1
00:02:34,133 --> 00:02:36,343
I hear they might promote Bryukhanov.
2
00:02:37,511 --> 00:02:40,681
This little problem we have
with the safety test,
3
00:02:41,515 --> 00:02:44,018
if it's completed successfully...
4
00:02:45,352 --> 00:02:48,105
Yes, I think promotion's very likely.
5
00:02:49,148 --> 00:02:51,150
Who knows, maybe Moscow.
6
00:02:53,152 --> 00:02:55,529
Naturally, they'll put me in charge
once he's gone,
7
00:02:55,613 --> 00:02:58,365
and then I'll need someone
to take my old job.
8
00:03:00,326 --> 00:03:02,411
I could pick Sitnikov.
9
00:03:11,253 --> 00:03:13,047
I would like to be considered.
10
00:03:16,592 --> 00:03:17,968
We'll keep that in mind.
11
00:03:19,887 --> 00:03:24,016
Viktor Petrovich, preparations
for the test have gone smoothly.
12
00:03:24,099 --> 00:03:27,394
Comrade Dyatlov's been working
per my instructions,
13
00:03:27,478 --> 00:03:30,940
and Reactor 4 output's been
reduced to 1,600 megawatts.
14
00:03:31,816 --> 00:03:35,110
With your approval, we're ready
to continue lowering power to...
15
00:03:35,194 --> 00:03:36,362
We have to wait.
16
00:03:38,030 --> 00:03:39,031
Is, uh...
17
00:03:39,615 --> 00:03:42,076
Are you going to ask me
if there's a problem, Nikolai?
18
00:03:42,535 --> 00:03:44,370
You can't read a fucking face?
19
00:03:44,954 --> 00:03:47,331
Three years,
I've tried to finish this test.
20
00:03:47,414 --> 00:03:48,541
Three years.
21
00:03:56,006 --> 00:03:58,217
I've just had a call from
the grid controller in Kiev.
22
00:03:58,300 --> 00:04:00,469
He says we can't
lower power any further,
23
00:04:00,553 --> 00:04:01,846
not for another 10 hours.
24
00:04:01,929 --> 00:04:03,764
A grid controller?
Where does he get off...
25
00:04:03,848 --> 00:04:06,475
It's not the grid controller's
decision, Dyatlov.
26
00:04:07,643 --> 00:04:08,978
It's the end of the month.
27
00:04:09,770 --> 00:04:12,523
All the productivity quotas.
28
00:04:12,606 --> 00:04:15,317
Everyone's working overtime.
The factories need power.
29
00:04:15,401 --> 00:04:17,152
Someone's pushing down from above.
30
00:04:17,236 --> 00:04:18,779
Not that we'll never know who.
31
00:04:20,072 --> 00:04:21,407
(GRUNTS SOFTLY)
32
00:04:27,454 --> 00:04:29,707
So, do we have to scrap it or what?
33
00:04:29,790 --> 00:04:31,584
No, I don't think so.
34
00:04:32,251 --> 00:04:34,837
If we need to wait 10 hours, we wait.
35
00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:38,340
Running at half power, we're not
going to have stability issues?
36
00:04:38,424 --> 00:04:41,051
-No, I should think...
-I'm not asking you.
37
00:04:44,179 --> 00:04:45,431
DYATLOV: It's safe.
38
00:04:45,890 --> 00:04:47,308
We'll maintain at 1,600.
39
00:04:47,391 --> 00:04:49,810
I'll go home, get some sleep,
come back tonight.
40
00:04:49,894 --> 00:04:51,145
We'll proceed then.
41
00:04:52,021 --> 00:04:54,106
I'll personally supervise the test.
42
00:04:54,857 --> 00:04:56,650
And it will be completed.
43
00:05:00,529 --> 00:05:01,989
Well, I'm not waiting around, then.
44
00:05:03,324 --> 00:05:04,658
Call me when it's done.
45
00:06:42,256 --> 00:06:43,340
How do you feel?
46
00:06:45,718 --> 00:06:48,303
You went to the doctor yesterday.
How is your health?
47
00:06:49,430 --> 00:06:50,514
You don't know?
48
00:06:52,725 --> 00:06:54,059
CHARKOV: From Vienna.
49
00:06:54,351 --> 00:06:55,769
Do you read German?
50
00:06:57,563 --> 00:07:02,401
It says, "At last a Soviet
scientist who tells the truth."
51
00:07:03,068 --> 00:07:05,070
Obviously, I resent the insinuation,
52
00:07:05,154 --> 00:07:06,280
but I think it's fair to say
53
00:07:06,363 --> 00:07:08,657
you made an excellent impression
at the conference.
54
00:07:09,116 --> 00:07:11,160
Turns out, you're quite good at this.
55
00:07:11,702 --> 00:07:13,620
At what? Lying?
56
00:07:13,704 --> 00:07:16,665
Statecraft, Legasov. Statecraft.
57
00:07:16,790 --> 00:07:19,334
The West is now satisfied
58
00:07:19,418 --> 00:07:22,254
that Chernobyl was solely
the result of operator error,
59
00:07:22,337 --> 00:07:23,756
which it essentially was.
60
00:07:24,548 --> 00:07:26,258
We have you to thank for that,
61
00:07:26,341 --> 00:07:27,801
and we intend to.
62
00:07:32,139 --> 00:07:34,183
"Hero of the Soviet Union."
63
00:07:34,641 --> 00:07:36,393
Our highest honor.
64
00:07:36,769 --> 00:07:39,146
They haven't even given it to me.
65
00:07:39,730 --> 00:07:42,941
"Promotion to director
of the Kurchatov Institute."
66
00:07:46,361 --> 00:07:47,696
I'm humbled.
67
00:07:48,322 --> 00:07:52,326
I don't think there's anything humble
about you, Valery Alexeyevich.
68
00:07:52,409 --> 00:07:54,286
These rewards are not yours yet.
69
00:07:54,953 --> 00:07:56,747
First, your testimony at the trial.
70
00:07:56,830 --> 00:08:00,751
Comrade Charkov,
I understand my duty to the State.
71
00:08:02,044 --> 00:08:04,004
But you gave us assurances.
72
00:08:04,797 --> 00:08:07,257
The reactors would be made safe.
73
00:08:07,341 --> 00:08:09,802
It's been months.
No changes have been made.
74
00:08:09,885 --> 00:08:13,222
-No changes even discussed.
-First, the trial.
75
00:08:14,723 --> 00:08:17,017
Once it's over,
we will have our villains,
76
00:08:17,101 --> 00:08:20,270
we will have our hero,
we will have our truth.
77
00:08:21,188 --> 00:08:24,233
After that,
we can deal with the reactors.
78
00:09:33,051 --> 00:09:34,595
(KNOCK AT DOOR)
79
00:09:35,637 --> 00:09:37,139
(SIGHS)
80
00:09:49,151 --> 00:09:50,527
Did you take a train?
81
00:09:51,153 --> 00:09:53,113
Yes, I took a train.
82
00:09:54,031 --> 00:09:55,866
Now let's talk about Vienna.
83
00:09:56,950 --> 00:09:58,577
I'm not here to scold you.
84
00:09:59,244 --> 00:10:02,581
I know how the world works
despite what Shcherbina says.
85
00:10:03,916 --> 00:10:06,793
So, why are you here?
86
00:10:08,003 --> 00:10:09,796
Because I'm brutally stubborn.
87
00:10:10,422 --> 00:10:12,174
Which you were hoping for.
88
00:10:16,637 --> 00:10:20,390
Charkov is saying they're going to fix
the reactors after the trial.
89
00:10:22,434 --> 00:10:24,561
-Do you believe him?
-(SNICKERS)
90
00:10:27,105 --> 00:10:29,274
The State will never
willingly fix the reactors
91
00:10:29,358 --> 00:10:32,694
because acknowledging the problem
means admitting that they lied.
92
00:10:32,778 --> 00:10:34,488
They will have to be forced.
93
00:10:41,787 --> 00:10:44,915
At the trial,
you're going to tell the truth.
94
00:10:46,833 --> 00:10:48,961
You're going to convince the jury.
95
00:10:49,044 --> 00:10:50,712
It's a show trial.
96
00:10:51,588 --> 00:10:53,382
The jury's already been
handed their verdict.
97
00:10:53,465 --> 00:10:54,800
I'm not talking about them.
98
00:10:57,177 --> 00:11:01,056
The Central Committee have invited
members of the scientific community
99
00:11:01,139 --> 00:11:02,557
to observe the trial.
100
00:11:03,100 --> 00:11:05,978
Our colleagues, from Kurchatov,
101
00:11:06,395 --> 00:11:08,480
from Sredmash, from Minenergo,
102
00:11:08,563 --> 00:11:12,150
they will be sitting in the crowd
listening to every word you say.
103
00:11:12,234 --> 00:11:14,444
A jury that only we know is there.
104
00:11:14,528 --> 00:11:18,031
And when your testimony arrives
at the moment of the explosion?
105
00:11:20,075 --> 00:11:23,120
That is when our jury
will finally hear the truth.
106
00:11:23,787 --> 00:11:26,832
-And do what with it?
-Insist on reform.
