in one of the most tragic 19 00:00:53,350 --> 00:00:57,430 industrial accidents in history, the Chernobyl disaster. 20 00:00:58,400 --> 00:00:59,480 Let's see why. 21 00:01:01,466 --> 00:01:05,116 Energy, which allows us to move around, 22 00:01:05,150 --> 00:01:07,320 to keep warm, to communicate. 23 00:01:07,350 --> 00:01:10,030 (gentle music) 24 00:01:10,066 --> 00:01:13,016 In our time, control of energy resources, 25 00:01:13,050 --> 00:01:15,350 mastery of production techniques and the impact 26 00:01:15,383 --> 00:01:18,383 on the environment are major issues. 27 00:01:19,466 --> 00:01:23,376 The history of energy is linked to that of man. 28 00:01:23,416 --> 00:01:27,026 The determination to control it and understand it 29 00:01:27,066 --> 00:01:30,326 is one of the cornerstones of our civilization. 30 00:01:30,366 --> 00:01:33,366 400,000 years ago, at the dawn of humanity, 31 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,130 prehistoric man discovers it without knowing 32 00:01:36,166 --> 00:01:38,296 what it really is. 33 00:01:38,333 --> 00:01:40,153 It can take a number of forms. 34 00:01:40,183 --> 00:01:41,453 It has many faces. 35 00:01:43,050 --> 00:01:45,280 Muscular energy, either human or animal, 36 00:01:45,316 --> 00:01:48,096 to move around or carry things. 37 00:01:49,316 --> 00:01:53,126 Mechanical energy, which uses forces such as gravity. 38 00:01:53,166 --> 00:01:56,416 Thermal energy, which can turn fuel into heat. 39 00:01:56,450 --> 00:01:59,070 Hydraulic, which by channeling water, 40 00:01:59,100 --> 00:02:02,280 revolutionized transport and agriculture. 41 00:02:03,350 --> 00:02:07,100 Wind, which uses its power to turn windmills 42 00:02:07,133 --> 00:02:08,273 or drive ships. 43 00:02:10,316 --> 00:02:13,066 In the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution 44 00:02:13,100 --> 00:02:16,080 made it possible to understand a basic principle: 45 00:02:16,116 --> 00:02:20,196 all energy production is in fact a transformation. 46 00:02:21,283 --> 00:02:24,323 For example, coal contains energy. 47 00:02:24,350 --> 00:02:27,230 When you burn it, the energy escapes. 48 00:02:27,266 --> 00:02:29,146 This thermal energy heats water, 49 00:02:29,183 --> 00:02:31,253 which in turn becomes steam. 50 00:02:31,283 --> 00:02:34,133 This steam can then turn into mechanical energy 51 00:02:34,166 --> 00:02:37,076 by working pistons or into electrical energy 52 00:02:37,116 --> 00:02:38,446 using an alternator. 53 00:02:40,250 --> 00:02:44,100 Energy cannot be created or destroyed, 54 00:02:44,133 --> 00:02:45,273 it is transferred. 55 00:02:45,300 --> 00:02:47,250 Like a mighty river, you can channel it, 56 00:02:47,283 --> 00:02:50,483 tame it, use it, but you can also 57 00:02:51,016 --> 00:02:55,096 lose control of it and then be flooded or drowned. 58 00:02:58,016 --> 00:03:01,066 In 1898, husband and wife scientists Pierre 59 00:03:01,100 --> 00:03:03,450 and Marie Curie discover radium, 60 00:03:06,016 --> 00:03:08,046 an element that glows in the dark 61 00:03:08,083 --> 00:03:10,383 and appears to produce infinite energy. 62 00:03:10,416 --> 00:03:12,276 It's potential is enormous. 63 00:03:12,316 --> 00:03:14,416 One gram of radium contains enough energy 64 00:03:14,450 --> 00:03:17,370 to turn a ton of water into steam. 65 00:03:18,433 --> 00:03:20,133 It is one of the earliest discoveries 66 00:03:20,166 --> 00:03:22,276 that will lead to the development of this energy 67 00:03:22,316 --> 00:03:26,396 that is both powerful and dangerous, nuclear energy. 68 00:03:28,316 --> 00:03:32,066 - [Female Narrator] Welcome, to the memory of humanity. 69 00:03:32,100 --> 00:03:33,280 (energetic music) 70 00:03:33,316 --> 00:03:35,476 Here, we can control time, analyze and compare 71 00:03:36,016 --> 00:03:38,326 billions of events, and alter them to rewrite 72 00:03:38,366 --> 00:03:40,116 history endlessly. 73 00:03:42,050 --> 00:03:45,200 For example, let's dive into the core of a nuclear 74 00:03:45,233 --> 00:03:48,283 reactor to understand how it works. 