Report - Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station, Ukraine - October 2019

[DirtyJigsaw]

Incredible photos and report mate, top notch!!

 

[Brewtal]

Absolute banger as per! I was getting bored as fuck seeing anyone and everyone's holiday snaps from their wowcher deals on every dumbex group out there. But this is just fucking awesome! Just out of curiosity, were these shot hand held or were you allowed a tripod in certain places?

 

[Exploring with Andy]

Absolute banger as per! I was getting bored as fuck seeing anyone and everyone's holiday snaps from their wowcher deals on every dumbex group out there. But this is just fucking awesome! Just out of curiosity, were these shot hand held or were you allowed a tripod in certain places?

One or two were handheld, but most were on a tripod. They don't have issues with people using tripods. The problem was 10 people in a single room, so there were constantly people in the way. The guide was quite good though, and allowed us to take it in turns to get a shot without anybody else in the room before we left each one. All those people made longer exposures difficult, so I generally shot with settings close to what I'd use for handheld, just to take shots in time before people walked in front, but on the tripod still

 

[InTheDogHouse]

Incredible - thank you!

 

[Ninabz]

Control Room 4

Where it all happened!
This is the room in which operators attempted to run the safety test and pushed the reactor to its limits. The AZ-5 shutdown procedure was then activated, which, unknown to the operators had a fatal flaw, triggering the explosion and meltdown of the reactor.

Computer Room

The process computer for the RBMK nuclear reactors prior to October 1995 was SKALA (from the Russian which translates to "Control system of the devices of the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant"). Dating back to the 1960s, it used magnetic core memory, magnetic tape data storage, and punched tape for loading software.

Command station with CCCP book on the desk


Main Circulation Pumps

The MCPs were responsible for ensuring a constant stream of water entered the reactor to remove the heat. During operation the heat turned the water to steam for use in the turbines. While the reactor was in a shutdown state, water was still required to keep it cool.

This memorial is dedicated to Valery Khodemchuk who was the senior operator of the main circulation pumps at the time of the accident. His body was never found.


Unit 5​

Two more blocks, numbered five and six, of more or less the same reactor design, were planned at a site roughly a kilometre from the contiguous buildings of the four older blocks. Reactor No. 5 was around 70% complete at the time of block 4's explosion and was scheduled to come online approximately six months later, on November 7, 1986. In the aftermath of the disaster, the construction on No. 5 and No. 6 were suspended, and eventually cancelled in April 1989, just days before the third anniversary of the 1986 explosion. 6 further reactors were planned on the other side of the river. All 12 reactors were planned to be running until 2010.

Exterior of Unit 5

Inside unit 5 was a bit of a mess - anything of value has been salvaged and metal scrapping is ongoing

Units 1-4 and the New Safe Confinement, as viewed from the roof of Unit 5​

Oh fab ! Thanks for sharing

 

[mikecawood]

Absolutely awesome photos.

 

[Terminal Decline]

Fantastic stuff mate! Gutted you didn't get to see the turbine hall, not many places around with 700m of turbines

 

[Derpy_hooves]

Ace. Amazing shots.

 

[mintyboynhotlegs]

Fantastic report, stunning pics of the place

 

[Exploring with Andy]

Fantastic stuff mate! Gutted you didn't get to see the turbine hall, not many places around with 700m of turbines

Yeah I'd have liked to have seen them. One quarter of that hall has been walled off since the accident though

 

[Terminal Decline]

Yeah I'd have liked to have seen them. One quarter of that hall has been walled off since the accident though

Oh, so only 525m, not really worth bothering with then.
If only they'd built all 12 reactors end to end and completed it so you'd have like a 2km turbine hall

 

[musley]

Stunning pics and report, thanks!

 

[Will Knot]

Amazing pics and report

 

[moonchild]

The control room is a time warp and far more beautiful than I could of imagined.