107
00:11:28,375 --> 00:11:30,752
Not just to the RBMK,
but the entire industry.
108
00:11:30,836 --> 00:11:31,837
No, no, no.
109
00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:33,422
-They can't function without us.
-No, no, no.
110
00:11:33,505 --> 00:11:34,506
If we...
111
00:11:34,589 --> 00:11:38,635
Do you know what happened to Volkov,
the man whose report you found?
112
00:11:39,344 --> 00:11:43,098
They just removed him
from his position at the Institute.
113
00:11:44,016 --> 00:11:46,310
Sacked for the crime of knowing.
114
00:11:47,311 --> 00:11:52,316
And you think that these scientists,
handpicked to witness a show trial,
115
00:11:52,399 --> 00:11:55,610
will somehow be stirred
into action by me?
116
00:11:56,403 --> 00:11:59,906
Because of some heroic stance
I take in defiance of the State?
117
00:11:59,990 --> 00:12:01,241
Yes.
118
00:12:01,325 --> 00:12:02,367
Why?
119
00:12:02,451 --> 00:12:05,871
Because you're Valery Legasov,
and you mean something.
120
00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:10,709
I'd like to think that if I spoke out,
it would be enough.
121
00:12:12,002 --> 00:12:13,837
But I know how the world works.
122
00:12:17,215 --> 00:12:19,885
They will shoot me, Khomyuk.
123
00:12:23,430 --> 00:12:26,600
You told me to find out what happened.
124
00:12:26,683 --> 00:12:28,810
I spoke to dozens of people.
125
00:12:28,894 --> 00:12:32,105
Every word they said, I wrote down.
126
00:12:33,357 --> 00:12:34,691
All in these books.
127
00:12:35,942 --> 00:12:37,611
These are the ones
who are still alive.
128
00:12:37,694 --> 00:12:39,321
These are the ones who are dead.
129
00:12:39,404 --> 00:12:41,031
They died rescuing each other.
130
00:12:41,531 --> 00:12:44,368
Putting out fires,
tending to the wounded.
131
00:12:44,451 --> 00:12:46,203
They didn't hesitate.
They didn't waiver.
132
00:12:46,286 --> 00:12:48,372
They simply did what had to be done.
133
00:12:48,455 --> 00:12:49,456
So have I.
134
00:12:50,749 --> 00:12:51,750
So have I.
135
00:12:52,793 --> 00:12:54,920
I went willingly to an open reactor.
136
00:12:55,754 --> 00:12:58,256
So I've already given my life.
137
00:12:59,633 --> 00:13:00,801
Isn't that enough?
138
00:13:02,761 --> 00:13:05,097
No, I'm sorry, but it is not.
139
00:14:14,583 --> 00:14:17,461
"The Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
140
00:14:17,544 --> 00:14:20,505
and the Presidium of the
Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R.
141
00:14:20,589 --> 00:14:23,884
has determined that justice
be carried out on behalf of the People
142
00:14:23,967 --> 00:14:26,595
in accordance with the
general goal of our Party
143
00:14:26,678 --> 00:14:30,265
as determined by its 20th,
21st and 22nd Congresses,
144
00:14:30,348 --> 00:14:32,267
which is a Leninist goal.
145
00:14:32,350 --> 00:14:36,313
It was, is, and will be the only
immutable goal in the Soviet state.
146
00:14:36,396 --> 00:14:37,814
The path of Leninist principles
147
00:14:37,898 --> 00:14:40,567
shall be consistently
and undeviatingly followed,
148
00:14:40,650 --> 00:14:43,487
as it expresses the vital
interests of the Soviet people,
149
00:14:43,862 --> 00:14:45,197
its hopes and aspirations
150
00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:47,449
as we guide the life of
the Party and the State.
151
00:14:47,699 --> 00:14:49,743
This session of court is now open,
152
00:14:49,826 --> 00:14:52,662
Comrade Judge
Milan Kadnikov presiding."
153
00:14:54,289 --> 00:14:55,499
Indictments.
154
00:14:55,582 --> 00:14:57,626
Viktor Bryukhanov,
155
00:14:57,709 --> 00:14:59,920
Anatoly Dyatlov,
156
00:15:00,003 --> 00:15:02,047
Nikolai Fomin,
157
00:15:02,130 --> 00:15:05,133
are accused of violating
Article 220 Section 2
158
00:15:05,217 --> 00:15:07,302
of the Criminal Code
of the Soviet Union,
159
00:15:07,385 --> 00:15:11,348
resulting in a nuclear disaster
on April 26, 1986.
160
00:15:12,432 --> 00:15:14,893
The State calls witnesses
Comrade Khomyuk
161
00:15:14,976 --> 00:15:17,395
of the Byelorussian Nuclear Institute,
162
00:15:17,479 --> 00:15:21,483
Comrade Legasov of the Kurchatov
Institute of Atomic Energy,
163
00:15:22,275 --> 00:15:25,570
and Comrade Boris
Evdokimovich Shcherbina,
164
00:15:26,238 --> 00:15:28,740
Deputy Chairman of
the Council of Ministers
165
00:15:28,823 --> 00:15:31,618
and head of the Bureau
for Fuel and Energy.
166
00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:53,181
(DOOR CLOSES)
167
00:16:06,444 --> 00:16:10,657
It began with,
of all things, a safety test.
168
00:16:11,866 --> 00:16:14,619
Why was there need
for a safety test at all?
169
00:16:15,328 --> 00:16:18,498
Reactor number 4 was not new
when the accident occurred.
170
00:16:19,249 --> 00:16:23,920
In fact, it went into operation
on December 20th, 1983.
171
00:16:24,838 --> 00:16:27,966
Eleven days later,
on the last day of the year,
172
00:16:28,883 --> 00:16:33,305
plant director Viktor Bryukhanov
signed this document,
173
00:16:34,723 --> 00:16:39,728
certifying the completion
of the construction of the reactor.
174
00:16:41,730 --> 00:16:44,774
As a result of finishing the work
before the end of the year,
175
00:16:46,192 --> 00:16:49,904
Comrade Bryukhanov was awarded
Hero of Socialist Labor.
176
00:16:50,864 --> 00:16:54,367
Comrade Fomin was awarded
for Valorous Labor.
177
00:16:54,784 --> 00:16:58,830
Comrade Dyatlov was given
an Order of the Red Banner.
178
00:17:01,249 --> 00:17:03,710
But their work was not finished.
179
00:17:05,420 --> 00:17:08,632
And this document was a lie.
180
00:17:10,258 --> 00:17:12,594
In order to sign this certificate,
181
00:17:12,844 --> 00:17:17,057
all safety tests had to have
been successfully completed,
182
00:17:17,140 --> 00:17:18,933
and yet, one remained.
183
00:17:22,395 --> 00:17:26,608
A nuclear reactor generates
heat in the core here.
184
00:17:27,567 --> 00:17:29,819
A series of pumps, here and here,
185
00:17:29,903 --> 00:17:32,947
send a constant flow of cooling water
through the core.
186
00:17:33,448 --> 00:17:35,950
The core's heat
turns the water to steam,
187
00:17:36,034 --> 00:17:38,328
and the steam spins the turbine here,
188
00:17:38,411 --> 00:17:40,038
and the result is electricity.
189
00:17:40,830 --> 00:17:43,667
But what if a power plant
has no power?
190
00:17:45,460 --> 00:17:48,296
What if the power feeding
the plant itself is disrupted?
191
00:17:49,089 --> 00:17:53,468
A blackout, equipment failure,
or an attack by a foreign enemy?
192
00:17:54,552 --> 00:17:56,429
If there's no power,
193
00:17:56,513 --> 00:17:59,265
the pumps cannot move
water through the core.
194
00:17:59,683 --> 00:18:02,102
And without water, the core overheats,
195
00:18:02,185 --> 00:18:03,728
the fuel melts down.
196
00:18:03,812 --> 00:18:06,314
In short, a nuclear disaster.
197
00:18:06,398 --> 00:18:07,524
The solution?
198
00:18:08,108 --> 00:18:11,444
Three diesel fuel
backup generators here.
199
00:18:12,028 --> 00:18:13,822
So, problem solved?
200
00:18:14,197 --> 00:18:15,573
No.
201
00:18:16,157 --> 00:18:18,702
Bryukhanov knew that the problem
was not solved at all.
202
00:18:19,244 --> 00:18:22,163
The backup generators took
approximately one minute
203
00:18:22,247 --> 00:18:24,624
to reach the speed required
204
00:18:24,708 --> 00:18:26,918
to power the pumps
and prevent a meltdown,
205
00:18:27,001 --> 00:18:30,004
and by that time,
it would be too late.
206
00:18:31,423 --> 00:18:33,299
So we arrive at the safety test.
207
00:18:35,510 --> 00:18:36,886
The theory was this,
208
00:18:36,970 --> 00:18:39,180
if the facility lost power,
209
00:18:39,264 --> 00:18:41,141
the turbine, which had been spinning,
210
00:18:41,224 --> 00:18:44,102
would take some time
to slow down and stop.
211
00:18:44,185 --> 00:18:47,981
What if you could take the electricity
it was still generating
212
00:18:48,064 --> 00:18:49,524
and transfer it to the pumps?
