The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Clean up Explained | A Plainly Difficult Nuclear Documentary

[@vote4carp]

Me: "man, I've seen a dozen videos of the aftermath in Chernobyl, I don't need to watch another one." Also me: "Oh sh*t, John's doing a video of it? Well, I mean, _obviously_ I'm gonna watch that one."

[@utube091116]

Should be obligatory, 1/month. To counter the new nukie lie called: eco friendly SMR’s, ever wondered why they keep out the N in the abbreviation ?

[@edward29345]

Please come to our lord and saviour and please read the Bible and please do not use swear on anything or use bad words and foul words as the lord forbids it and do not believe in evolution as it is a distraction from the enemy to hide our lord and savior Jesus Christ from you and please do not celebrate pagan aspects of holidays and please ask forgiveness and repent to our lord and savior Jesus Christ and don’t believe in luck or chance or anything like that as as theses are distractions from the enemy to hide. God from you and the lord forbids it and do not tattoo yourself or others and or make cuts on yourself or others as the lord forbids it so please ask forgiveness and repent and do not be gay as it is a distraction from the enemy to hide. God from you and the lord forbids it so please ask forgiveness and repent to our lord and saviour Jesus Christ and don’t do magic things as it is a distraction from the enemy to hide. God from you and the lord forbids it so please ask forgiveness and repent and do not idolise things as the lord forbids it and it is a distraction from the enemy to hide God from you and the lord forbids it so please ask forgiveness and repent and please dont reject how god made you human as this is a distraction from the enemy to hide. God from you and the lord forbids it so please ask forgiveness and repent and please don’t do sucide as it is a distraction from the enemy to hide. God from you and the lord forbids it so please ask forgiveness and repent to god of your sins and follow his forever lasting law and his word and his commandmants so please ask forgiveness and repent to god

[@foxman105]

Mother was a Radiology doctor in a Soviet country at the time. They downplay how many people died. She had friends and patients that were engineers when it blew up... Their friends told her that they got a call that they couldn't refuse. They went away for about two weeks and they couldn't say where. They returned withered and worn. Most of them died within a Year or got cancer or leukaemia. When this topic comes up she still gets sombre and reminisces about that event... I have a cousin that's damaged because of that event his mom got quite irradiated when she was pregnant and it damaged his brain development. It's quite heartbreaking. Thyroid cancer is still extremely high compared to average here... this negligence and the way it was handled destroyed several generations.

[@uncledibby]

whats really scary is the same type of people now run ukraine, NATO, AND THE U.S. ...fuck they even got germany

[@SMGJohn]

Your profile picture screams otherwise

[@foxman105]

@@SMGJohn Because of what... It's a picture of a cheerful, cartoon horse being serious, wearing reading glasses.

[@SMGJohn]

@@foxman105 Right, you expect us to take you serious when you have some chinese cartoon horse as a profile picture?

[@foxman105]

@@SMGJohn Chinese? That's Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony. It's a western made cartoon. Intellectual Owner is HASBRO. I took liking to the character, when I was babysitting my niece, and watched cartoons with her. Character design made by Lauren Faust. Search up, who that is...

[@prinzkomi5490]

great documentary! I was born with an underdeveloped thyroid gland causing hypothyrosis that is theorized to have been caused by the Chernobyl incident and find documentaries on it fascinating in a slightly morbid kind of way. Your series was thorough and very well presented, great job! Being serious without coming off as either sensationalist or dry makes it a fantastic watch.

[@BM-yy8db]

How does the underdeveloped thyroid affect you in your life?

[@tintinh59]

@@BM-yy8db I know it's late but as someone with hyperthyrosis, i can tell you it's annoying but it depend of the person, hypothyrosis symptoms can be, attention disorder, bradycardia (slow heartbeat), tiredness more or less severe, some muscular pain, intestinal problem, weight gain and hypothermia. Hypo and Hyperthyrosis change the way the metabolism work , for me i have chronic tiredness, wieght loss even if i eat a lot, thermophobia ( i do not support heat and need to drink a lot of water), faster heartbeat and irregular with shortness of breath, anxiety and my hand always shakes slightly also intestinal problems. All those symptoms stress me out every day and make me hate summer :) but as long as you do regular sport and eat healthy you're alright and of course regular checkup, sometimes my thyroid values are almost normals. And of course i'm always lazy and sleep a lot. Hope that helped you understand how thryoid can affect life :)

[@charlestorruella8591]

@@tintinh59 ITS LIKE YOU READ IT STRIGHT FORM WIKIPEDIA

[@Sniperboy5551]

@tintinh59 I have nearly all of the same symptoms that you do, although I’ve never been diagnosed. How does one go about being checked out for that? I took benzos for anxiety for years, even when I drink alcohol my hands still shake like crazy. It’s annoying.