75 00:03:48,316 --> 00:03:51,276 A classic power plant works by burning a fuel, 76 00:03:51,316 --> 00:03:55,326 whereas a nuclear reactor draws its energies from atoms. 77 00:03:55,366 --> 00:03:58,096 When an atom is split, it releases 78 00:03:58,133 --> 00:04:00,353 an enormous amount of energy, 79 00:04:01,433 --> 00:04:03,323 energy that will split other atoms 80 00:04:03,350 --> 00:04:08,320 in a chain reaction that can become a veritable bomb. 81 00:04:08,350 --> 00:04:12,430 Under control, it is a formidable source of energy. 82 00:04:14,233 --> 00:04:17,203 The nuclear plant turns all this energy 83 00:04:17,233 --> 00:04:19,273 into steam, which then works 84 00:04:19,300 --> 00:04:22,130 turbines to produce electricity. 85 00:04:24,016 --> 00:04:27,446 To work, a reactor needs a raw material, 86 00:04:27,483 --> 00:04:29,233 generally uranium. 87 00:04:30,333 --> 00:04:33,353 Purified and refined, these materials become 88 00:04:33,383 --> 00:04:37,123 tiny 10-gram pellets, each able to release 89 00:04:37,150 --> 00:04:39,480 the equivalent of a ton of coal. 90 00:04:41,066 --> 00:04:42,446 This combustible is placed in the core 91 00:04:42,483 --> 00:04:46,183 of the nuclear reactor, which is itself contained 92 00:04:46,216 --> 00:04:48,326 within a gas-tight vessel. 93 00:04:48,366 --> 00:04:51,366 The whole is insulated within a solid concrete 94 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:55,300 structure known as the containment building. 95 00:04:55,333 --> 00:05:00,183 This is supposed to contain any potential leaks. 96 00:05:00,216 --> 00:05:03,446 Elements of vital importance, the control rods, 97 00:05:03,483 --> 00:05:06,253 in an emergency, these rods are thrust 98 00:05:06,283 --> 00:05:08,323 into the core of the reactor. 99 00:05:08,350 --> 00:05:12,250 Their mission, to stop the chain reaction. 100 00:05:12,283 --> 00:05:14,483 In theory, with all these safety measures, 101 00:05:15,016 --> 00:05:17,066 accidents cannot happen. 102 00:05:17,100 --> 00:05:20,120 However, the Chernobyl plant is rather unusual. 103 00:05:20,150 --> 00:05:22,370 It has no confinement enclosure, and there are 104 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,180 no pressure sensors within the reactor core itself. 105 00:05:26,216 --> 00:05:30,296 If there's a problem, nobody really knows what's happening. 106 00:05:30,333 --> 00:05:33,303 The whole thing is monitored remotely from a control 107 00:05:33,333 --> 00:05:36,433 room from which all orders are issued. 108 00:05:36,466 --> 00:05:39,376 A misreading or a poor decision taken in this room, 109 00:05:39,416 --> 00:05:43,126 and the reactor can dangerously overheat. 110 00:05:45,216 --> 00:05:49,296 - [Male Narrator] The Soviet Union, Ukraine, April 25, 1986 111 00:05:50,350 --> 00:05:53,020 Lenin Nuclear Plant, 11 miles north 112 00:05:53,050 --> 00:05:55,100 of the city of Chernobyl. 113 00:05:59,016 --> 00:06:01,446 It's a special night in the plant. 114 00:06:01,483 --> 00:06:05,403 In the control room, everybody is at his post. 115 00:06:07,050 --> 00:06:09,400 Anatoly Dyatlov, assistant chief engineer, 116 00:06:09,433 --> 00:06:11,103 is supervising operations. 117 00:06:11,133 --> 00:06:13,183 (dramatic music) 118 00:06:13,216 --> 00:06:15,076 For the first time, they're going to test 119 00:06:15,116 --> 00:06:17,326 the working of reactor number four in the case 120 00:06:17,366 --> 00:06:18,996 of a power cut. 121 00:06:20,433 --> 00:06:22,283 For the requirements of the test, the cooling 122 00:06:22,316 --> 00:06:25,046 alarm systems need to be disconnected 123 00:06:25,083 --> 00:06:28,123 and the power of the reactor reduced. 124 00:06:31,250 --> 00:06:34,250 23:10, the power of the reactor is reduced 125 00:06:34,283 --> 00:06:37,133 to 700 megawatts, as planned. 126 00:06:37,166 --> 00:06:38,446 The test can begin. 127 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,230 Half-past midnight, Anatoly Dyatlov and his 128 00:06:43,266 --> 00:06:46,046 managers disagree on procedure. 129 00:06:47,416 --> 00:06:50,446 One of them gets an extremely important manipulation wrong. 