Kyshtym Mayak: The 2nd Worst Nuclear Disaster in Soviet History

[@vladimirpanov8672]

This bloody disaster took the life of my granddad who worked there. Cancer. He survived the WW2 but not the Mayak. One of many thousands and completely forgotten now. Thank you for reminding the world about it, Simon

[@Mochrie99]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your grandfather in such an atrocious manner.

[@vladimirpanov8672]

@@Mochrie99 thank you. In 1959 those people new nothing about radiation. Nobody bothered to tell them.

[@wfb.subtraktor311]

@@vladimirpanov8672 and yet people still defend nuclear power to the nail... sorry your granddad had to die

[@abisspassenger]

@@wfb.subtraktor311 so if a car runs over a friend of yours, are you blaming the inventor of the car for it? Perhaps the car factory? If someone you love is killed in a knife attack, the inventor of knives is to blame? Nuclear energy isn't the problem. The corruption of the Soviet Union, maybe. Also the incompetent and irresponsible disposal of dangerous materials. But above all, definetly the disregard for human life.

[@wfb.subtraktor311]

@@abisspassenger Fukushima, 3 Mile Island, Windscale. Humans and nuclear power don't go together. Someone will get lazy, someone will make a mistake, someone will try to save money, or a Tsunami comes to spoil your day. Read up on Windscale, they had an extremely heated debate over filters in the stack a couple years before. If those hadn't been installed, like the lead engineers at the program advocated, northern Britain would now be uninhabitable. Then we need to consider the question of disposal, which, apart from Finland (because Finland somehow always manages the impossible), noone has solved. Especially with environmental disasters become ever more frequent and destructive, anyone arguing for nuclear power is like someone with a ticking time bomb strapped to them that has a coke dispenser attached, and is telling themselves "This is fine" cause they really like coke.

[@zapfanzapfan]

The more I learn about the Soviet Union the more amazed I get that anyone survived in it...

[@Vioarr15]

10's of millions didn't unfortunately

[@The_Keeper]

Yup. People didn't live in the USSR. They lived *in spite* of it.

[@saragrant9749]

The USSR was a literal hell on earth, on par with Hitler’s regime.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

@@saragrant9749 There is no fundamental difference between German National Socialists and Russian Soviet socialists. Pick any feature and you won’t find any meaningful difference.

[@NotSoSerious69420]

@@Dave5843-d9m other than the fact the USSR lasted way longer and as result got to inflict much more suffering overall sadly

[@dingo137]

Secrecy above safety seemed to be very much the order of the day in nuclear weapons development. The US exposed its population to fallout from tests, the UK covered up Windscale contamination. But the Soviets really took the prize.

[@LyonPercival]

Soviets class humans like livestock(literal "human resource" - those deemed expendable are expended "for the good of russia"

[@IggyStardust1967]

Yet Texas says, "Everything is bigger in Texas!" And the Soviets just laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

[@warrenreid9292]

A bit like China today.

[@crf80fdarkdays]

@@IggyStardust1967 lol, had some ignorant person the other day trying to tell me USA is #1 in everything. Well that's funny, because last time and generally every every other time before that when I check where something is made it's China 😂🤦

[@TheVanillatech]

@@LyonPercival USA don't do the same? Explain that to the populations of hundreds of pacific islands who, not only were exposed to radiation and fallout, their habitats contaminated forever, but to THIS DAY are still not relocated but live on the border islands in squalor, never re-homed or compensated, generations in. If that doesn't do it for ya - go tell it to the people of Nagasaki or Hiroshima. CHEERS!

[@ClamBake7525]

Imagine all the other Soviet disaster we haven't heard about yet.

[@ClamBake7525]

@@clamum like the Biden administration.

[@MrTommyboy68]

@@ClamBake7525 Oh, phulese gurlfriend. The orange stain is FAR WORSE than ANY ADMINISTRATION before. Moron.

[@ClamBake7525]

@E Van It's easy if you try.

[@andrejaeschke3415]

Imagine of all the disasters worldwide, we haven't heard about yet!

[@RCHAMPION615]

@@MrTommyboy68 I'm not even American and I know that's wrong mate.

[@nightwyrm4354]

USSR: Don't worry about Chernobyl, we have experience with cleaning up after major nuclear disasters. Rest of world: Wait, what.

[@VictorJeraldo]

CIA: Sshhhhh, you weren't supposed to tell...

[@kyletucker3811]

Exactly. That was my reaction. I was like, wait, how is there more than one?

[@mattropolis7857]

This is more true than you know. The special hospital in Moscow that the Chernobyl firemen were sent to knew ALL about treating victims of nuclear accidents. They already knew the men were dead walking, treatments, and evaluation. This is why they invited the US bone marrow doctor to give a transplant to one of the doomed men. They knew it would fail and it would make the US look less capable.