213
00:18:49,607 --> 00:18:53,445
What if the dying turbine could keep
the pumps working long enough
214
00:18:53,528 --> 00:18:57,615
to bridge the 60-second gap
until the generators came on?
215
00:18:58,616 --> 00:18:59,826
(COUGHS)
216
00:19:00,910 --> 00:19:02,704
(COUGHS)
217
00:19:02,787 --> 00:19:04,122
Any questions?
218
00:19:05,707 --> 00:19:08,918
No. Continue, please.
219
00:19:10,795 --> 00:19:13,089
To test this theory,
220
00:19:13,173 --> 00:19:17,594
the reactor is placed in a reduced
power mode, 700 megawatts,
221
00:19:17,677 --> 00:19:19,429
to simulate a blackout condition.
222
00:19:20,513 --> 00:19:22,432
Then the turbines are turned off,
223
00:19:22,682 --> 00:19:24,476
and as they slowly spin down,
224
00:19:24,559 --> 00:19:26,394
their electrical output is measured
225
00:19:26,478 --> 00:19:29,439
to see if it's enough
to power the pumps.
226
00:19:30,106 --> 00:19:31,608
The science is strong,
227
00:19:32,609 --> 00:19:37,363
but a test is only as good
as the men carrying it out.
228
00:19:38,782 --> 00:19:41,701
Now, the first time they tried,
they failed.
229
00:19:42,410 --> 00:19:44,704
The second time they tried,
they failed.
230
00:19:45,205 --> 00:19:47,499
The third time they tried,
they failed.
231
00:19:48,208 --> 00:19:50,919
The fourth time they tried
232
00:19:51,002 --> 00:19:54,631
was April 26th, 1986.
233
00:20:06,810 --> 00:20:08,520
STEPASHIN: Comrade Khomyuk.
234
00:20:13,900 --> 00:20:17,111
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
235
00:20:19,197 --> 00:20:21,407
(LOW INDISTINCT CHATTER)
236
00:20:32,627 --> 00:20:34,379
To understand
what happened that night,
237
00:20:34,462 --> 00:20:36,506
we have to go back 10 hours earlier,
238
00:20:36,589 --> 00:20:39,968
April 25th, the day the test
was meant to take place.
239
00:20:40,051 --> 00:20:43,513
By 2:00 in the afternoon,
the reactor has been lowered by half
240
00:20:43,596 --> 00:20:46,724
from its normal output level
of 3,200 megawatts
241
00:20:46,808 --> 00:20:49,060
to 1,600 megawatts and is stable
242
00:20:49,143 --> 00:20:52,063
and ready to be reduced to its
final output level for the test,
243
00:20:52,146 --> 00:20:53,690
700 megawatts.
244
00:20:54,357 --> 00:20:57,986
But before they can proceed,
there is a phone call.
245
00:20:59,404 --> 00:21:02,407
Power grid officials in Kiev
say that they cannot afford
246
00:21:02,490 --> 00:21:05,785
a further reduction in the electricity
until after midnight.
247
00:21:05,869 --> 00:21:08,204
They are asking for a 10-hour delay.
248
00:21:09,497 --> 00:21:11,332
This is the first critical moment,
249
00:21:11,416 --> 00:21:14,043
the first link
in the chain of disaster.
250
00:21:14,127 --> 00:21:17,505
Competent management would have
insisted on canceling the test.
251
00:21:18,715 --> 00:21:21,467
These three men allowed it to proceed.
252
00:21:23,386 --> 00:21:25,305
Why was this delay so dangerous?
253
00:21:25,638 --> 00:21:27,557
It created two problems.
254
00:21:28,224 --> 00:21:30,393
One of them is scientific in nature,
255
00:21:32,103 --> 00:21:33,771
and the other is very human.
256
00:21:35,023 --> 00:21:36,858
This is the one
we will consider first.
257
00:21:37,901 --> 00:21:41,863
At midnight, there is a shift change.
258
00:21:55,376 --> 00:21:56,377
Hey.
259
00:21:57,211 --> 00:21:59,797
-Khodemchuk...
-Forget it. Find another fool.
260
00:22:00,548 --> 00:22:02,842
Toptunov, want to buy a motorcycle?
261
00:22:02,926 --> 00:22:05,303
BRAZHNIK: Toptunov?
He's just a little boy.
262
00:22:05,386 --> 00:22:07,263
He's got more hair on his face
than on his balls.
263
00:22:07,347 --> 00:22:09,599
Hair? Is that what's on his lip?
264
00:22:09,682 --> 00:22:11,601
(MEN CHUCKLING)
265
00:22:11,684 --> 00:22:12,769
Leonid Fedorovych.
266
00:22:13,394 --> 00:22:15,980
Akimov says to come to the
control room as soon as you can.
267
00:22:16,064 --> 00:22:17,690
-Is he already here?
-He came in early.
268
00:22:18,232 --> 00:22:19,484
Something about a test.
269
00:22:21,319 --> 00:22:23,529
You see? Desperate.
270
00:22:25,531 --> 00:22:26,699
(DOOR OPENS)
271
00:22:29,911 --> 00:22:31,287
(DOOR CLOSES)
272
00:22:33,164 --> 00:22:34,332
TOPTUNOV: Sasha?
273
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,378
You know the test
they were supposed to run?
274
00:22:39,420 --> 00:22:42,090
The turbine rundown,
they tried it last year.
275
00:22:42,173 --> 00:22:45,343
They couldn't do it on the day shift,
so they've given it to us.
276
00:22:45,426 --> 00:22:46,594
To us?
277
00:22:46,678 --> 00:22:48,054
-We don't know what...
-AKIMOV: Shh...
278
00:22:49,973 --> 00:22:51,975
-We don't know what it is.
-It's fine.
279
00:22:52,058 --> 00:22:54,185
We take it down to 700, hold it there,
280
00:22:54,268 --> 00:22:56,688
the rest is Stolyarchuk
and Kirschenbaum, but...
281
00:22:57,021 --> 00:22:59,357
Dyatlov is gonna be supervising.
282
00:23:00,066 --> 00:23:01,901
I have to do something
I've never done before
283
00:23:01,985 --> 00:23:03,319
with Dyatlov looking over my shoulder?
284
00:23:03,403 --> 00:23:06,239
Yeah, well, don't worry,
we'll do it together.
285
00:23:06,322 --> 00:23:07,865
I'm just looking
at the instructions now.
286
00:23:09,575 --> 00:23:11,452
Are we supposed to do those or not?
287
00:23:20,420 --> 00:23:22,380
Yes, this is Akimov in 4.
288
00:23:23,548 --> 00:23:26,509
I have the manual
for the rundown test.
289
00:23:27,176 --> 00:23:28,970
You did it last year.
290
00:23:29,762 --> 00:23:32,140
Yes, in the program,
there's instructions of what to do,
291
00:23:32,223 --> 00:23:34,517
and then, well,
there's a lot of things crossed out.
292
00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:35,601
What should I...
293
00:23:37,729 --> 00:23:38,855
Well, what should I...
294
00:23:41,357 --> 00:23:42,400
Are you sure?
295
00:23:43,901 --> 00:23:45,737
Right. Thank you.
296
00:23:47,405 --> 00:23:49,657
He says to follow
the crossed-out instructions.
297
00:23:50,199 --> 00:23:51,784
So then why are they crossed out?
298
00:23:52,535 --> 00:23:53,745
(DOOR OPENS)
299
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:00,501
We've been cleared to run the test.
300
00:24:01,502 --> 00:24:03,087
1,600. Good.
301
00:24:03,963 --> 00:24:06,591
Now, is it too much to ask that
you all know what you're doing?
302
00:24:06,674 --> 00:24:08,509
-Well...
-Yes. Absolutely.
303
00:24:10,094 --> 00:24:11,554
-Stolyarchuk?
-Yes.
304
00:24:11,637 --> 00:24:14,640
-Kirschenbaum?
-Uh, I haven't reviewed.
305
00:24:14,724 --> 00:24:16,517
We only just found out really...
306
00:24:16,601 --> 00:24:17,810
There, review it.
307
00:24:17,894 --> 00:24:19,979
Or you can just do what I tell you.
308
00:24:20,063 --> 00:24:22,690
I think even you, stupid as you are,
can manage that.
309
00:24:23,858 --> 00:24:24,859
Well, let's go.
310
00:24:28,821 --> 00:24:31,741
I'm supposed to switch the turbine off
while the reactor's still running?
311
00:24:31,824 --> 00:24:35,244
-This is not good...
-Shut the fuck up and do your job!
312
00:24:36,329 --> 00:24:39,749
Toptunov, reduce power to 700.
313
00:24:41,584 --> 00:24:43,628
(WHISPERS) I've never done this
with the power so low before.
314
00:24:43,711 --> 00:24:45,088
(WHISPERS) It's okay. I'm with you.
315
00:24:50,927 --> 00:24:52,470
Reducing power to 700.
316
00:24:54,097 --> 00:24:56,349
KHOMYUK: I want you
to think of Yuri Gagarin.
317
00:24:58,518 --> 00:25:01,145
I want you to imagine
that he has been told nothing
318
00:25:01,229 --> 00:25:02,480
of his mission into space
319
00:25:02,563 --> 00:25:04,732
until the moment
that he is on the launch pad.