130 00:06:50,483 --> 00:06:55,073 The reactor's control rods go in too deeply. 131 00:06:55,100 --> 00:06:59,330 The power then drops rapidly to 30 megawatts. 132 00:06:59,366 --> 00:07:02,216 Six minutes later, the reactor dies. 133 00:07:02,250 --> 00:07:04,070 Its rate was far too low. 134 00:07:04,100 --> 00:07:05,300 Suddenly, the pressure rises. 135 00:07:05,333 --> 00:07:07,183 Because there's no sensor, nobody in the control 136 00:07:07,216 --> 00:07:10,046 room is able to spot the danger. 137 00:07:12,216 --> 00:07:14,026 38 minutes past midnight. 138 00:07:14,066 --> 00:07:17,016 The reactor is producing hardly any energy. 139 00:07:17,050 --> 00:07:18,430 Anatoly Dyatlov orders the control rods 140 00:07:18,466 --> 00:07:21,296 to be removed and to restart the reactor. 141 00:07:21,333 --> 00:07:25,323 This is directly against safety regulations. 142 00:07:25,350 --> 00:07:29,100 The team protests in vain but obey orders. 143 00:07:30,316 --> 00:07:32,396 42 minutes past midnight, the power of the reactor 144 00:07:32,433 --> 00:07:36,133 rises but struggles to go above 200 megawatts. 145 00:07:36,166 --> 00:07:37,446 This is not enough. 146 00:07:40,033 --> 00:07:43,483 1:03, despite the malfunctions, and against the advice 147 00:07:44,016 --> 00:07:47,396 of his team, Anatoly Dyatlov starts the test. 148 00:07:49,133 --> 00:07:51,133 At the same moment, within the core of the reactor, 149 00:07:51,166 --> 00:07:53,366 a hot point forms and concentrates. 150 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:55,150 Nobody can see it. 151 00:07:56,366 --> 00:07:59,216 1:21, the emergency system calls for the immediate 152 00:07:59,250 --> 00:08:02,030 shutdown of the reactor. 153 00:08:02,066 --> 00:08:06,146 1:23 and four seconds, the test begins, despite everything. 154 00:08:06,183 --> 00:08:08,023 At the same moment, a worker sees the lid 155 00:08:08,050 --> 00:08:11,470 of the reactor rising because of the pressure. 156 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:16,000 1:23 and 40 seconds, Foreman Akimov decides 157 00:08:16,033 --> 00:08:18,173 to trigger the emergency shutdown process himself 158 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:20,350 and lowers the control rods, but the heat 159 00:08:20,383 --> 00:08:23,433 has distorted the guide tubes. 160 00:08:23,466 --> 00:08:27,216 The rods only go down five feet instead of 20. 161 00:08:27,250 --> 00:08:29,080 It's too late. 162 00:08:29,116 --> 00:08:32,326 1:23 and 44 seconds, they hear the first explosions. 163 00:08:32,366 --> 00:08:34,396 The reactor core is out of control. 164 00:08:34,433 --> 00:08:37,403 Its power is multiplied by 100 in a few seconds. 165 00:08:37,433 --> 00:08:39,333 The bottom of the reactor explodes and turns 166 00:08:39,366 --> 00:08:41,326 into radioactive magma. 167 00:08:41,366 --> 00:08:44,996 (dramatic music) 168 00:08:45,033 --> 00:08:47,103 A few seconds later, an enormous explosion 169 00:08:47,133 --> 00:08:51,053 sends the 1,400-ton lid hurtling into the air. 170 00:08:53,183 --> 00:08:55,333 Reactor number four of the Chernobyl plant 171 00:08:55,366 --> 00:08:57,116 has just exploded. 172 00:08:59,233 --> 00:09:01,473 - [Female Narrator] The price to pay. 173 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,150 The Chernobyl disaster is classified as level seven 174 00:09:05,183 --> 00:09:08,353 on the scale of nuclear accidents. 175 00:09:08,383 --> 00:09:11,033 The only other accident of equal gravity 176 00:09:11,066 --> 00:09:14,146 is that of Fukushima in Japan in 2011. 177 00:09:16,033 --> 00:09:19,083 It corresponds to a major accident followed by massive, 178 00:09:19,116 --> 00:09:21,396 long-lasting pollution, leading to serious 179 00:09:21,433 --> 00:09:24,373 consequences on public health. 180 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:27,030 However, the history of civil nuclear power 181 00:09:27,066 --> 00:09:29,416 still includes nearly 30 accidents of lesser 182 00:09:29,450 --> 00:09:33,000 gravity, sometimes going as far as the fusion 183 00:09:33,033 --> 00:09:35,123 of the reactor core, as was the case 184 00:09:35,150 --> 00:09:39,380 at Three Mile Island in the United States in 1979. 