[@AJ_Deadshow]

I remember they said "nuclear meltdowns don't happen" and a lot of other similar propaganda in Pripyat. They knew it could happen and they lied

[@JohnDoe-on6ru]

"I mean, nevermind"

[@mihit2352]

In the USSR, you do not consume nuclear energy, nuclear energy consumes you.

[@sirandrelefaedelinoge]

That's so highly original....

[@none-kq7ho]

its wrong but that made me laugh a lot. sorry.

[@benclark3621]

LMAO, it never gets old. It's sadly true, but still doesn't get old

[@MosoKaiser]

Not 'you', *'WE.'*

[@keqing311]

Eyo is tht the creator of donkey kong or mario?

[@devunit2369]

I used to live near Hanford. In fact, I had a science teacher in middle school that regularly volunteered there during the summer. She was even told by the U.S. Government that she was not allowed to go to Russia on vacation, or else she'd lose total access to the site for life.

[@TimSmyth23]

So?

[@scottydu81]

Good! It’s refreshing to see government agencies treating our enemies as actual enemies

[@RhelrahneTheIdiot]

Just another example of how schizo the US government is, how can people even tolerate such a garbage country.

[@scottdodge6979]

@@RhelrahneTheIdiot lmao okay, you're aware every government is paranoid as fuck right? It's kind of in their nature. America is having some tough times but I still wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world. People dont come here illegally because it sucks.

[@ursodermatt8809]

@@RhelrahneTheIdiot if anybody is schizo here you are a prime example of schizoesness

[@fullmetaljacket30]

The Mayak disaster was covered in a book called “Midnight in Chernobyl.” Would recommend anyone interested to check it out.

[@mistywolf312]

Absolutely, a captivating read which covers more than the TV series which was excellent itself, I read it after watching and litterally sat with my head in my hands muttering oh god no, you didn't several times!

[@heyheyheatherk]

Agree, a fascinating read on a terrifying subject.

[@prapanthebachelorette6803]

Interesting bucket list

[@xenobob2773]

I read "The Legacy of Chernobyl" by Zhores Medvedev over a decade ago. A lot of details made it fascinating. One example - as the disaster continued the composition of the nuclear fallout AND the wind direction changed, spreading different types of contamination to different areas.

[@jimmyfreemantle879]

Midnight in Chernobyl is a great read.

[@thefrecklepuny]

"Fishermen have reported catching fish with no eyes and no fins..." "Whereas in Springfield..."

[@ImpmanPDX]

Blinky!

[@jacob4920]

How could they even catch those guys, if they were completely unable to even SEE the bait, or even swim up to take it?!! I smell exaggeration. If anything, those fish would have had THREE eyes, and probably 25 or so fins.

[@OfftheWallTales]

@@jacob4920 Have you ever seen a Kuhli loach? They can't see well (if at all) and they have no fins. They look more like eels than fish. The second I drop food in my tank, before it has even begun to fall the 21 inches to the bottom, they're out and swimming around. That whole 'shark can smell blood' thing isn't a joke. Fish can figure out what's food besides smelling it. Also, if a fish was born without fins they'd figure out how to swim. If they didn't, they'd be dead within the first stages of life. But I've seen many fish swim that use their back end more than their fins to swim and propel themselves through the water.

[@lynnmitzy1643]

@@ImpmanPDX yes, Blinky °°°

[@BType13X2]

@@OfftheWallTales a fish's ability to smell things is why I soak my smelts in salt to dry them, and then add a little bit of green food color. to the container with them in it. The green catches the eye, but once your smelts are salted and dried (this is disgusting to make btw.) when you put them on your hook and cast them you can see a slick eminate from them in the water. I've gone to a "dead" part of a lake to cast away from other people and within 20-30 minutes of casting I had fish in my area and on the bite. They track by smell way more than site.

[@plisskenationbackfromthede3657]

Messed up that we only found out about the mayak disaster after chernobyl when the ussr said it had experience in radioactive cleanup and had to prove it

[@prapanthebachelorette6803]

Yeah this part got me too

[@kingkeurig8679]

I split a gut laughing at "that continues to be mostly true as long as the government involved is not the USSR." Simon, I LOVE how you incorporate humor into your videos.

[@brennantom9083]

Three Mile Island Fukushima

[@MikeJones-rk1un]

The first one to study it while sober.

[@jackfanning7952]

Grave-side humor designed to minimize the severe disaster that nuclear energy is to the world.