320
00:25:05,024 --> 00:25:07,068
I want you to imagine that all he has
321
00:25:07,151 --> 00:25:09,737
is a list of instructions
that he has never seen before,
322
00:25:09,821 --> 00:25:11,864
some of which have been crossed out.
323
00:25:12,365 --> 00:25:16,119
This is exactly what was happening
in the control room of Reactor 4.
324
00:25:16,869 --> 00:25:19,497
The night shift had not been trained
to perform the experiment.
325
00:25:19,580 --> 00:25:22,166
They hadn't even been
warned it was happening.
326
00:25:22,250 --> 00:25:24,168
Leonid Toptunov,
327
00:25:24,252 --> 00:25:26,838
the operator
responsible for controlling
328
00:25:26,921 --> 00:25:29,382
and stabilizing the reactor
that night was
329
00:25:30,842 --> 00:25:32,802
all of 25 years old.
330
00:25:34,262 --> 00:25:36,139
And his total experience on the job?
331
00:25:37,390 --> 00:25:38,474
Four months.
332
00:25:40,351 --> 00:25:42,979
This is the human problem
created by the delay.
333
00:25:44,105 --> 00:25:46,983
But inside the reactor core,
334
00:25:47,066 --> 00:25:49,193
in the space
between the atoms themselves,
335
00:25:49,694 --> 00:25:52,363
something far more dangerous
is forming.
336
00:25:52,446 --> 00:25:53,865
A poison.
337
00:25:55,658 --> 00:25:57,451
The time is 28 past midnight.
338
00:26:16,262 --> 00:26:17,847
Comrade Legasov.
339
00:26:38,701 --> 00:26:40,536
(TROLLEY RUMBLING)
340
00:26:55,509 --> 00:26:57,929
I'm pleased to see some
of my colleagues here
341
00:26:58,012 --> 00:27:00,681
from the Kurchatov Institute
and Minenergo.
342
00:27:02,141 --> 00:27:04,185
(CLEARS THROAT) But you don't
need to be a nuclear scientist
343
00:27:04,268 --> 00:27:06,270
to understand what
happened at Chernobyl.
344
00:27:07,313 --> 00:27:09,398
You only need to know this.
345
00:27:09,482 --> 00:27:14,153
There are essentially two things
that happen inside a nuclear reactor.
346
00:27:14,820 --> 00:27:20,618
The reactivity, which generates power,
either goes up or it goes down.
347
00:27:21,285 --> 00:27:22,286
That's it.
348
00:27:22,954 --> 00:27:25,998
All the operators do
is maintain balance.
349
00:27:29,001 --> 00:27:30,169
Uranium fuel.
350
00:27:32,797 --> 00:27:37,510
As uranium atoms split apart
and collide, reactivity goes up.
351
00:27:37,593 --> 00:27:39,553
But if you don't balance
the reactivity,
352
00:27:39,637 --> 00:27:41,639
it never stops rising. So...
353
00:27:43,891 --> 00:27:46,310
Boron control rods.
354
00:27:46,394 --> 00:27:51,065
They reduce reactivity
like brakes on a car.
355
00:27:52,566 --> 00:27:56,279
But there's a third factor
to consider, water.
356
00:27:57,947 --> 00:28:00,491
Cool water takes heat
out of the system.
357
00:28:00,574 --> 00:28:03,911
As it does, it turns to steam,
or what we call a "void."
358
00:28:03,995 --> 00:28:07,415
In an RBMK reactor
of the type used at Chernobyl,
359
00:28:07,498 --> 00:28:11,335
there's something called
a "positive void coefficient."
360
00:28:11,419 --> 00:28:12,586
What does that mean?
361
00:28:13,462 --> 00:28:17,800
It means that the more steam
present within the system,
362
00:28:17,883 --> 00:28:19,969
the higher the reactivity,
363
00:28:20,052 --> 00:28:22,972
which means more heat,
which means more steam,
364
00:28:23,055 --> 00:28:24,056
which means...
365
00:28:25,016 --> 00:28:28,394
It would appear we have
a vicious cycle on our hands.
366
00:28:28,769 --> 00:28:31,522
And we would, were it not for this...
367
00:28:37,653 --> 00:28:43,034
And we would, were it not for this,
368
00:28:43,117 --> 00:28:45,411
the negative temperature coefficient.
369
00:28:46,746 --> 00:28:52,418
When nuclear fuel gets hotter,
it gets less reactive,
370
00:28:53,711 --> 00:28:55,629
so fuel increases reactivity.
371
00:28:56,339 --> 00:28:59,216
Control rods and water reduce it.
372
00:28:59,300 --> 00:29:01,677
Steam increases it,
373
00:29:01,761 --> 00:29:04,221
and the rise in temperature
reduces it.
374
00:29:05,973 --> 00:29:08,809
This is the invisible dance
375
00:29:08,893 --> 00:29:12,563
that powers entire cities
without smoke or flame.
376
00:29:12,646 --> 00:29:14,982
And it is beautiful,
377
00:29:16,067 --> 00:29:17,568
when things are normal.
378
00:29:19,403 --> 00:29:22,323
As uranium splits apart
to release energy,
379
00:29:22,406 --> 00:29:25,826
it breaks down
into a new element, xenon.
380
00:29:25,910 --> 00:29:28,829
Xenon reduces reactivity.
381
00:29:28,913 --> 00:29:31,457
This is the poison
Comrade Khomyuk mentioned.
382
00:29:32,416 --> 00:29:34,460
When the core
is running at full power,
383
00:29:34,543 --> 00:29:37,421
it burns the xenon away
before it can cause a problem.
384
00:29:37,505 --> 00:29:39,715
But because of the delay,
385
00:29:39,799 --> 00:29:44,637
Chernobyl Reactor 4 has been held
at half power for 10 hours.
386
00:29:45,346 --> 00:29:47,598
The xenon did not burn away.
387
00:29:49,433 --> 00:29:52,395
It built up, poisoning the core.
388
00:29:53,854 --> 00:29:55,606
We're starting to lose balance.
389
00:29:55,689 --> 00:29:59,485
-(COUGHING)
-LEGASOV: At 28 minutes past midnight,
390
00:29:59,568 --> 00:30:02,571
the reactor is now primed
to slow down.
391
00:30:03,406 --> 00:30:06,617
And yet, in less than an hour,
it will explode.
392
00:30:07,660 --> 00:30:10,746
If you can't understand
how a stalled nuclear reactor
393
00:30:10,830 --> 00:30:13,541
could lead to an explosion,
I don't blame you.
394
00:30:13,624 --> 00:30:17,378
After all, you don't work in the
control room of a nuclear power plant.
395
00:30:18,295 --> 00:30:20,673
But as it turned out,
396
00:30:20,756 --> 00:30:24,760
the men who did
didn't understand it either.
397
00:30:31,142 --> 00:30:32,184
Easy now.
398
00:30:32,685 --> 00:30:33,811
Take it down.
399
00:30:34,728 --> 00:30:36,939
Good. Like that.
400
00:30:37,022 --> 00:30:38,524
DYATLOV: You should have
finished by now.
401
00:30:38,607 --> 00:30:40,568
We're following protocol
for reduction rate.
402
00:30:40,651 --> 00:30:42,486
You're procrastinating.
403
00:30:42,570 --> 00:30:45,030
There are 10 other men in this plant
who would've done it already.
404
00:30:45,114 --> 00:30:47,450
(WHISPERS) Keep working.
You're doing fine.
405
00:30:56,959 --> 00:31:00,337
Kirschenbaum, come get me
when these old women are ready.
406
00:31:00,421 --> 00:31:01,714
Yes, Comrade Dyatlov.
407
00:31:10,097 --> 00:31:11,474
(DOOR CLOSES)
408
00:31:21,150 --> 00:31:25,571
Okay, very slow now.
Let's ease it down to 700.
409
00:31:28,908 --> 00:31:32,244
-Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow.
-I didn't move any rods there.
410
00:31:41,837 --> 00:31:45,257
-What is this?
-I'm not even touching it.
411
00:32:10,282 --> 00:32:11,408
We did everything right.
412
00:32:11,492 --> 00:32:12,868
I think that
maybe the core is poisoned.
413
00:32:12,952 --> 00:32:14,370
Well, if you thought
the core was poisoned,
414
00:32:14,453 --> 00:32:16,997
then you didn't do everything right,
because you're choking my reactor!
415
00:32:17,081 --> 00:32:18,123
Get it back up!
416
00:32:18,207 --> 00:32:20,417
I think if we turn off LAC,
417
00:32:20,501 --> 00:32:22,419
it may be possible
to get more control.
418
00:32:22,503 --> 00:32:25,214
-Do it. Go.
-Switch off local automatic control.
419
00:32:25,297 --> 00:32:27,383
Go to global. Leonid.
420
00:32:28,259 --> 00:32:30,678
LAC disabled.
Global control activated.
421
00:32:36,850 --> 00:32:38,310
What did you do?
422
00:32:39,311 --> 00:32:41,939
-I did what you said. I switched...
-DYATLOV: Look at it!
