1 ASSESS: your position
The cult HBO historical drama Chernobyl lays out the catastrophic sequence of events that led to the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine in 1986. In the series, the deputy chief engineer, Anatoly Dyatlov, who supervised the test at the plant that ultimately set off the chain reaction, is cast as one of the main villains, along with his two superiors.
The power plant is scheduled to carry out a safety test, which has already been delayed by 10 hours. Dyatlov is impatient because of the expectations of the more senior plant officials, including plant director Viktor Bryukhanov and chief engineer Nikolai Fomin. It's now late in the evening. The shift has changed and it is well past midnight. The control board technicians, one of whom is inexperienced and is being coached through the process by his supervisor, are ordered by Dyatlov to carry out the test, despite it breaching standard protocols.
In the show, Dyatlov is seen yelling at the team, berating them for their stupidity, threatening them and rebuffing their concerns when they suggest aborting the test. The test is carried out, the reactor stalls and experiences a massive power spike, and when the emergency shutdown process is activated a design flaw in the reactor's control rods spikes the power further — and the reactor explodes.
Apparently the writers took some creative licence in the portrayal of certain characters, but the drama offers a powerfully graphic illustration ...
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