185 00:09:39,416 --> 00:09:41,996 So the danger is real. 186 00:09:42,033 --> 00:09:45,083 Accidents more numerous than one imagines. 187 00:09:45,116 --> 00:09:49,126 And yet, nuclear energy has no monopoly on pollution. 188 00:09:49,166 --> 00:09:52,096 Between gigantic oil spills and chemical plant 189 00:09:52,133 --> 00:09:55,133 explosions, the impact of human activity 190 00:09:55,166 --> 00:09:58,416 on the environment is greater and greater. 191 00:09:58,450 --> 00:10:02,000 The history of energy may be linked to that of man, 192 00:10:02,033 --> 00:10:05,153 but it's also linked to that of pollution. 193 00:10:05,183 --> 00:10:09,233 That is the price we pay for maintaining our way of life. 194 00:10:09,266 --> 00:10:11,416 Pollution is degrading a natural environment 195 00:10:11,450 --> 00:10:16,100 by introducing foreign materials in too large a quantity. 196 00:10:16,133 --> 00:10:19,173 On exploding, reactor four holds 50 tons 197 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:23,070 of nuclear fuel into the atmosphere. 198 00:10:23,100 --> 00:10:26,050 The tragedy is only just beginning. 199 00:10:27,366 --> 00:10:29,226 (dramatic music) 200 00:10:29,266 --> 00:10:31,346 (fire crackling) 201 00:10:31,383 --> 00:10:35,003 - [Male Narrator] The inferno. 202 00:10:35,033 --> 00:10:37,253 Flaming debris falls onto the plant, 203 00:10:37,283 --> 00:10:39,253 sparking some 30 fires. 204 00:10:40,483 --> 00:10:44,123 Radiation illuminates the sky with red and blue light. 205 00:10:44,150 --> 00:10:47,430 Deadly radioactive dust spreads everywhere. 206 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:52,120 On the site of the explosion itself, 207 00:10:52,150 --> 00:10:54,350 at the core of the reactor, surviving workers 208 00:10:54,383 --> 00:10:56,383 try to save what they can. 209 00:10:56,416 --> 00:10:59,316 They evacuate the injured, cut power supplies, 210 00:10:59,350 --> 00:11:01,480 get the pumps working again. 211 00:11:03,216 --> 00:11:07,296 All of them will be irremediably irradiated. 212 00:11:07,333 --> 00:11:10,023 In vain, because at this point, nobody is 213 00:11:10,050 --> 00:11:14,050 able to stop the chain reaction in reactor four. 214 00:11:17,266 --> 00:11:21,346 However, just next to it, reactor three is still operating. 215 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:26,100 The fire could eventually reach it. 216 00:11:26,133 --> 00:11:30,053 At 1:28, four minutes after the explosion, 217 00:11:30,083 --> 00:11:33,483 the first firefighters arrive on the scene. 218 00:11:34,016 --> 00:11:37,426 They have no protection against the radiation. 219 00:11:39,016 --> 00:11:41,066 Rapidly succumbing to nausea and vomiting, 220 00:11:41,100 --> 00:11:43,130 our front-line heroes battle hand-to-hand 221 00:11:43,166 --> 00:11:44,376 with the monster. 222 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:49,400 Despite pouring tons of water onto the reactor, 223 00:11:49,433 --> 00:11:53,033 they cannot put out this invincible fire. 224 00:11:53,066 --> 00:11:54,346 However, the other seats of fire 225 00:11:54,383 --> 00:11:57,083 are progressively controlled. 226 00:11:58,266 --> 00:12:00,426 In the end, their sacrifice saves reactor three 227 00:12:00,466 --> 00:12:03,316 and prevents a fresh explosion. 228 00:12:03,350 --> 00:12:07,020 (fire roaring) 229 00:12:07,050 --> 00:12:08,370 Taken to the hospital at once, 230 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,030 their skin turned black. 231 00:12:11,066 --> 00:12:14,116 They all die within a few weeks. 232 00:12:14,150 --> 00:12:15,480 For their sacrifice, they will receive 233 00:12:16,016 --> 00:12:17,476 the order of Heroes of the Nation. 234 00:12:18,016 --> 00:12:20,226 (somber music) 235 00:12:20,266 --> 00:12:24,026 - [Female Narrator] Save or perish. 