423
00:32:43,315 --> 00:32:45,568
AKIMOV: I don't understand.
DYATLOV: Fucking amateurs.
424
00:32:45,651 --> 00:32:47,486
You've stalled the reactor.
425
00:32:47,570 --> 00:32:49,405
(YELLS) How the fuck
did you get this job?
426
00:32:49,488 --> 00:32:50,573
Comrade Dyatlov...
427
00:32:50,656 --> 00:32:52,283
You're gonna tell me
you did everything right again,
428
00:32:52,366 --> 00:32:53,742
you incompetent asshole?
429
00:32:53,826 --> 00:32:56,537
I apologize for this
unsatisfactory result.
430
00:33:02,418 --> 00:33:03,502
What are you doing?
431
00:33:03,836 --> 00:33:05,671
We have to shut all the way down.
432
00:33:05,754 --> 00:33:08,215
-No.
-AKIMOV: We could be in a xenon pit.
433
00:33:08,299 --> 00:33:09,758
We have to shut down
and wait 24 hours.
434
00:33:09,842 --> 00:33:11,885
No. We're doing the test tonight.
Raise power to 700.
435
00:33:11,969 --> 00:33:13,345
AKIMOV: We can't raise
the power from here.
436
00:33:13,429 --> 00:33:15,014
-The rules...
-Don't talk to me about rules.
437
00:33:15,097 --> 00:33:17,266
-If we fall from 80%...
-No, no. We fell from 50%.
438
00:33:17,349 --> 00:33:19,518
-AKIMOV: 50% is even worse.
-The rules don't say 50.
439
00:33:19,602 --> 00:33:20,894
There is no rule!
440
00:33:20,978 --> 00:33:24,857
Comrade Dyatlov, I apologize,
but what you're saying makes no sense.
441
00:33:24,940 --> 00:33:26,859
-Raise the power.
-No.
442
00:33:28,235 --> 00:33:30,070
I won't do it. It isn't safe.
443
00:33:39,413 --> 00:33:42,166
Safety first. Always.
444
00:33:43,042 --> 00:33:45,502
I've been saying that for 25 years.
445
00:33:45,586 --> 00:33:47,588
That's how long
I've done this job, 25 years.
446
00:33:47,671 --> 00:33:48,964
Is that longer than you, Akimov?
447
00:33:49,048 --> 00:33:50,132
Yes.
448
00:33:50,215 --> 00:33:52,426
-Is it much longer?
-Yes.
449
00:33:52,509 --> 00:33:55,054
And you with your mother's tit
barely out of your mouth?
450
00:33:57,640 --> 00:33:59,808
So if I say it's safe, it's safe.
451
00:33:59,892 --> 00:34:01,185
And if the two of you disagree,
452
00:34:01,268 --> 00:34:03,228
then you don't have to work here
and you won't.
453
00:34:03,312 --> 00:34:04,313
But not just here.
454
00:34:04,396 --> 00:34:07,858
You won't work at Kursk or Ignalina
or Leningrad or Novovoronezh.
455
00:34:07,941 --> 00:34:10,986
You won't work anywhere ever again.
I'll see to it.
456
00:34:11,362 --> 00:34:13,781
I think you know I will see to it.
457
00:34:15,449 --> 00:34:16,700
Raise the power.
458
00:34:20,329 --> 00:34:22,039
I would like you
to record your command.
459
00:34:23,332 --> 00:34:24,416
Raise the power.
460
00:34:40,265 --> 00:34:41,475
(BREATHING SHAKILY) Together, then.
461
00:34:45,270 --> 00:34:46,855
DYATLOV: I wasn't even there.
462
00:34:47,648 --> 00:34:49,066
What?
463
00:34:51,110 --> 00:34:53,529
I wasn't in the room
when they raised the power.
464
00:34:54,279 --> 00:34:55,739
If you weren't there,
then where were you?
465
00:34:55,823 --> 00:34:58,742
Comrade Legasov,
you are a witness, not a prosecutor.
466
00:34:58,826 --> 00:35:00,661
I will ask the questions here.
467
00:35:01,912 --> 00:35:03,956
If you weren't in the room,
then where were you?
468
00:35:06,667 --> 00:35:07,751
The toilet.
469
00:35:08,669 --> 00:35:11,004
-(INDISTINCT MURMURING)
-STEPASHIN: The toilet?
470
00:35:12,798 --> 00:35:14,591
Comrade Khomyuk interviewed everyone
471
00:35:14,675 --> 00:35:16,093
who was in the control room
that night.
472
00:35:16,176 --> 00:35:17,970
They all told the same story.
473
00:35:21,557 --> 00:35:23,809
"I knew what Dyatlov
ordered was wrong,
474
00:35:24,268 --> 00:35:26,603
"but if I didn't do what he said,
I would be fired."
475
00:35:27,187 --> 00:35:28,689
Leonid Toptunov.
476
00:35:30,357 --> 00:35:31,984
One day before he died.
477
00:35:33,026 --> 00:35:34,903
No, Comrade Dyatlov,
you were in the room.
478
00:35:35,279 --> 00:35:37,740
You ordered them to raise the power.
This is a fact.
479
00:35:38,490 --> 00:35:41,118
(SHCHERBINA COUGHING)
480
00:35:46,749 --> 00:35:47,916
(COUGHING CONTINUES)
481
00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:50,711
Court is now in recess.
Thirty minutes.
482
00:35:51,462 --> 00:35:53,297
(COUGHING)
483
00:36:34,630 --> 00:36:37,466
Do you know anything
about this town, Chernobyl?
484
00:36:39,092 --> 00:36:40,511
Not really, no.
485
00:36:41,887 --> 00:36:44,348
It was mostly Jews and Poles.
486
00:36:45,891 --> 00:36:49,561
The Jews were killed in pogroms,
and Stalin forced the Poles out.
487
00:36:50,395 --> 00:36:53,482
And then the Nazis came
and killed whoever was left.
488
00:36:54,566 --> 00:36:55,734
But after the war,
489
00:36:57,194 --> 00:36:59,154
people came to live here anyway.
490
00:37:00,531 --> 00:37:04,117
They knew the ground under
their feet was soaked in blood,
491
00:37:04,201 --> 00:37:05,410
but they didn't care.
492
00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:09,206
Dead Jews, dead Poles.
493
00:37:10,415 --> 00:37:11,458
But not them.
494
00:37:15,128 --> 00:37:17,297
No one ever thinks
it's going to happen to them.
495
00:37:19,466 --> 00:37:20,509
And here we are.
496
00:37:30,477 --> 00:37:31,478
How much time?
497
00:37:32,604 --> 00:37:33,856
Maybe a year.
498
00:37:34,731 --> 00:37:37,526
They call it a... (COUGHS)
499
00:37:37,609 --> 00:37:39,778
They call it a "long illness."
500
00:37:39,862 --> 00:37:41,572
It doesn't seem very long to me.
501
00:37:42,781 --> 00:37:44,867
I know you told me,
and I believed you.
502
00:37:46,368 --> 00:37:48,036
But time passed, and I thought
503
00:37:48,954 --> 00:37:50,622
it wouldn't happen to me.
504
00:37:51,748 --> 00:37:53,125
I wasted it.
505
00:37:53,834 --> 00:37:55,919
I wasted it all for nothing.
506
00:37:58,213 --> 00:37:59,464
For nothing?
507
00:38:00,924 --> 00:38:03,719
Do you remember that morning
when I first called you,
508
00:38:03,802 --> 00:38:05,721
how unconcerned I was?
509
00:38:05,804 --> 00:38:07,681
I don't believe much that
comes out of the Kremlin,
510
00:38:07,764 --> 00:38:12,060
but when they told me they were
putting me in charge of the cleanup
511
00:38:13,020 --> 00:38:15,522
and they said it wasn't serious,
I believed them.
512
00:38:17,441 --> 00:38:18,525
You know why?
513
00:38:20,235 --> 00:38:21,987
Because they put you in charge.
514
00:38:22,946 --> 00:38:23,989
(SOFTLY) Yeah.
515
00:38:27,117 --> 00:38:29,494
I'm an inconsequential man, Valery.
516
00:38:30,245 --> 00:38:31,955
That's all I've ever been.
517
00:38:33,290 --> 00:38:36,084
I hoped that one day
I would matter, but I didn't.
518
00:38:38,378 --> 00:38:41,298
I just stood next to people who did.
519
00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:46,219
There are other scientists like me.
520
00:38:46,303 --> 00:38:48,680
Any one of them could
have done what I did.
521
00:38:48,764 --> 00:38:49,973
But you...
522
00:38:51,141 --> 00:38:54,895
Everything we asked for,
everything we needed.
523
00:38:56,313 --> 00:38:59,733
Men, material, lunar rovers.
524
00:39:02,569 --> 00:39:04,488
Who else could have done these things?
525
00:39:06,823 --> 00:39:09,368
They heard me,
but they listened to you.
526
00:39:10,577 --> 00:39:14,206
Of all the ministers
and all the deputies,
527
00:39:14,289 --> 00:39:17,918
entire congregation of obedient fools,
528
00:39:18,877 --> 00:39:21,838
they mistakenly sent the one good man.
