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- [Male Narrator] Our history
is no more than a series
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of incredible events.
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Each one of us can
influence its course.
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The tiniest of our
decisions can influence
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the future of mankind.
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To know the past is to
anticipate the future.
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April 26, 1986 at
1:03 in the morning,
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Engineer Anatoly
Dyatlov gives the order
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to start a test in the
Chernobyl nuclear plant.
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25 minutes later,
firefighters are
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struggling to extinguish
an enormous fire
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in the very core of the
plant's reactor number four.
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(dramatic music)
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On May 5, 1986, three
engineers sacrifice their
lives
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when they dive into
radioactive water to prevent
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the cataclysmic
explosion of the plant.
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These three, intimately
connected events,
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are key moments in
one of the most tragic
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industrial accidents in
history, the Chernobyl
disaster.
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Let's see why.
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Energy, which allows
us to move around,
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to keep warm, to communicate.
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(gentle music)
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In our time, control
of energy resources,
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mastery of production
techniques and the impact
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00:01:15,383 --> 00:01:18,383
on the environment
are major issues.
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The history of energy is
linked to that of man.
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The determination to
control it and understand it
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is one of the cornerstones
of our civilization.
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400,000 years ago, at
the dawn of humanity,
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prehistoric man discovers
it without knowing
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what it really is.
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It can take a number of forms.
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It has many faces.
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Muscular energy,
either human or animal,
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to move around or carry things.
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Mechanical energy, which
uses forces such as gravity.
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Thermal energy, which
can turn fuel into heat.
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Hydraulic, which by
channeling water,
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revolutionized transport
and agriculture.
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00:02:03,350 --> 00:02:07,100
Wind, which uses its
power to turn windmills
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or drive ships.
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In the 19th century, the
Industrial Revolution
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made it possible to
understand a basic principle:
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all energy production is
in fact a transformation.
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For example, coal
contains energy.
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When you burn it,
the energy escapes.
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This thermal energy heats water,
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which in turn becomes steam.
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This steam can then turn
into mechanical energy
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by working pistons or
into electrical energy
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using an alternator.
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Energy cannot be
created or destroyed,
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it is transferred.
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Like a mighty river,
you can channel it,
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tame it, use it,
but you can also
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lose control of it and
then be flooded or drowned.
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In 1898, husband and
wife scientists Pierre
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00:03:01,100 --> 00:03:03,450
and Marie Curie discover radium,
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an element that
glows in the dark
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and appears to produce
infinite energy.
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It's potential is enormous.
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One gram of radium
contains enough energy
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to turn a ton of
water into steam.
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It is one of the
earliest discoveries
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that will lead to the
development of this energy
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that is both powerful and
dangerous, nuclear energy.
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- [Female Narrator] Welcome,
to the memory of humanity.
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(energetic music)
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Here, we can control
time, analyze and compare
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billions of events, and
alter them to rewrite
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history endlessly.
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For example, let's dive
into the core of a nuclear
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reactor to understand
how it works.
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A classic power plant
works by burning a fuel,
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whereas a nuclear reactor
draws its energies from atoms.
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When an atom is
split, it releases
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an enormous amount of energy,
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energy that will
split other atoms
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in a chain reaction that
can become a veritable bomb.
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Under control, it is a
formidable source of energy.
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The nuclear plant
turns all this energy
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into steam, which then works
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turbines to produce electricity.
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To work, a reactor
needs a raw material,
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generally uranium.
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Purified and refined,
these materials become
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tiny 10-gram pellets,
each able to release
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the equivalent of a ton of coal.
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This combustible is
placed in the core
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of the nuclear reactor,
which is itself contained
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within a gas-tight vessel.
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The whole is insulated
within a solid concrete
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structure known as the
containment building.
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This is supposed to contain
any potential leaks.
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Elements of vital
importance, the control rods,
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in an emergency,
these rods are thrust
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into the core of the reactor.
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Their mission, to stop
the chain reaction.
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In theory, with all
these safety measures,
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accidents cannot happen.
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However, the Chernobyl
plant is rather unusual.
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It has no confinement
enclosure, and there are
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no pressure sensors within
the reactor core itself.
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If there's a problem, nobody
really knows what's happening.
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The whole thing is monitored
remotely from a control
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room from which all
orders are issued.
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A misreading or a poor
decision taken in this room,
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and the reactor can
dangerously overheat.
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- [Male Narrator] The Soviet
Union, Ukraine, April 25, 1986
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Lenin Nuclear Plant,
11 miles north
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of the city of Chernobyl.
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It's a special
night in the plant.
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In the control room,
everybody is at his post.
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Anatoly Dyatlov,
assistant chief engineer,
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is supervising operations.
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(dramatic music)
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For the first time,
they're going to test
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the working of reactor
number four in the case
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of a power cut.
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For the requirements of
the test, the cooling
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alarm systems need
to be disconnected
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and the power of
the reactor reduced.
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23:10, the power of
the reactor is reduced
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to 700 megawatts, as planned.
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The test can begin.
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Half-past midnight,
Anatoly Dyatlov and his
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managers disagree on procedure.
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One of them gets an extremely
important manipulation wrong.
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The reactor's control
rods go in too deeply.
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The power then drops
rapidly to 30 megawatts.