236 00:12:24,066 --> 00:12:26,446 The word irradiation means the exposure, 237 00:12:26,483 --> 00:12:31,253 deliberately or accidentally, of a body to rays. 238 00:12:31,283 --> 00:12:34,473 In strong doses, irradiation burns the skin, 239 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:39,430 destroys the nervous system and causes multiple cancers. 240 00:12:39,466 --> 00:12:42,376 Actually, we are all permanently exposed, 241 00:12:42,416 --> 00:12:45,246 whether it's for a simple chest X-ray 242 00:12:45,283 --> 00:12:49,303 or during a flight in a plane, but fortunately, 243 00:12:49,333 --> 00:12:51,223 to infinitely tiny doses. 244 00:12:51,250 --> 00:12:53,080 (ominous music) 245 00:12:53,116 --> 00:12:56,116 At Chernobyl, personnel and firefighters were 246 00:12:56,150 --> 00:12:59,270 exposed to 30,000 times the fatal dose. 247 00:13:01,050 --> 00:13:03,170 Not everyone knows the risks associated 248 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:07,170 with radioactivity, but one thing is sure, 249 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:10,050 once they were on the scene, despite vomiting 250 00:13:10,083 --> 00:13:14,103 and burns, they did their duty to the end. 251 00:13:14,133 --> 00:13:16,423 This sense of sacrifice, where the interests 252 00:13:16,450 --> 00:13:19,000 of others is important, to the point of putting 253 00:13:19,033 --> 00:13:22,223 oneself in danger to save them, is to be found 254 00:13:22,250 --> 00:13:25,270 in a number of professions: firefighters, 255 00:13:25,300 --> 00:13:29,070 policeman, rescue workers, soldiers, but it can 256 00:13:29,100 --> 00:13:31,350 also manifest itself in any one of us 257 00:13:31,383 --> 00:13:33,383 in emergency situations. 258 00:13:34,466 --> 00:13:36,216 It has often happened that a great number 259 00:13:36,250 --> 00:13:38,250 of human beings only owe their survival 260 00:13:38,283 --> 00:13:41,203 to a tiny handful of people. 261 00:13:41,233 --> 00:13:44,153 The firefighters of Chernobyl sacrificed themselves 262 00:13:44,183 --> 00:13:48,183 to prevent the worst, but is all danger avoided? 263 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,180 - [Male Narrator] Morning of April 26th, 264 00:13:54,216 --> 00:13:57,016 death is all around, invisible. 265 00:13:59,150 --> 00:14:02,280 In the town of Pripyat, on the edge of the plant, 266 00:14:02,316 --> 00:14:06,396 45,000 people begin their day as if nothing has happened. 267 00:14:08,116 --> 00:14:10,366 Without knowing it, they are swimming in an atmosphere 268 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,480 saturated with deadly radiation. 269 00:14:14,016 --> 00:14:15,396 Plenty of rumors are circulating about a fire 270 00:14:15,433 --> 00:14:18,183 at the plant, but it can't be very serious 271 00:14:18,216 --> 00:14:21,016 because no alarm has been raised. 272 00:14:21,050 --> 00:14:23,300 (tense music) 273 00:14:25,366 --> 00:14:29,126 Then, during the day, soldiers appear, 274 00:14:29,166 --> 00:14:30,376 a worrying aspect. 275 00:14:30,416 --> 00:14:34,476 They move around the town in protective equipment. 276 00:14:36,316 --> 00:14:38,096 At the beginning of the afternoon, 277 00:14:38,133 --> 00:14:41,183 the radiation norm has been exceeded by a wide margin, 278 00:14:41,216 --> 00:14:44,226 more than 15,000 times acceptable dose. 279 00:14:44,266 --> 00:14:47,096 By evening, it is 600,000 times. 280 00:14:49,100 --> 00:14:53,180 36 hours after the explosion, the evacuation finally begins. 281 00:14:55,083 --> 00:14:57,473 More than 1,000 buses head towards the town. 282 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:01,050 The residents have two hours to pack. 283 00:15:04,416 --> 00:15:06,446 By the evening of April 27th, the town is 284 00:15:06,483 --> 00:15:09,453 cleared of its inhabitants. 285 00:15:09,483 --> 00:15:12,133 Only soldiers and scientists, ordered to evaluate 286 00:15:12,166 --> 00:15:14,046 the accident, remain. 287 00:15:16,133 --> 00:15:19,083 They all run a huge danger because the accident 288 00:15:19,116 --> 00:15:20,326 is far from over. 289 00:15:22,466 --> 00:15:25,366 The reactor core is still magma infusion. 