529
00:39:22,923 --> 00:39:24,925
For God's sakes, Boris,
530
00:39:25,926 --> 00:39:28,345
you were the one who mattered most.
531
00:39:51,493 --> 00:39:53,161
Ah, it's beautiful.
532
00:40:08,677 --> 00:40:10,887
-(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
-(SIGHS)
533
00:40:35,203 --> 00:40:37,039
STEPASHIN: Comrade Legasov.
534
00:40:49,634 --> 00:40:51,678
LEGASOV: The time is 38 past midnight.
535
00:40:52,679 --> 00:40:54,514
The reactor is nearly shut down.
536
00:40:55,182 --> 00:40:56,975
The operators of Reactor 4 are locked
537
00:40:57,059 --> 00:40:59,227
on a path that leads
directly to disaster.
538
00:40:59,811 --> 00:41:01,438
There's no way to turn back.
539
00:41:01,855 --> 00:41:04,316
They do not yet know it,
but the die is cast.
540
00:41:05,150 --> 00:41:08,779
At 30 megawatts,
xenon is still being created,
541
00:41:08,862 --> 00:41:10,614
but none of it is burning away.
542
00:41:12,866 --> 00:41:14,785
The reactor is drowning in poison.
543
00:41:15,535 --> 00:41:19,206
To make matters worse,
the reactor isn't hot enough
544
00:41:19,289 --> 00:41:21,875
to produce sufficient steam.
545
00:41:23,835 --> 00:41:26,588
The only way to safely raise
power from this state
546
00:41:26,671 --> 00:41:31,009
is to do it very, very slowly
over the course of 24 hours.
547
00:41:31,802 --> 00:41:34,096
But Dyatlov wants it done now.
548
00:41:34,638 --> 00:41:38,100
Akimov and Toptunov have
only one course of action.
549
00:41:39,017 --> 00:41:41,353
They begin pulling control rods out.
550
00:41:42,020 --> 00:41:43,021
Dozens at a time.
551
00:41:43,522 --> 00:41:46,108
Halfway out,
three-quarters of the way out,
552
00:41:46,191 --> 00:41:48,985
still, the power does not budge.
553
00:41:49,069 --> 00:41:51,780
So they begin pulling
them all the way out.
554
00:41:51,863 --> 00:41:55,659
There were 211 control rods
in Reactor 4.
555
00:41:55,742 --> 00:42:00,413
Akimov and Toptunov
completely withdrew 205.
556
00:42:00,497 --> 00:42:04,501
Remember, control rods
are the brakes on this car.
557
00:42:05,210 --> 00:42:11,716
Of 211 rods, only six
now remain in the reactor.
558
00:42:13,218 --> 00:42:16,012
As for the fuel, it's gone cold,
559
00:42:16,096 --> 00:42:18,098
so the negative
temperature coefficient
560
00:42:18,181 --> 00:42:20,767
is no longer
weighing down the reactivity.
561
00:42:20,851 --> 00:42:24,729
But even still,
the xenon poisoning is so strong,
562
00:42:24,813 --> 00:42:28,400
the best they can do is raise
the power to 200 megawatts.
563
00:42:29,818 --> 00:42:31,611
The control rods are out.
564
00:42:32,070 --> 00:42:34,531
The emergency system
has been disconnected.
565
00:42:34,614 --> 00:42:36,783
The only thing keeping
the reactor in check
566
00:42:36,867 --> 00:42:39,452
is water and xenon.
567
00:42:39,536 --> 00:42:43,456
It's 1:00 in the morning.
The test is minutes away.
568
00:43:17,991 --> 00:43:20,118
I'm sorry, this is all we can get.
569
00:43:20,619 --> 00:43:23,038
It's 200 megawatts.
We've pulled almost everything out.
570
00:43:23,622 --> 00:43:25,081
If that's all we have,
that's all we have.
571
00:43:25,540 --> 00:43:29,085
-But the test requires 700.
-Stolyarchuk, let's get ready.
572
00:43:29,169 --> 00:43:30,837
-Switch on pump four.
-AKIMOV: No, wait a second.
573
00:43:30,921 --> 00:43:32,881
-DYATLOV: Stolyarchuk...
-We have barely enough steam as it is.
574
00:43:32,964 --> 00:43:35,383
The turbine is going too slow for
the test to deliver any valid results.
575
00:43:35,467 --> 00:43:36,843
-It's enough.
-And if we add more water,
576
00:43:36,927 --> 00:43:38,595
-there will be even less...
-I said it's enough.
577
00:43:38,678 --> 00:43:39,846
I know what I'm doing. Stolyarchuk.
578
00:43:46,186 --> 00:43:47,562
Main pump four, connected.
579
00:43:47,938 --> 00:43:49,648
We should warn Khodemchuk.
The pipes are gonna be...
580
00:43:49,731 --> 00:43:51,233
Never mind him. Kirschenbaum?
581
00:43:52,275 --> 00:43:54,527
(ALARM SOUNDING)
582
00:43:54,611 --> 00:43:57,322
The steam in the separator drum
is too low, five atmospheres.
583
00:43:57,405 --> 00:44:00,116
All right, let's all help him.
Get it up as best you can.
584
00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:04,329
(ALARM CONTINUES)
585
00:44:04,412 --> 00:44:05,497
We should stop.
586
00:44:06,164 --> 00:44:07,832
DYATLOV: Turn that fucking thing off.
587
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:10,627
You have 15 minutes.
588
00:44:12,504 --> 00:44:13,672
LEGASOV: Fifteen minutes.
589
00:44:14,923 --> 00:44:17,342
They may as well have had 15 days.
590
00:44:17,676 --> 00:44:20,428
The problem they were facing
was not solvable.
591
00:44:20,512 --> 00:44:23,139
The power was too low.
The water was too high.
592
00:44:23,223 --> 00:44:24,849
The test was already ruined.
593
00:44:24,933 --> 00:44:27,894
The results would have been useless,
but Dyatlov didn't care.
594
00:44:28,311 --> 00:44:31,022
All he wanted to do was
report a completed test.
595
00:44:32,482 --> 00:44:34,609
1:22 a.m.
596
00:44:35,318 --> 00:44:37,195
Less than two minutes remain.
597
00:44:38,446 --> 00:44:42,409
Yuvchenko, a mechanical engineer,
is in his office.
598
00:44:46,621 --> 00:44:48,999
Perevozchenko,
reactor section foreman,
599
00:44:49,082 --> 00:44:50,250
is in the refueling hall,
600
00:44:50,834 --> 00:44:54,421
high above the 1,000-ton
steel reactor cover.
601
00:44:55,505 --> 00:44:56,756
(RUMBLING)
602
00:44:56,840 --> 00:44:58,842
Degtaryenko, Khodemchuk,
603
00:44:58,925 --> 00:45:01,720
circulation operators,
are in the pump room.
604
00:45:03,972 --> 00:45:07,225
None of them
have been told about the test.
605
00:45:07,309 --> 00:45:09,144
None of them know
what is about to happen.
606
00:45:09,936 --> 00:45:14,983
At 1:22 and 30 seconds,
Toptunov sees a report
607
00:45:15,859 --> 00:45:18,695
from the reactor's
SKALA computer system.
608
00:45:19,904 --> 00:45:23,241
Based on the absence
of sufficient control rods,
609
00:45:23,325 --> 00:45:26,494
the computer is recommending
that the reactor be shut down.
610
00:45:32,417 --> 00:45:34,878
Well, of course it's saying that.
It doesn't know we're running a test.
611
00:45:37,047 --> 00:45:38,131
All right, comrades.
612
00:45:39,966 --> 00:45:42,469
Another few minutes,
it will all be over.
613
00:45:42,552 --> 00:45:43,928
Kirschenbaum, when you're ready.
614
00:45:45,263 --> 00:45:46,348
We did everything right.
615
00:45:48,850 --> 00:45:50,352
KIRSCHENBAUM: Oscillograph on.
616
00:45:52,395 --> 00:45:54,064
Closing number eight throttle valve.
617
00:45:55,190 --> 00:45:56,733
STOLYARCHUK: Generator rotor
beginning rundown.
618
00:45:57,192 --> 00:45:59,903
LEGASOV: 1:23 and four seconds.
619
00:46:00,737 --> 00:46:04,616
With every decision, they have pulled
this reactor back like a slingshot,
620
00:46:04,699 --> 00:46:06,743
further than anyone has ever pulled.
621
00:46:07,327 --> 00:46:08,912
Now the test begins.
622
00:46:09,454 --> 00:46:12,415
The pumps are shut down,
and they've let go.
623
00:46:15,543 --> 00:46:18,296
The pumps stop moving water
through the reactor.
624
00:46:18,963 --> 00:46:22,050
Uranium fuel is now
unchecked by fresh coolant,
625
00:46:22,133 --> 00:46:24,094
unchecked by control rods.
626
00:46:24,177 --> 00:46:27,180
The balance immediately swings
in the opposite direction.
627
00:46:27,263 --> 00:46:30,392
In less than a second,
reactivity increases.
628
00:46:31,726 --> 00:46:33,144
Inside the core,
629
00:46:33,228 --> 00:46:35,563
the remaining water is
quickly converting to steam.