[@jackfanning7952]

@@MikeJones-rk1un Try reading the research by Dr. John W. Gofman, M.D., Ph.D. , or Dr. Gordon Edwards, Ph.D. or the comprehensive research reported annually by the WNISR. If you get all your information from cartoonist like this guy, Simon, you will die laughing.

[@MikeJones-rk1un]

@@jackfanning7952 Why do you assume you know where I get my information? Troll?

[@lordpumpkinhead265]

Three words that history has taught us never go together: Soviets and Nuclear Power.

[@andrejaeschke3415]

Three words that history has taught us never go together: Governments and Nuclear Power ☝️

[@markusz4447]

I'm afraid something similar might happen in China sooner or later

[@somethinglikethat2176]

@@andrejaeschke3415 TEPCO?

[@johnnywindsor183]

The amount of broken arrows the US had during the Cold War was around 58 or something near that I think, imagine how many the Soviet Union went through

[@johnnywindsor183]

@Cb Bu I would love to know the number

[@jacob4920]

IAEA: "Nuclear Power Plants are among the safest, and most secure, sources of power in the world." Addendum: "Unless those power plants happen to be constructed in the USSR. In which case... God help us all."

[@fixman88]

@@CashelOConnolly More than one, actually. There's one off the coast of Louisiana that's still lost.

[@JD-wi5zd]

or the UK, or the USA, or Japan, or...

[@rahowherox1177]

Or on the coast near where 2 tectonic plates collide ... fujashima ...

[@Carewolf]

Even with failures in the USSR, it is still several orders of magnitude safer than coal or hydro.

[@jacob4920]

@@rahowherox1177 Fukishima. And yes, having underground nuclear reactors in an earthquake-prone country IS a bit on the "risky" side.

[@tristanplatts8869]

I had never heard of this prior to the video. I’m curious how many nuclear disasters there have been.

[@xijin_pooh5158]

Probably Less than you think but more than you hope

[@PhoenixLyon]

The world will never know.✌🏻

[@Arthion]

Most disasters are more akin to Three Mile Island where a reactor had a meltdown but the material was contained and little happened on the outside thankfully. It's usually when some muppet designs something so poorly if something goes wrong stuff leaks all over the place you get incidents like Mayak and Chernobyl... or criminially underestimate the dangers of geological hazards and design the backup in such a way you get a wave higher than anticipated you drown the backup power such as Fukushima.

[@JD-wi5zd]

more than the public will every be told

[@prasakmanitou4925]

try youtube channel "plainly difficult"

[@vincentlake]

I enjoy bouncing around these videos because Simon’s beard either disappears or grows more glorious than ever. Also, really enjoying the casual criminalist podcast! Keep them coming!

[@alexs3907]

Americans: "a nuclear disaster" Soviets: "our nuclear disaster"

[@johnochiltree1170]

*disasters

[@klm9440]

OUR nuclear disaster? oh I highly doubt you take full responsibility for the outcome of present and future disasters that will occur, paying for reconstruction costs and maintenance of disaster warning systems

[@johnochiltree1170]

@@klm9440 I can’t tell what you’re for or against

[@drscopeify]

Well American never had a nuclear disaster. 3 mile island and Hanford were not disasters. Nuclear is overall much safer than breathing in population from cars that also cause so many health issues like Asthma

[@idiotwidowmaker8932]

@@johnochiltree1170 I don't think they've taken a side but simply pointed out the likelihood of a government taking responsibility

[@talldrinkofmarmalade7281]

Geographies: releases a new video Me: cool It’s a Soviet catastrophe Me: real shit?

[@jacob4920]

"It's a Soviet catastrophe." Me: "Ah, must be Thursday."

[@lylecosmopolite]

Simon did not sufficiently emphasise that the explosion that occurred on 29 September 1957 was a chemical one that dispersed radioactive dust and aerosols. There was no nuclear reaction whatsoever. However the chemical explosion had the power of about 300 tons of TNT. Hence the magnitude of the radioactive plume.

[@Daydreaminginmono]

"The fox mulder of the urals". The soviet files lol

[@fchanMSI]

Pravda is out there

[@charlesdunn6694]

We need a TV series. NEED.

[@douglasbillington8521]

I'd watch that!

[@WaywardVet]

I mean that's one hell of a compliment when people start calling you that, even if they intended it as mockery. Nicely done, sir.

[@YeeSoest]

ж Files: I want to make believe

[@garyb9167]

Don'y let the US off the hook. Hanford is an extremely large problem that is not talked about enough

[@wwondertwin]

Hanford is one of the most popular topics of videos like this.