290 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:29,220 Temperature, 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit. 291 00:15:29,250 --> 00:15:33,000 Highly radioactive gasses are leaking out. 292 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:37,370 The radioactive cloud has already reached Sweden, 293 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:39,170 and the international community is getting 294 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:43,280 concerned by what is happening in the Soviet Union. 295 00:15:44,250 --> 00:15:46,080 By any means, they have to stop 296 00:15:46,116 --> 00:15:48,426 this radioactive hemorrhaging. 297 00:15:48,466 --> 00:15:50,416 So, they improvise. 298 00:15:50,450 --> 00:15:52,250 In turn, hundreds of helicopters fly 299 00:15:52,283 --> 00:15:55,123 over the plant, to drop bags of sand and lead 300 00:15:55,150 --> 00:15:56,380 into the gaping hole. 301 00:15:56,416 --> 00:15:59,046 In this way, 5,000 tons are poured in 302 00:15:59,083 --> 00:16:00,303 to limit the discharge. 303 00:16:00,333 --> 00:16:03,223 600 pilots are irradiated. 304 00:16:03,250 --> 00:16:06,470 Except that this plug has an undesirable effect. 305 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:09,070 It raises the heat in the reactor. 306 00:16:09,100 --> 00:16:11,250 At any moment, radioactive magma may break 307 00:16:11,283 --> 00:16:13,153 through the concrete slab and fall 308 00:16:13,183 --> 00:16:16,073 into the basements of the plant, 309 00:16:16,100 --> 00:16:19,270 and that would be an even more terrible disaster 310 00:16:19,300 --> 00:16:21,300 because the basements are swimming in water, 311 00:16:21,333 --> 00:16:24,033 in particular, that poured in by the firefighters 312 00:16:24,066 --> 00:16:26,096 to extinguish the blaze. 313 00:16:26,133 --> 00:16:29,133 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit of radioactive magma 314 00:16:29,166 --> 00:16:32,096 suddenly plunged into 20,000 tons of water, 315 00:16:32,133 --> 00:16:34,433 a thermonuclear bomb 80 times more powerful 316 00:16:34,466 --> 00:16:39,046 than that dropped on Hiroshima during the Second World War. 317 00:16:41,266 --> 00:16:44,026 The city of Kiev would be razed. 318 00:16:44,066 --> 00:16:48,146 All life would be destroyed within a radius of 200 miles. 319 00:16:49,433 --> 00:16:52,373 Only one solution to avoid the worst: 320 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:54,280 dive into the plant's basements, 321 00:16:54,316 --> 00:16:56,466 swim through a radioactive soup, 322 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:58,470 find the drain sluices in the dark 323 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,020 and operate them manually. 324 00:17:01,050 --> 00:17:03,320 (somber music) 325 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,020 Three of the plant's workers volunteer: 326 00:17:09,066 --> 00:17:11,396 Valeri Bezpalov, Alexei Ananenko 327 00:17:13,083 --> 00:17:14,333 and Boris Baranov. 328 00:17:18,233 --> 00:17:21,353 The first two know exactly where the sluices are. 329 00:17:21,383 --> 00:17:23,303 The third accompanies them with a torch 330 00:17:23,333 --> 00:17:26,433 to guide them through the murky waters. 331 00:17:26,466 --> 00:17:29,376 They are fully aware of the risks. 332 00:17:32,216 --> 00:17:35,296 They remain in the gloom for an hour, 333 00:17:35,333 --> 00:17:39,003 an hour to accomplish their heroic task. 334 00:17:40,266 --> 00:17:43,396 They will die in the following weeks. 335 00:17:43,433 --> 00:17:46,403 May 6th, the core of the reactor infusion 336 00:17:46,433 --> 00:17:49,323 finally falls through the slab. 337 00:17:49,350 --> 00:17:52,020 It reaches the basements of the plant. 338 00:17:52,050 --> 00:17:54,250 Fortunately, there is no longer any water 339 00:17:54,283 --> 00:17:57,073 to trigger an explosion. 340 00:17:57,100 --> 00:18:01,400 - [Female Narrator] We have just reached a turning point. 