630
00:46:35,647 --> 00:46:37,816
A void is being created.
631
00:46:37,899 --> 00:46:40,443
There is no fresh water to replace it.
632
00:46:40,527 --> 00:46:43,446
Steam increases reactivity,
633
00:46:43,530 --> 00:46:46,825
increases heat, increases steam,
634
00:46:46,908 --> 00:46:48,535
increases reactivity.
635
00:46:49,828 --> 00:46:52,872
The remaining xenon decays away.
636
00:46:54,290 --> 00:46:55,792
The power is rising.
637
00:46:58,086 --> 00:46:59,587
There's nothing left to stop it.
638
00:47:00,964 --> 00:47:04,384
1:23 and 35 seconds.
639
00:47:07,720 --> 00:47:09,806
We have a power surge! Sasha!
640
00:47:15,311 --> 00:47:16,438
(SHOUTS) What did you do?
641
00:47:17,021 --> 00:47:20,233
1:23 and 40 seconds.
642
00:47:28,450 --> 00:47:30,952
In every control room
of every nuclear reactor in the world,
643
00:47:31,035 --> 00:47:34,205
there is a button
with one single purpose,
644
00:47:34,289 --> 00:47:37,709
to "scram"' or instantly
shut down the reaction.
645
00:47:37,792 --> 00:47:41,045
In Soviet reactors,
that button is called AZ-5.
646
00:47:41,963 --> 00:47:44,007
You press AZ-5,
647
00:47:44,090 --> 00:47:46,301
all of the control rods
insert at once,
648
00:47:46,384 --> 00:47:49,929
and the reaction is stopped dead.
649
00:47:51,014 --> 00:47:52,182
But...
650
00:47:53,850 --> 00:47:55,435
(SIGHS)
651
00:47:58,730 --> 00:48:00,023
What are you waiting for, Legasov?
652
00:48:00,106 --> 00:48:02,025
-(KNOCK ON TABLE)
-Tell your lies.
653
00:48:02,108 --> 00:48:04,319
KADNIKOV: Comrade Dyatlov,
you will not be warned again.
654
00:48:04,402 --> 00:48:06,613
-DYATLOV: Or what?
-For God's sake, Dyatlov.
655
00:48:06,696 --> 00:48:08,698
-Legasov's already given it away.
-That's enough.
656
00:48:08,781 --> 00:48:11,826
He said before there was no way
to avoid what was coming.
657
00:48:11,910 --> 00:48:13,536
-He knows something.
-Comrade Dyatlov.
658
00:48:13,620 --> 00:48:15,205
She knows something.
659
00:48:15,288 --> 00:48:16,414
(GRAVEL POUNDING)
660
00:48:16,498 --> 00:48:18,541
DYATLOV: I know what you are,
Valery Alexeyevich.
661
00:48:18,625 --> 00:48:21,628
-You're a liar.
-We've heard enough for today.
662
00:48:22,795 --> 00:48:25,507
The defendants will be
remanded in custody.
663
00:48:25,590 --> 00:48:28,593
-Court will...
-I haven't finished.
664
00:48:28,676 --> 00:48:30,803
I still have more evidence to give.
665
00:48:30,887 --> 00:48:34,182
It's not necessary.
Your testimony is concluded.
666
00:48:34,265 --> 00:48:37,435
-Your Honor.
-Court is now adjourned.
667
00:48:37,519 --> 00:48:39,729
-We will resume tomorrow with...
-SHCHERBINA: Let him finish.
668
00:48:42,440 --> 00:48:43,775
KADNIKOV: Comrade Shcherbina...
669
00:48:46,528 --> 00:48:47,570
Let him finish.
670
00:49:12,845 --> 00:49:15,181
Dyatlov broke every rule we have.
671
00:49:15,974 --> 00:49:17,392
(SIGHS)
672
00:49:18,893 --> 00:49:22,021
He pushed a reactor
to the brink of destruction.
673
00:49:23,189 --> 00:49:24,524
(SIGHS)
674
00:49:26,568 --> 00:49:29,153
He did these things believing
there was a failsafe.
675
00:49:29,237 --> 00:49:32,699
AZ-5, a simple button
to shut it all down.
676
00:49:32,782 --> 00:49:37,328
But in the circumstances he created,
there wasn't.
677
00:49:37,412 --> 00:49:40,623
The shutdown system had a fatal flaw.
678
00:49:42,750 --> 00:49:48,006
At 1:23:40, Akimov engages AZ-5.
679
00:49:50,842 --> 00:49:52,677
(ALARM BUZZES)
680
00:49:56,055 --> 00:49:59,851
The fully withdrawn control rods
begin moving back into the reactor.
681
00:49:59,934 --> 00:50:02,604
These rods are made of boron,
which reduces reactivity,
682
00:50:02,687 --> 00:50:03,771
but not their tips.
683
00:50:04,606 --> 00:50:08,901
The tips are made of graphite,
which accelerates reactivity.
684
00:50:09,402 --> 00:50:10,403
KADNIKOV: Why?
685
00:50:15,074 --> 00:50:16,200
LEGASOV: Why?
686
00:50:18,828 --> 00:50:21,122
For the same reason our reactors
687
00:50:21,205 --> 00:50:23,291
do not have containment
buildings around them,
688
00:50:24,250 --> 00:50:25,376
like those in the West.
689
00:50:25,460 --> 00:50:30,173
For the same reason we don't use
properly enriched fuel in our cores.
690
00:50:30,423 --> 00:50:32,759
For the same reason
we are the only nation
691
00:50:32,842 --> 00:50:37,180
that builds water-cooled,
graphite-moderated reactors
692
00:50:37,263 --> 00:50:39,724
with a positive void coefficient.
693
00:50:41,601 --> 00:50:42,644
It's cheaper.
694
00:50:42,727 --> 00:50:45,938
(CROWD MURMURING)
695
00:50:48,858 --> 00:50:50,109
LEGASOV: (CLEARS THROAT)
The first part
696
00:50:50,193 --> 00:50:51,986
of the rods that enter the core
697
00:50:52,070 --> 00:50:53,404
are the graphite tips.
698
00:50:53,488 --> 00:50:55,823
And when they do,
the reaction in the core,
699
00:50:55,907 --> 00:50:58,785
which had been rising, skyrockets.
700
00:50:58,868 --> 00:51:03,873
Every last molecule of liquid water
instantly converts to steam,
701
00:51:03,956 --> 00:51:07,251
which expands and ruptures
a series of fuel rod channels.
702
00:51:07,335 --> 00:51:11,422
The control rods in those
channels can move no further.
703
00:51:11,506 --> 00:51:13,966
The graphite tips
are fixed in position,
704
00:51:14,050 --> 00:51:16,928
endlessly accelerating the reaction.
705
00:51:17,011 --> 00:51:20,848
Chernobyl Reactor 4
is now a nuclear bomb.
706
00:51:21,391 --> 00:51:23,935
-(LOUD RUMBLING)
-LEGASOV: 1:23:42.
707
00:51:24,018 --> 00:51:27,980
Perevozchenko looks down on
the enormous steel lid of the reactor
708
00:51:28,064 --> 00:51:30,066
and sees the impossible.
709
00:51:30,149 --> 00:51:31,943
The control rod and fuel channel caps,
710
00:51:32,026 --> 00:51:34,112
which each weigh 350 kilograms,
711
00:51:34,195 --> 00:51:35,863
are jumping up and down.
712
00:51:36,406 --> 00:51:38,616
He runs to warn the control room.
713
00:51:38,700 --> 00:51:41,619
But there's nothing he can do
to stop what is coming.
714
00:51:41,703 --> 00:51:44,706
-(ALARM BUZZING)
-1:23 and 44 seconds.
715
00:51:45,331 --> 00:51:48,751
The steam blows
more fuel channels apart.
716
00:51:48,835 --> 00:51:50,878
We do not know
how high the power went.
717
00:51:50,962 --> 00:51:52,171
We only know the final reading.
718
00:51:52,255 --> 00:51:54,674
(ALARM CONTINUES)
719
00:51:54,757 --> 00:51:59,303
Reactor 4, designed to operate
at 3,200 megawatts,
720
00:52:00,054 --> 00:52:02,598
went beyond 33,000.
721
00:52:08,354 --> 00:52:12,150
The pressure inside the core
can no longer be held back.
722
00:52:12,233 --> 00:52:18,531
At long last, we have arrived.
1:23:45, explosion.
723
00:52:18,614 --> 00:52:20,074
(EXPLOSION)
724
00:52:20,158 --> 00:52:23,119
In the instant the lid is
thrown off the reactor,
725
00:52:23,202 --> 00:52:24,245
oxygen rushes in.
726
00:52:24,328 --> 00:52:28,416
It combines with hydrogen
and super-heated graphite.
727
00:52:30,460 --> 00:52:33,296
The chain of disaster is now complete.
728
00:52:55,443 --> 00:52:56,861
AKIMOV: (MUFFLED) Comrade Dyatlov!
729
00:53:02,116 --> 00:53:03,451
Comrade Dyatlov!
730
00:53:09,499 --> 00:53:11,584
(INAUDIBLE)
731
00:53:14,962 --> 00:53:17,840
LEGASOV: No one in the room
that night knew
732
00:53:17,924 --> 00:53:21,093
the shutdown button
could act as a detonator.