[@garyb9167]

@@wwondertwin Good to know

[@mikehunt3420]

@@wwondertwinfunny cuz this is my first time hearing of it

[@pvv5840]

Simon, love what you do. Have been an avid watcher for a couple years now. In the vein of this video, you should certainly do one on the 1969 fire at Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado (far DEADLIER than T.M.I.). The fire in buildings 777, 778 and 779 melted the glove boxes to the ground and released plutonium over Denver. Many people would eventually sucumb to cancers from this disaster and die. radioactive waste and residue from the fire is still buried on the plant site in aging 55 gallon barrels and number in the tens of thousands. Homes are now bveing built all around this site which is now called an "Environmental Preserve".

[@dougalexander7204]

I don’t see how Simon does it. Much respect everyone.

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

USSR 1986: "Don't worry, everyone! We have dealt with nuclear disasters before!" Rest of the world: "YOU... WHAT??"

[@kaiying74]

Poor Chelyabinsk, they're the guys who were hit by the meteorite back in 2013.

[@pseudotasuki]

They weren't hit by the plume, though.

[@Arthion]

@@pseudotasuki That usually depends on prevailing winds. The dust goes wherever the wind is going.

[@pseudotasuki]

@@Arthion Yeah, and they weren't downwind.

[@kaiying74]

@@pseudotasuki @Caeric I approve of this level of pedantry guys. Nice work. ;)

[@The_Keeper]

"Those who do not remember their history, are doomed to repeat it."

[@ravinsky_pl]

Great video, although in 5:34 the soldiers shown are Polish, not Soviet :)

[@robertfranklin8522]

Plutopia, by Kate Brown, is a (mostly) excellent book about Mayak and it's US counterpart, Hanford. I say mostly because it's a little iffy on the hard science but offers an excellent historical overview and a cultural/social comparison of the two communities.

[@zenjon7892]

Finally, someone explained the units of radiation! Thanks, Simon

[@euclideanspace2573]

You know it's Soviet when the title says "2nd Worst Nuclear Disaster". Pst: There's 3 or 5 more depending on your definition.

[@ingridfong-daley5899]

"We can only assume they moved all the town's inhabitants before they took over and built the facility." ... unless they did the usual Soviet thing and just evicted everybody and either killed them or left them to die of exposure and starvation... But yeah. Let's assume they were 're-located.'

[@vulpes7079]

Relocation to Heaven :D

[@victorzvyagintsev1325]

There is only one problem with bashing Soviets over nuclear safety in 1957: Rocky Flats Plant, USA - A plutonium fire occures just outside Denver on 11 September 1957. Firefighters try to put it out with water, almost making plutonium go critical. Radioctive smoke goes into the neighborhoods near Denver, radioactive water goes into the sewers. You'd think the public was told about this? Nope, it was only found out when two more such fires occured in 1969. Soil samples showed that there was large contamination before the fires of 1969. Windscale Piles, UK - An air-cooled graphite-moderated nuclear reactor cought fire on 10 October 1957. By sheer dumb luck it didn't go Chernobyl style of boom. But hey, i'm sure the public was told that Europe witnessed a level 5 nuclear accident(just for comparison Kyshtym Mayak was level 6, Chernobyl and Fukushima level 7)...nope, all news of it was heavily censored. I guess no one in UK cared at the time that someone might die from polonium-210 poisoning.

[@KB4QAA]

Discussing Soviet nuclear accidents does not depend on other nations issues.

[@WildBluntHickok]

@@KB4QAA Apparently you didn't watch the video to the end. "Nuclear reactors are safe unless they're Russian" was the conclusion.

[@thegunslinger1363]

Russia sure has had alot of disasters hasn't it. And could you cover the Kamchatka Peninsula?

[@jacob4920]

The only thing I could think when this video mentioned Chelyabinsk as being a nearby town was: "You mean that place that's had two different asteroids explode over the top of it, in the past century?"

[@Arthion]

Well, a good saying goes that 'if you refuse to learn from your mistakes you are doomed to repeat them.'

[@watcherit1311]

Are you also counting massive use and sacrifice of forced labor, together with a decision not to inform local residents about the danger a "disaster"?

[@SephirothRyu]

Have you ever heard of the IRN Kamchatka? Also, do you see torpedo boats?

[@zmanjace1364]

Have you guys ever considered doing an episode on the Love Canal Superfund incident? Could be interesting.

[@VintageRubyFilms]

The channel "Plainly Difficult" has an excellent video on that event. He covers man-made disasters, mostly of the nuclear kind, but also has several about massive dam failures. I highly suggest checking his channel out if you enjoy learning about events like this, and nuclear accidents in particular!

[@lordpumpkinhead265]

They already did an episode on the Love Canal.

[@udirt]

If you read "Normal Accidents" you'll find a sentence around Love Canal that is so well-laid you wonder if the whole book was written to hide it.