341 00:18:01,433 --> 00:18:04,473 A turning point is a key event, a crossroads 342 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:06,350 in our history where the world swings 343 00:18:06,383 --> 00:18:08,273 one way or the other. 344 00:18:09,366 --> 00:18:12,126 Faced with the imminent danger of an apocalyptic 345 00:18:12,166 --> 00:18:15,276 nuclear explosion, three men volunteer. 346 00:18:16,450 --> 00:18:20,220 They know it's a suicide mission. 347 00:18:20,250 --> 00:18:22,150 What would have happened if nobody had gone 348 00:18:22,183 --> 00:18:24,403 to open the sluices? 349 00:18:24,433 --> 00:18:27,373 In the worst scenario, dozens of tons 350 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:31,450 of radioactive magma, at several thousand degrees, 351 00:18:31,483 --> 00:18:35,123 would have come into contact with 20,000 cubic meters 352 00:18:35,150 --> 00:18:39,320 of water in a confined space, a gigantic pressure 353 00:18:39,350 --> 00:18:43,200 cooker, but without any safety valve. 354 00:18:43,233 --> 00:18:47,173 The explosion, estimated at 50 to 80 times 355 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:50,320 that of Hiroshima, would certainly have razed 356 00:18:50,350 --> 00:18:53,480 the city of Kiev and exterminated all life 357 00:18:54,016 --> 00:18:57,026 within a radius of 200 miles. 358 00:18:57,066 --> 00:18:59,296 Moreover, it would've reduced all the forces 359 00:18:59,333 --> 00:19:03,083 responsible for fighting the accident to nothing, 360 00:19:03,116 --> 00:19:06,176 nobody left to stop the flow of radiation, 361 00:19:06,216 --> 00:19:09,066 the contamination would've been cataclysmic, 362 00:19:09,100 --> 00:19:11,130 affecting the regions water reserves, 363 00:19:11,166 --> 00:19:14,296 contaminating the soil for centuries. 364 00:19:14,333 --> 00:19:17,173 Human life would no longer have been viable, 365 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:20,420 except at the price of cancers and genetic deformity. 366 00:19:20,450 --> 00:19:24,270 Central Europe would've become a vast no-man's land, 367 00:19:24,300 --> 00:19:28,070 a lost territory of desolate lands. 368 00:19:28,100 --> 00:19:32,180 Our world of today would have a radically different face. 369 00:19:35,316 --> 00:19:38,026 - [Male Narrator] The worst has been avoided, 370 00:19:38,066 --> 00:19:41,266 but the situation remains extremely grave. 371 00:19:41,300 --> 00:19:43,450 In a radius of 20 miles around the plant, 372 00:19:43,483 --> 00:19:47,033 the earth, the water, the plants, the animals, 373 00:19:47,066 --> 00:19:50,416 everything is polluted and highly radioactive. 374 00:19:50,450 --> 00:19:53,000 (tense music) 375 00:19:53,033 --> 00:19:55,403 To clean up this vast zone, 600,000 men 376 00:19:55,433 --> 00:19:58,123 are employed to wash away the layer of dust, 377 00:19:58,150 --> 00:20:02,000 level houses, bury waste, slaughter animals. 378 00:20:03,166 --> 00:20:05,376 They call them the liquidators of Chernobyl, 379 00:20:05,416 --> 00:20:09,166 and they are fighting the invisible enemy. 380 00:20:10,366 --> 00:20:12,196 To prevent the radioactive magma from descending 381 00:20:12,233 --> 00:20:14,403 further and contaminating the groundwater, 382 00:20:14,433 --> 00:20:17,273 an access tunnel is dug. 383 00:20:17,300 --> 00:20:20,220 Objective, construct a new concrete slab 384 00:20:20,250 --> 00:20:23,020 underneath the reactor. 385 00:20:23,050 --> 00:20:25,220 10,000 men work shifts night and day 386 00:20:25,250 --> 00:20:27,020 to dig this tunnel. 387 00:20:27,050 --> 00:20:29,080 Irradiated, a quarter of them will die 388 00:20:29,116 --> 00:20:30,476 before the age of 40. 389 00:20:31,450 --> 00:20:33,300 (man coughing) 390 00:20:33,333 --> 00:20:36,353 Cleaning the plant itself is extremely dangerous. 391 00:20:36,383 --> 00:20:39,053 The smallest debris is sufficiently radioactive 392 00:20:39,083 --> 00:20:41,303 to kill a man within an hour. 393 00:20:45,116 --> 00:20:48,026 So they send in remote-controlled robots. 