733
00:53:22,720 --> 00:53:24,055
They didn't know it,
734
00:53:25,723 --> 00:53:27,725
because it was kept from them.
735
00:53:27,809 --> 00:53:32,563
Comrade Legasov, you're contradicting
your own testimony in Vienna.
736
00:53:32,980 --> 00:53:34,941
My testimony in Vienna was a lie.
737
00:53:35,024 --> 00:53:36,359
(CROWD MURMURING)
738
00:53:36,442 --> 00:53:38,736
LEGASOV: I lied to the world.
739
00:53:39,570 --> 00:53:41,405
I'm not the only one
who kept this secret.
740
00:53:41,489 --> 00:53:42,490
There are many.
741
00:53:44,075 --> 00:53:45,493
We were following orders,
742
00:53:47,078 --> 00:53:48,704
from the KGB,
from the Central Committee.
743
00:53:48,788 --> 00:53:51,332
And right now, there are
16 reactors in the Soviet Union
744
00:53:51,415 --> 00:53:53,876
with the same fatal flaw.
745
00:53:53,960 --> 00:53:55,837
Three of them are still running
746
00:53:55,920 --> 00:53:58,339
less than 20 kilometers away
at Chernobyl.
747
00:53:58,422 --> 00:54:02,343
Professor Legasov, if you mean
to suggest the Soviet state
748
00:54:02,426 --> 00:54:04,262
is somehow responsible
for what happened,
749
00:54:04,345 --> 00:54:07,056
then I must warn you, you are
treading on dangerous ground.
750
00:54:07,765 --> 00:54:09,433
I've already trod on dangerous ground.
751
00:54:09,517 --> 00:54:11,561
We're on dangerous ground right now,
752
00:54:11,644 --> 00:54:14,397
because of our secrets and our lies.
753
00:54:14,480 --> 00:54:17,525
They're practically what define us.
754
00:54:17,608 --> 00:54:20,820
When the truth offends, we lie and lie
755
00:54:20,903 --> 00:54:23,155
until we can no longer
remember it is even there.
756
00:54:23,239 --> 00:54:24,824
But it is still there.
757
00:54:28,494 --> 00:54:32,540
Every lie we tell incurs
a debt to the truth.
758
00:54:34,917 --> 00:54:37,086
Sooner or later, that debt is paid.
759
00:54:42,008 --> 00:54:46,929
That is how an RBMK
reactor core explodes.
760
00:54:50,975 --> 00:54:51,976
Lies.
761
00:56:56,642 --> 00:56:58,936
Valery Alexeyevich Legasov,
762
00:57:00,521 --> 00:57:02,732
son of Alexei Legasov,
763
00:57:02,940 --> 00:57:05,401
Head of Ideological Compliance,
Central Committee.
764
00:57:06,444 --> 00:57:07,945
Do you know
what your father did there?
765
00:57:08,279 --> 00:57:09,280
Yes.
766
00:57:10,656 --> 00:57:13,993
As a student, you had a
leadership position in Komsomol.
767
00:57:14,076 --> 00:57:16,120
Communist Youth, correct?
768
00:57:17,496 --> 00:57:19,415
-You already know.
-Answer the question.
769
00:57:19,832 --> 00:57:20,875
Yes.
770
00:57:22,877 --> 00:57:24,879
At the Kurchatov Institute,
771
00:57:24,962 --> 00:57:27,131
you were the
Communist Party secretary.
772
00:57:27,840 --> 00:57:31,510
In the position, you limited
the promotion of Jewish scientists.
773
00:57:36,474 --> 00:57:38,059
Yes.
774
00:57:38,142 --> 00:57:40,770
To curry favor with Kremlin officials.
775
00:57:46,400 --> 00:57:48,277
You're one of us, Legasov.
776
00:57:50,112 --> 00:57:51,989
I can do anything I want with you.
777
00:57:53,741 --> 00:57:56,619
But what I want the most is
for you to know that I know.
778
00:57:57,912 --> 00:57:59,413
You're not brave.
779
00:58:00,956 --> 00:58:02,416
You're not heroic.
780
00:58:04,085 --> 00:58:07,463
You're just a dying man
who forgot himself.
781
00:58:07,546 --> 00:58:11,008
I know who I am,
and I know what I've done.
782
00:58:13,803 --> 00:58:16,180
In a just world,
I'd be shot for my lies,
783
00:58:16,263 --> 00:58:18,474
but not for this, not for the truth.
784
00:58:19,433 --> 00:58:21,602
Scientists,
785
00:58:21,685 --> 00:58:25,397
and your idiot obsession
with reasons.
786
00:58:25,481 --> 00:58:29,902
(YELLS) When the bullet hits
your skull, what will it matter why?
787
00:58:37,576 --> 00:58:39,912
No one's getting shot, Legasov.
788
00:58:41,622 --> 00:58:43,290
The whole world saw you in Vienna.
789
00:58:44,125 --> 00:58:46,210
It would be embarrassing
to kill you now.
790
00:58:46,293 --> 00:58:47,336
And for what?
791
00:58:48,712 --> 00:58:51,757
Your testimony today
will not be accepted by the State.
792
00:58:51,841 --> 00:58:54,176
It will not be disseminated
in the press.
793
00:58:54,844 --> 00:58:56,679
It never happened.
794
00:58:58,055 --> 00:59:02,309
No, you will live,
however long you have,
795
00:59:03,102 --> 00:59:05,855
but not as a scientist, not anymore.
796
00:59:06,856 --> 00:59:10,818
You'll keep your title
and your office,
797
00:59:12,027 --> 00:59:16,365
but no duties,
no authority, no friends.
798
00:59:16,448 --> 00:59:17,783
No one will talk to you.
799
00:59:18,617 --> 00:59:19,994
No one will listen to you.
800
00:59:22,454 --> 00:59:25,875
Other men, lesser men,
801
00:59:27,001 --> 00:59:29,712
will receive credit
for the things you have done.
802
00:59:30,671 --> 00:59:32,965
Your legacy is now their legacy.
803
00:59:33,048 --> 00:59:35,259
You'll live long enough to see that.
804
00:59:39,221 --> 00:59:41,056
What role did Shcherbina play in this?
805
00:59:41,807 --> 00:59:42,892
None.
806
00:59:42,975 --> 00:59:44,810
He didn't know what I was gonna say.
807
00:59:46,729 --> 00:59:48,814
What role did Khomyuk play in this?
808
00:59:49,481 --> 00:59:50,482
None.
809
00:59:51,358 --> 00:59:52,776
She didn't know either.
810
00:59:55,321 --> 00:59:57,781
After all you've said and done today,
811
00:59:57,865 --> 01:00:03,495
it would be curious
if you chose this moment to lie.
812
01:00:06,707 --> 01:00:10,711
I would think a man of your experience
would know a lie when he hears one.
813
01:00:15,049 --> 01:00:18,052
You will not meet or communicate
with either one of them ever again.
814
01:00:19,553 --> 01:00:23,015
You will not communicate with anyone
about Chernobyl ever again.
815
01:00:24,516 --> 01:00:26,769
You will remain so immaterial
to the world around you
816
01:00:26,852 --> 01:00:28,729
that when you finally do die,
817
01:00:29,355 --> 01:00:32,942
it will be exceedingly hard
to know that you ever lived at all.
818
01:00:37,404 --> 01:00:39,114
And if I refuse?
819
01:00:42,493 --> 01:00:45,412
Why worry about something
that isn't going to happen?
820
01:00:45,496 --> 01:00:46,747
(CHUCKLES)
821
01:00:46,830 --> 01:00:50,042
"Why worry about something
that isn't going to happen?"
822
01:00:51,001 --> 01:00:52,544
Oh, that's perfect.
823
01:00:53,420 --> 01:00:55,256
They should put that on our money.
824
01:01:26,328 --> 01:01:28,706
(ENGINE STARTS)
825
01:02:05,701 --> 01:02:08,454
LEGASOV: (ON TAPE)
To be a scientist is to be naive.
826
01:02:09,788 --> 01:02:12,124
We are so focused
on our search for truth,
827
01:02:12,207 --> 01:02:16,378
we fail to consider how few
actually want us to find it.
828
01:02:16,920 --> 01:02:21,133
But it is always there,
whether we see it or not,
829
01:02:21,216 --> 01:02:23,177
whether we choose to or not.
830
01:02:23,260 --> 01:02:25,971
The truth doesn't care
about our needs or wants.
831
01:02:26,055 --> 01:02:27,723
It doesn't care about our governments,
832
01:02:27,806 --> 01:02:30,142
our ideologies, our religions.
833
01:02:31,602 --> 01:02:34,063
It will lie in wait for all time.
834
01:02:35,356 --> 01:02:39,276
And this, at last,
is the gift of Chernobyl.
835
01:02:39,360 --> 01:02:41,820
Where I once would fear
the cost of truth,
836
01:02:41,904 --> 01:02:43,530
now I only ask,
837
01:02:45,699 --> 01:02:47,659
"What is the cost of lies?"
838
01:02:53,290 --> 01:02:56,585
(SOMBER INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)