[@curiousworld7912]

Nuclear power is safe, clean, carefully and professionally managed and monitored. Except, when it isn't. When you add human failings - including haste, lack of safety precautions, and the desire to cut costs wherever possible - you end up with a situation such as this.

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Throw in politics as the effects of ideology cannot be ignored. Not unique to communist states, it had its worst expressions there with events like this and Chornobyl, but the US and every other nuclear country has had politically-derived issue around nuclear power or weapons.

[@curiousworld7912]

@@owenshebbeare2999 Yep. Absolutely.

[@cindys9491]

And then there's the waste that lasts "forever," has anyone figured out how to reuse/recycle it yet? I heard some nation is doing so. (I know, Google)

[@curiousworld7912]

@@cindys9491 :)

[@peter42069]

I hate to be that guy, but the symbol at 0:22 is a biohazard symbol, not a radioactive symbol.

[@TheGryfonclaw]

Well, it’s not exactly incorrect that the situation was a biohazard…

[@craigs733]

@@TheGryfonclaw Biohazard relates to biological materials not radioactive materials so it is indeed incorrect

[@polishexplorer]

Just to let you know, 5:25 you show Representative Honor Guard Regiment of the Polish Armed Forces, in this case guarding the monument dedicated to all soldiers, who sacrificed their life for Poland - The Tomb of Unknown Soldier.

[@stollwerk]

What's up with the upbeat music at 8:03?? Who does that??

[@cpttrps5376]

I was looking for this

[@shawnnewell4541]

Oh good old Hanford! Thousands of Eastern Washingtonians wound up contracting thyroid cancers and other types of cancers around the Tri City area. They were called Downwinders. This didn't become known until the 1980's.

[@BornRemaining]

I haven't watched yet and I'm already internally screaming the question of "how many nuclear disasters have they had to justify a video title like that!?"

[@jcorbo7518]

Finally! Someone else is talking about the kyshtym disaster! Thanks Simon

[@chrisprattmt]

3:55 I didn't know the soviets were working on a tokamak fusion reactor as early as 1948. perhaps a visual aid containing uranium rods would of been more appropriate when describing a nuclear reactor.

[@aaronstonebeat]

The picture of a fusion reactor surprised me too; but what does Simon know? A better picture would have been appropriate indeed.

[@tsartomato]

@@aaronstonebeat simon doesn't edit or write these and doesn't even read what he reads, he is a hired gun text to speech face like, he reads zhores as zores instead of [ʒores]

[@aaronstonebeat]

@@tsartomato Yes, I know ;-)

[@SeanBZA]

Would say this probably rates as no 1, with Chernobyl as no 3, because no 2 is the other dead lake that was used for waste disposal.

[@vincentfalcone9218]

Probably true. Chernobyl was bad but a bit blown out of proportion, certainly could have been worse though. As far as Fukushima, I'm not sure they can even prove that it killed anyone.

[@jacob4920]

@@vincentfalcone9218 That's because the Japanese government, to their credit, didn't try to sweep the whole thing under the rug, the way the Soviet government tried with Chernobyl. They actually took action to solve the problem. No cities had to be abandoned. Also, Chernobyl's "official" death count of 63 people is highly sus, given that it was the Soviet government that did the counting. More than likely the death toll is upwards of several thousand individuals, mainly from cancer fallout from the event.

[@pseudotasuki]

@@jacob4920 The most realistic count I've heard is around 200.

[@paleolithique]

@@pseudotasuki Maybe of deaths soon after the initial meltdown. I just googled it and the UN-accepted figure is 50 deaths directly attributed to the disaster and about 4,000 deaths down the line from radiation exposure. I could see those numbers being the conservative estimate, though.

[@spannaspinna]

@@jacob4920 all the towns and cities in the exclusion zone around Fukushima are most certainly abandoned

[@GF_Baltar]

Huh, I was told that the radiation at Kyshtym was only 3.6 Roentgen - not great, not terrible.

[@scottydu81]

I’ve heard it’s the equivalent of a chest x ray

[@deviantsid18]

He’s hysterical get him to the Infirmary

[@watcherit1311]

I was told that 5G is aliens' masterplan to control humans to make them slaves for Mars. Not great, not terrible.

[@squibboops9651]

Whoosh

[@gusthepenguin]

As always! Great video!!!

[@derpderpus6075]

Yep, Nuclear Power is very safe. And now for the next video: Fukushima Meltdown.

[@firebear369]

I absolutely adore the way you deliver truly terrifying information. Keep up the incredible work.

[@CUniverse]

0:17 Aurora Borealis!? At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country, localized entirely within your nuclear facility?!

[@rahowherox1177]

And visible by those north of said site, to the south

[@rahowherox1177]

Must of been both Aurora Australus and borealis... tbf.

