American Rhetoric: Movie Speech

"Chernobyl" (2019)

Soviet Minister Boris Shcherbina Testifies at Trial on the Chernobyl Disaster

Minister Boris Shcherbina: It began with, of all things, a safety test. But why was there a need for a safety test at all?

Reactor #4 was not new when the accident occurred. In fact, it went into operation on December 20th, 1983. And 11 days later, on the last day of the year, Plant Director Viktor Bryukhanov signed this document [submitting document evidence to judges] certifying the competition of
the construction of the reactor.

As a result of finishing the work before the end of the year, Comrade Bryukhanov was awarded Hero of Socialist Labor. Comrade Fomin was awarded for Valorous Labour. Comrade Dyatlov was given an Order of the Red Banner. But the work was not finished. And this document was a lie.

In order to sign this certificate, all safety tests had to have been successfully completed. And yet, one remained. A nuclear reactor generates heat in the core -- here. A series of pumps -- here and here -- send a constant flow of cooling water through the core. The core's heat turns the water to steam, and the steam spins a turbine -- here -- and the result is electricity.

But what if a power plant has no power? What if the power feeding the plant itself is disrupted? A blackout? Equipment failure? Or an attack by a foreign enemy? If there's no power, the pumps cannot move water through the core. And without water, the core overheats, the fuel melts down; in short, a nuclear disaster.

The solution: Three diesel fuel backup generators -- here. So, problem solved. No. Bryukhanov knew that the problem was not solved at all. The backup generators took approximately one minute to reach the speed required to power the pumps and prevent a meltdown. And by that time, it would be too late.

So, we arrive at the safety test. The theory was this: If the facility lost power, the turbine, which had been spinning, would take some time to slow down and stop. What if you could take the electricity it was still generating, and transfer it to the pumps? What if the dying turbine could keep the pumps working long enough to bridge the sixty-second gap until the generators came on?

Any questions?

Judge Kadnikov: No. Continue, please.

Minister Boris Shcherbina: To test this theory, the reactor is placed in a reduced power mode, 700 megawatts, to simulate a blackout condition. Then, the turbines are turned off, and as they slowly spin down, their electrical output is measured to see if it's enough to power the pumps.

The science is strong, but a test is only as good as the men carrying it out.

Now, the first time they tried, they failed.

The second time they tried, they failed.

The third time they tried, they failed.

And the fourth time they tried was April 26, 1986.