[April 26, 1986: Immediately after the explosion, deputy chief engineer Anatoly Dyatlov stands shocked as shift supervisor Aleksandr Akimov calls his name repeatedly and alarms blare]
AAAleksandr Akimov
Comrade Dyatlov? Comrade Dyatlov?!
LTLeonid Toptunov
I don't know.
[Turbine engineer Vyacheslav Brazhnik rushes into the room]
VBVyacheslav Brazhnik
There's a fire in the turbine hall.
The turbine hall... The control system tank. Hydrogen. [addressing Akimov] You and Toptunov, you morons blew the tank.
TToptunov
No, that's not--
This is an emergency, everyone stay calm. Our first priority is to--
[As Dyatlov speaks, foreman Valeriy Perevozchenko runs through the open door in a panic]
VPValeriy Perevozchenko
It exploded!
We know. Akimov, are we cooling the reactor core?
AAkimov
We shut it down, but the control rods are still... They're not all the way in, I disengaged the clutch --
Alright, I'll disconnect the servos from the standby console. [to two other engineers] You two, get the backup pumps running, we need water moving through the core, that is all that matters!
PPerevozchenko
There is no core! It exploded, the core exploded!
[Beat as all the engineers stare at Perevozchenko in disbelief and fear]
He's in shock, get him out of here.
PPerevozchenko
The lid is off. The stack is burning, I saw it.
You're confused, RBMK reactor cores don't explode. Akimov! [picks up the phone to call out]
TToptunov
[whispering, to Akimov] Sasha...
AAkimov
Don't worry, we did everything right. Something... something strange has happened.
TToptunov
Do you taste metal?
AAkimov
[glances at Perevozchenko] Comrade Perevozchenko, what you're saying is physically impossible. The core can't explode. It has to be the tank.
[Perevozchenko wordlessly shakes his head]
[hangs up the phone] We're wasting time. Let's go. Get the hydrogen out of the generators and pump water into the core.
BBrazhnik
What about the fire?
[annoyed; as if it were obvious] Call the fire brigade. [storms out]
I dropped the rods from the other panel.
AAAleksandr Akimov
They're still up.
AAkimov
They're still only a third of the way in, I don't know why. I already sent the trainees down to the reactor hall to lower them by hand.
LTLeonid Toptunov
I can't get through to Khodemchuk, the lines are down.
Fuck the phones and fuck Khodemchuk. Are the pumps on or not?
BSBoris Stolyarchuk
My control panel's not working. I tried calling for the electricians--
I don't give a shit about the panel! I need water in my reactor core! Get down there and make sure those pumps are on. Now!
[several engineers leave the control room as Dyatlov sits down at a desk]
What does the dosimeter say?
AAkimov
Ah, 3.6 roentgen, but that's as high as the meter--
3.6. Not great, not terrible.
AAkimov
[quietly, to Toptunov] We did everything right.
[During the test at Chernobyl, the reactor stalls, but Dyatlov insists on continuing the test]
AAkimov
No. I won't do it, it isn't safe.
[Dyatlov stares at Akimov for a moment, then Toptunov, then back at Akimov]
Safety first, always. I've been saying that for 25 years. That's how long I've been doing this job, 25 years. Is that longer than you, Akimov?
[to Toptunov] And you, with your mother's tit barely out your mouth? [Toptunov is silent] See, if I say "it's safe", it's safe. And if the two of you disagree, then you don't have to work here. And you won't. But not just here. You won't work at Kursk, or Ignalina, or Leningrad, or Novovoronezh. You won't work anywhere ever again. I'll see to it. I think you know I will see to it. Raise the power.
AAkimov
[holds out the duty log] I would like you to record your command --
[slaps the log out of Akimov's hands] Raise the power.
[Akimov picks up the log, then steps to the control console, as Dyatlov lights a cigarette behind him]
AAkimov
[to Toptunov] Together, then.
Chernobyl · 50 quotes