[@wut939]

yes!

[@mbolander3448]

Simpsons reference, classic.

[@englishmadcow7461]

How is everyone doing? Thank you Simon n Co for keeping us sane and educated during covid x

[@peterpayne2219]

Great video. Being a resident of Japan, we all had to learn what a Sievert and millisieverts and μSv and all that. Though in truth, you get a radiation dose every time you fly in a plane, climb a mountain or walk around a large city. The most radioactive city in the world is...Aberdeen, Scotland.

[@ajstevens1652]

True, radiation is far more common and less harmful (in moderation) than most people realise.

[@rosiehawtrey]

Probably built over a granite intrusive outcrop - the joys of Radon gas..

[@davidgreen3423]

Woah woah woah Simon I’m surprised to hear about Hanford again after I had to beg to get the megaprojects video about it. Great video as always!

[@seanbrazell6147]

Technically Los Alamos was the birthplace of the Soviet Atomic bomb program.

[@toreyweaver9708]

The fusion reactor clip used several times frustrated me.

[@unholy7324]

Right

[@minerwilly]

I came here to say the same thing. There are no tokamaks in the fission industry 😂

[@remotecontrol1082]

And even my memory's not that bad!

[@HistoryOfRevolutions]

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, once wrote: "Power is a poison well known for thousands of years. If only no one were ever to acquire material power over others! But to the human being who has faith in some force that holds dominion over all of us, and who is therefore conscious of his own limitations, power is not necessarily fatal. For those, however, who are unaware of any higher sphere, it is a deadly poison. For them there is no antidote"

[@jacob4920]

Being unselfish with said power is also quite a boon. Very few humans have that quality, though.

[@rahowherox1177]

Lol. And yet the only cases of nuclear bombings were done by good ol Christian USA. USA uber alles, Gitt mit uns.

[@wtice4632]

@@rahowherox1177 the alternative was a ground invasion on japan which would have been worse. Pick up a book idiot

[@rahowherox1177]

@@wtice4632 turn the other cheek. You pick up a book ... the bible perhaps. Lol

[@rahowherox1177]

@@wtice4632 you mean good ol religious imperial japan with their divine winds and god emperor? I think you're missing the point.

[@marialiyubman]

Another Mayak story? Why, yes please. Now please do the one about the reactor in “nuclear city” in California. I just heard of it yesterday. I had no idea it happened.

[@Cthippo1]

Are you talking about the Sodium Reactor Experiement?

[@peteswafflemeyer5620]

you sound butthurt.

[@emmareiman64]

Ah, the 'Death Prigade' reminds me of the cleaners up North The ones who were sent to clean the nuclear mess somewhere near Murmansk. I can't remember the exact names of places, but I do remember the some of the story of it. The main thing is that there was a house (blackened and looking very worn out) in which the nuclear waste rods were being kept in, but they hadn't been secured too well so they had just, fallen, inside the pool, and become a huge mess. This mess was covered by a sheet of metal of some sort. And one unfortunate day one of the workers falls through the sheet into the pool - and it feels like hell. The man was saved however as another brave worker dove after him in a split second to try and retrieve him. Both men survived the experience and were then locked away for months on end because they had received quite the doze of radiation Would love to see you cover this incident~ It seriously could be made into a movie

[@emilyg2451]

It's called Andreev Bay. I follow the cleanup process at this place; lots of countries have donated money to fix this site led by Finland, only about 20 miles away. They were supposed to get into the really gnarly part this year but since the war, there have been no updates. So that's kind of scary.

[@TraditionalAnglican]

Simon - The number of people who died from this accident surpasses that of Chernobyl.

[@stephmaccormick3195]

0:52 That tokamak has absolutely nothing to do with nuclear radiation. Great video nonetheless.

[@itarry4]

Yhea I thought that was a bit odd. They also used a picture of polish soldiers later instead of Russian. They need to be checking their sources better.

[@piotrmalik4908]

The fission of deuterium and tritium, which is used in tokamaks, does produce neutrons, and energies of these neutrons are even higher that of neutrons produced by fission. This is the reason why behavior of construction material under long term irradiation by neutrons from fusion is one of the most important direction of research during fusion energy development.

[@DFSJR1203]

My friend Ed and I use to go to Oyster Creek Nuclear Station in New Jersey and we would dive in what was the output waterway of the nuclear station. We would collect up huge Lobsters, Crabs, and other fish to sell to people we worked with. We had a Geiger counter and never got a reading higher that background readings. Everything was so big because the water was bath tub warm.

[@markae0]

Tritium HTO has a short biological half-life in the human body of 7 to 14 days, which both reduces the total effects of single-incident ingestion and precludes long-term bioaccumulation of HTO from the environment.