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Six minutes later,
the reactor dies.
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Its rate was far too low.
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Suddenly, the pressure rises.
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Because there's no sensor,
nobody in the control
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room is able to spot the danger.
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38 minutes past midnight.
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The reactor is producing
hardly any energy.
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Anatoly Dyatlov orders
the control rods
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to be removed and to
restart the reactor.
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This is directly against
safety regulations.
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The team protests in
vain but obey orders.
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42 minutes past midnight,
the power of the reactor
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rises but struggles to
go above 200 megawatts.
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This is not enough.
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1:03, despite the
malfunctions,
and against the advice
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of his team, Anatoly
Dyatlov starts the test.
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At the same moment, within
the core of the reactor,
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a hot point forms
and concentrates.
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Nobody can see it.
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1:21, the emergency system
calls for the immediate
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shutdown of the reactor.
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1:23 and four seconds, the
test
begins, despite everything.
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At the same moment,
a worker sees the lid
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of the reactor rising
because of the pressure.
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1:23 and 40 seconds,
Foreman Akimov decides
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to trigger the emergency
shutdown process himself
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and lowers the control
rods, but the heat
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has distorted the guide tubes.
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The rods only go down
five feet instead of 20.
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It's too late.
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1:23 and 44 seconds, they
hear the first explosions.
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The reactor core
is out of control.
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Its power is multiplied
by 100 in a few seconds.
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The bottom of the reactor
explodes and turns
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into radioactive magma.
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(dramatic music)
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A few seconds later,
an enormous explosion
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sends the 1,400-ton lid
hurtling into the air.
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Reactor number four
of the Chernobyl plant
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has just exploded.
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- [Female Narrator]
The price to pay.
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The Chernobyl disaster is
classified as level seven
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on the scale of
nuclear accidents.
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The only other accident
of equal gravity
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is that of Fukushima
in Japan in 2011.
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It corresponds to a major
accident followed by massive,
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long-lasting pollution,
leading to serious
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consequences on public health.
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However, the history
of civil nuclear power
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still includes nearly
30 accidents of lesser
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gravity, sometimes going
as far as the fusion
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of the reactor core,
as was the case
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at Three Mile Island in
the United States in 1979.
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So the danger is real.
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Accidents more numerous
than one imagines.
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And yet, nuclear energy has
no monopoly on pollution.
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Between gigantic oil
spills and chemical plant
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explosions, the impact
of human activity
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on the environment is
greater and greater.
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The history of energy may
be linked to that of man,
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but it's also linked
to that of pollution.
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That is the price we pay for
maintaining our way of life.
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Pollution is degrading
a natural environment
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by introducing foreign
materials
in too large a quantity.
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On exploding, reactor
four holds 50 tons
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of nuclear fuel
into the atmosphere.
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The tragedy is only
just beginning.
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(dramatic music)
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(fire crackling)
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- [Male Narrator] The inferno.
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Flaming debris falls
onto the plant,
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sparking some 30 fires.
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Radiation illuminates the
sky with red and blue light.
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Deadly radioactive dust
spreads everywhere.
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On the site of the
explosion itself,
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at the core of the
reactor, surviving workers
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try to save what they can.
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They evacuate the injured,
cut power supplies,
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get the pumps working again.
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All of them will be
irremediably irradiated.
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In vain, because at
this point, nobody is
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00:11:10,050 --> 00:11:14,050
able to stop the chain
reaction in reactor four.
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However, just next
to it, reactor three
is still operating.
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00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:26,100
The fire could
eventually reach it.
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At 1:28, four minutes
after the explosion,
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the first firefighters
arrive on the scene.
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They have no protection
against the radiation.
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Rapidly succumbing to
nausea and vomiting,
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our front-line heroes
battle hand-to-hand
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with the monster.
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Despite pouring tons of
water onto the reactor,
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they cannot put out
this invincible fire.
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However, the other seats of fire
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are progressively controlled.
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In the end, their sacrifice
saves reactor three
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and prevents a fresh explosion.
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(fire roaring)
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Taken to the hospital at once,
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their skin turned black.
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They all die within a few weeks.
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For their sacrifice,
they will receive
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00:12:16,016 --> 00:12:17,476
the order of Heroes
of the Nation.
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00:12:18,016 --> 00:12:20,226
(somber music)
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- [Female Narrator]
Save or perish.
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The word irradiation
means the exposure,
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deliberately or accidentally,
of a body to rays.
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In strong doses,
irradiation burns the skin,
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destroys the nervous system
and causes multiple cancers.
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00:12:39,466 --> 00:12:42,376
Actually, we are all
permanently exposed,
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00:12:42,416 --> 00:12:45,246
whether it's for a
simple chest X-ray
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00:12:45,283 --> 00:12:49,303
or during a flight in a
plane, but fortunately,
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00:12:49,333 --> 00:12:51,223
to infinitely tiny doses.
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00:12:51,250 --> 00:12:53,080
(ominous music)
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00:12:53,116 --> 00:12:56,116
At Chernobyl, personnel
and firefighters were
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00:12:56,150 --> 00:12:59,270
exposed to 30,000
times the fatal dose.
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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.
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00:13:14,133 --> 00:13:16,423
This sense of sacrifice,
where the interests
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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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