394 00:20:48,066 --> 00:20:51,446 However, these break down because the radiation is too high. 395 00:20:51,483 --> 00:20:54,483 Only men can do what has to be done. 396 00:21:03,050 --> 00:21:06,000 Rotating every 45 seconds, equipped with simple 397 00:21:06,033 --> 00:21:09,353 lead protection, those they will call the bio-robots 398 00:21:09,383 --> 00:21:14,203 fight at the risk of their lives to clear the debris. 399 00:21:14,233 --> 00:21:16,203 After these cleanup operations, a concrete 400 00:21:16,233 --> 00:21:20,323 sarcophagus can finally be built around reactor number four. 401 00:21:22,316 --> 00:21:24,176 It is left to later generations to deal 402 00:21:24,216 --> 00:21:27,416 with the time bomb that is sealed within. 403 00:21:29,050 --> 00:21:31,080 In our time, a gigantic construction site 404 00:21:31,116 --> 00:21:33,316 is underway at Chernobyl. 405 00:21:33,350 --> 00:21:35,270 To renew the confinement to the reactor, 406 00:21:35,300 --> 00:21:37,280 they are building a formidable arch consisting 407 00:21:37,316 --> 00:21:41,396 of 30,000 tons of steel and standing 100 meters high. 408 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:47,280 Lifespan of this new protection, around 100 years. 409 00:21:49,133 --> 00:21:50,053 And then? 410 00:21:51,133 --> 00:21:53,223 But that is another story. 411 00:21:55,300 --> 00:21:58,270 - [Female Narrator] Life always finds a way. 412 00:21:58,300 --> 00:21:59,420 (pulsating music) 413 00:21:59,450 --> 00:22:02,130 The Chernobyl region was cleaned up over a radius 414 00:22:02,166 --> 00:22:07,026 of 20 miles from the plant then closed and fenced off. 415 00:22:07,066 --> 00:22:10,346 Today, it is simply known by the name Zone. 416 00:22:11,450 --> 00:22:14,330 Signs prohibit access and warn of the danger 417 00:22:14,366 --> 00:22:16,076 of radioactivity. 418 00:22:17,316 --> 00:22:20,296 The Chernobyl disaster was devastating for the human 419 00:22:20,333 --> 00:22:24,273 populations but also for the local wildlife. 420 00:22:24,300 --> 00:22:26,430 Animals that were not killed by the radiation 421 00:22:26,466 --> 00:22:30,096 were slaughtered by the liquidators. 422 00:22:30,133 --> 00:22:32,483 For a long time it was thought that this zone 423 00:22:33,016 --> 00:22:35,296 was lost for centuries. 424 00:22:35,333 --> 00:22:39,033 Everything appeared dead, frozen in time. 425 00:22:40,333 --> 00:22:44,053 But, as always, life evolved and adapted. 426 00:22:45,350 --> 00:22:48,180 Certain animals, better protected against radiation 427 00:22:48,216 --> 00:22:52,326 than others, survived and have reproduced. 428 00:22:52,366 --> 00:22:55,146 Today, species that are unique in the world 429 00:22:55,183 --> 00:22:58,183 have appeared in this zone, abandoned by man, 430 00:22:58,216 --> 00:23:02,996 sometimes with deformities or strange colors of fur, 431 00:23:03,033 --> 00:23:05,153 but life is well and truly there. 432 00:23:05,183 --> 00:23:09,083 And in the end, the biodiversity can be compared 433 00:23:09,116 --> 00:23:11,276 to that of a nature reserve. 434 00:23:12,366 --> 00:23:15,096 Billions of years ago, life conquered 435 00:23:15,133 --> 00:23:17,403 the then sterile earth. 436 00:23:17,433 --> 00:23:20,333 It has resisted bombardment by meteorites, 437 00:23:20,366 --> 00:23:23,466 ice ages and major extinctions. 438 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,450 However, despite all these assaults, little by little, 439 00:23:28,483 --> 00:23:31,353 life has always got the upper hand, 440 00:23:31,383 --> 00:23:35,273 whatever its form, however much time it took. 441 00:23:35,300 --> 00:23:38,330 Life is not fragile, it is tenacious. 442 00:23:40,050 --> 00:23:44,070 It was here before man and will be here after him. 443 00:23:46,033 --> 00:23:48,473 The only fragile thing is us. 444 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:52,180 The only thing in danger is our environment, 445 00:23:52,216 --> 00:23:56,316 the very thing that allows the human species to exist. 35340

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