[@resileaf9501]

It's not often that there aren't sponsors on Geographics videos. Guess no one wanted to be associated with a nuclear disaster. XD

[@PeterLawton]

Service Master "Like it never even happened"

[@andrewbrown6522]

Iodine tab makers?

[@IggyStardust1967]

Oh, I don't know.... Mad Magazine put out a "Three Mile Island Commemorative Poster" right after that (near) disaster. What was funny/funnier about it was at the bottom, in very small print, was; "Notice: Stand at least 12 feet away from this poster."

[@paulp3340]

I hate trolling but just a small detail: at 3:55, that's a fussion reactor not a fission reactor.

[@Banidil]

I haven't seen yall try The Niaca Cave of Crystals in Chihuahua Mexico

[@flotsamike]

It was more like a combination of the Hanford site in Eastern Washington and Rocky Flats near Denver. Why do you keep showing an artist conception of the inside of a fusion reactor?

[@M0rshu64]

Simon never lost his hair. It just migrated from his head to his face.

[@Vaynthegreat]

That's what I keep telling people. Lol.

[@alexmanion5389]

😂

[@maciej3257]

I don't understand why the author mentiones nuclear power plants multiple times, while Mayak wasn't a power plant. It was nuclear fuel processing facililty, as well as factory of the fission material for nuclear bombs. Power plants are completely different things.

[@Benson_aka_devils_advocate_88]

Geographics: Bad Nuclear accident! Plainly Difficult: But, have you heard of

[@pseudotasuki]

I can't believe he still hasn't done a video about Banqiao. Worst industrial disaster in history!

[@Mach5Johnny]

Love that channel! Criminally underrated yet awesome and interesting!

[@scottydu81]

I want to see Simon Whistler talk about Bhopal

[@micnorton9487]

This situation has been known in the West for quite a while but the details were shrouded... First time I read about it was in Stephen King's novel The tommyknockers,,, when his main character Jim Gardner,, who was a mentally unstable raging alcoholic poet with a totally soul-killing and mind consuming obsession about the dangers of nuclear power,, gets involved in a cocktail party discussion that turns into a confrontation that turns into a totally drunken tirade with coincidentally enough an official from a local nuclear power plant... "Gard" delivers a long and eloquent but drunkenly obsessional monologue about Kyshtym,, drawing out the horror and making it stick like only a poet can,, I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it...

[@TraJonR3D]

The WORSE part is that the ussr/Russia is still a place.

[@Desert_Rogue_Tanker]

What worse than that is that the west is becoming how the USSR is, communist 😅

[@rocket3man]

Excellent video Simon, it is the first time I have heard of this.

[@SmokenAces88]

I’m only here for Simon to say “For decades”

[@longlakeshore]

Nuclear power plants are like jet airliners: very safe but we all know it's just a matter of time before another crashes. So the question is how many more radiologic exclusion zones do you want?

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@kyletucker3811]

Geographics: The second worst Nuclear disaster in Soviet history. Me: Why the hell is there more than one?

[@remotecontrol1082]

No-one ever learns.....

[@CottagebumHeavyHauler]

To be fair, it held the #1 spot until Chernobyl...

[@MaxBeaulieu]

Man I could just watch all your content for hours...and consequently I do as I am currently awaiting trial for smuggling kinder supprise eggs filled with cocaine. Probably shouldn't be writing this down...

[@jimcappa6815]

Never write down your crimes! Have you learned nothing from Simon? Allegedly

[@WildBluntHickok]

"It's a small fine for the cocaine but you're doing hard time for the kinder eggs"

[@scottbishop7899]

You say this treatment plant was near/in the Ural mountains and had an accident in 1959? Was this anywhere near the Dyatlov Pass on or around the time the hikers went out of their minds and with rumours of abnormal radiation being picked up on their clothing Simon? The area may have been irradiated before the hikers were there even if the incident occurred but would they be classed as a possible security threat just being near the area?? Worth a thought ... lol

[@KB4QAA]

SB: No. And no they didn't have radiation burns. The best explanation is that of a localized avalanche. Forget the spooky stories and tin foil hat conspiracies.

[@scottbishop7899]

I never mentioned radiation burns ...

[@sentiencepsn2714]

The CIA didn’t publish their findings because that adds unneeded risk. Publishing the findings would have inevitably endanger their sources, make new ones harder to find, and make the Soviets cover their future operations better.

[@melpunks5797]

Love your videos, I learn something new every bloody day now.

[@effluviah7544]

At 10:34, the sign reads "Reserve", as in, a nature reserve. Except this is a Nuclear Nature Reserve...

[@cva1122]

13:27 wouldn't burning the villages lift some of the contaminants into the air once again?

[@davidplowman6149]

Something you said reminded me of the early spy satellite programs like CORONA and SAMOS. I always found it cool that CORONA literally dropped its photos via heatshild and parachute and captured it by airplane. I wonder if the soviets had something comparable at the time or how comparable the Soviet spy satellite program was throughout the Cold War? I’d love a video on this since I’m curious but don’t care enough to actually research it.

[@userequaltoNull]

It was notably worse, the Soviets always had issues with miniaturization. They did have some, but they used American Cameras if I recall correctly.

[@ronmaximilian6953]

Americans thinking about our polluted water pointing to the Cuyahoga River catching fire. Soviets "hold my vodka."

[@jorgewashington1469]

Do Hurricane Katrina

[@brianjohnson5272]

KZbin would strike him for it. I wouldn't a downplayed "we didn't know". It would be a combo of "arrogance, unpreparedness, and rich people killing hundreds to save their fully insured homes.

[@Mansini77]

Or how about New Orleans politicians and Bureaucrats pocket money that should have went to upgrading the levee systems that were poor and outdated.

[@brianjohnson5272]

@@Mansini77 again that's why Simon CAN'T he'd tell the truth and politicians tend to hide that frim fresh voters.

[@mikelfunderburk5912]

I was there. It sucked. My father worked on the water pumps. He knew quite well that they would fail. Made lots of money installing flooring after.

[@really296]

Hurricanes are still a soviet disaster.

[@stevep5408]

I think you can bet any POWs who worked on secret facilities never returned home!

[@WaywardVet]

We learn from our mistakes. Every disaster provides a guide on what not to do... But it only works when you talk about it instead of covering it up.

[@janskopovy940]

Soviet stories are always among the best of this channel.

[@Kalebfenoir]

Wasn't expecting to hear about Baby Alyshenka in this vid. Last place I heard about that thing was in a Bedtime Stories video...

[@englishmadcow7461]

Sellafield in England had no PPE in 50s except gloves n apron. My father in law worked there disposing nuclear waste and his wife had horrendous cancers and he had heart problems. Nuclear is not the way forward.

[@chaseweeks2708]

They are definitely safer... until something goes spectacularly wrong.

[@TheRealAquaz]

Flawless but still bad logic. Knifes are safe to use too if nothing bad happens or some crazy lunatic runs over the street stabbing people left and right. So you want to prohibit knifes and form humanity back to before the technique of cutting something with even a sharp rock was invented

[@chaseweeks2708]

@@TheRealAquaz, so long as humans are involved mistakes will happen. Even if we designed systems to operate without human involvement mistakes will happen because humans designed the systems. All we can really do is try to design systems as best we can, and mitigate as many risks as possible, then clean up the mess and shattered lives when it all blows up in our faces in spite of our best efforts.

[@elaines2839]

Nuclear Power Plants are theoretically safe, until you enter in the human error factor

[@mikecameron7875]

That first title shot of the inside of a reactor is a fusion toroidal tokamak reactor (a hopeful reality in the near future), not the uranium-based fission reactors talked about in the video.

[@tangobravo5752]

Superintendent Chalmers: *sees Mayak* GOOD LORD WHATS HAPPENING OVER THERE?! Seymour: Aurora Borealis?

[@alessandrohenry2143]

Along a similar vein to this, another place that could be good to cover is Rocky Flats in Colorado, USA.

[@livingood1049]

Well done and researched topic my friend. I'd first came to see if the global effects were calculated but stayed till the end to hear the entire story as you presented it. Thank you

[@brydon5721]

I'm sure the plants are "safe" and "secure" but when accidents happen they quickly turn into full blown disasters.

[@Snagprophet]

It's like saying "planes are safer than cars" yet when a plane crashes you're so unlikely to survive Vs most car crashes

[@pseudotasuki]

@@Snagprophet Not really. This and Chernobyl were the only nuclear disasters with more than a handful of deaths.

[@bubbakushingtonIII]

Imagine whatever youre working on and knowing that youll never leave again.

[@wynstonsmith7194]

Stephen King tells about the Kyshtym accident in his 1987 novel 'The Tommyknockers'.

[@terrorizingtheturbine]

It’s interesting the time and distance of this from the Dyatlov Pass incident…

[@JustinCglass]

Sure seems like Soviet Russia sure made their own dilemmas

[@orjanjonsson6463]

Thanx very interesting, and a good Chanel 👍

[@samhouston1979]

i just saw NFKRZ go near this area in a video yesterday…odd timing

[@darthbee18]

lol same 😅😂

[@rebeccaritchie3315]

Omg, the switching between units of measurement...reminds me of Kirk teaching Fizzbin...