[@prinzkomi5490]

@@Sniperboy5551 (OP here) It should be noted that these symptoms can have a huge variety of sources, but if you suspect hypotherosis, just talk to your doctor. It's a very easy thing to test through a blood sample. Of course this does mean you have to get your blood drawn by a needle, in case that bothers you, but afaik there is unfortunately no other way. But generally, it can be very easily treated if it should be that in your case and a blood check is generally a good thing, so you really got nothing to lose.

[@waylontmccann]

A Ukrainian soldier/youtuber by the name of operator starsky made some videos from chernobyl very recently. He said that Russian soldiers were reported to have radiation burns already forming from using the earth of the yellow Forrest for sandbag filler after digging trenches there, within days. I have a strong feeling that follow up video of yours will be a doozie, and probably coming out sooner than most would think. Keep up the great work 👍 👏

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!

[@jukee67]

Yea ok...You heard huhhh? The anti russian narrative got many of you all happy to hop on the bandwagon. Do you know how many nuclear test explosions were carried out here in a America? How about the islands and the innocent people we radiated and used for an experiment? American soldiers were exposed and actually saw each other's bones via x-ray. Those USSR soldiers were brave and saved the world from much worse. Three Mile Island was much worse then they told us...many women have thyroid issues from it. Fukushima reactors were built by General Electric and didn't belong there and are still a mess til this day. Do you know what happened to the flu(influenza) over the past couple years? Did it disappear? The new version came from Fort Detrick and was sold to China. Subversion technics used by the See Eye A written all over it. Regardless, any one that lives in the fear I saw over the past two years is pathetic. Keep pushing the media narrative...They are the world's worst enemy with their lies. Enjoy the new normal. Don't get scared if someone sneezes in the room.

[@HughWoo]

@@whyindeed9937 you will never get an answer brother. Dude wants to ‘protest’ but doesn’t have a clue what he’s even supporting.

[@Paultimate7]

@@whyindeed9937 Because #ukraine is used for more than just war associated shit? Stop acting like all the country is for is war. They have a rich history.

[@ARockRaider]

@@whyindeed9937 why do people ask unrelated questions in a comment thread?

[@wanderinghistorian]

The "oh balls" vs "not great not terrible" graph was magnificent. :D

[@bmstylee]

That had me laughing more than I would care to admit.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

😀

[@N_0968]

Just about the amount of chest x-ray. :P

[@swokatsamsiyu3590]

That one definitely had me grinning ear to ear as well. I really like how P.D. is using these little tongue-in-cheek humour things to lighten an otherwise very sombre topic. The one with the RBMK saying "Why, father, why?" when hearing it will not get proper containment (the second video in this series) is another one that made me grin despite the seriousness of it all.

[@RCAvhstape]

8:46 they used a shielded Ford Pinto? That's a whole different hazard.

[@ajbone5188]

Hopefully nothing rear ended it

[@thelegendaryck]

Shear my gas line daddy

[@Lrr_Of_Omikron]

I love this series on Chernobyl. I'd love to see more about the "elephants foot".

[@CryptP]

not really much more about it to know. it's a hugely radioactive bit of corium sat in a basement, it looks a bit like a foot, getting too close to it can give you a lethal dose of radiation very quickly, a couple people have been able to photograph it anyway and that's it there aren't really more stories attached because people aren't messing with it'll

[@davidlium9338]

I think there is a video about this. Type “Chernobyl Elephants Foot” into KZbin search and see what turns up.

[@PlatinumLemur]

@@davidlium9338 you're bound to discover some video game footage from STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl.. But it's not just the elephant's foot or the sarcophagus, but also "the wish granter"

[@handlesRdumb]

There's never been a better time to sneak in and grab a chunk.

[@F_I_J_I_W_A_T_E_R]

@@handlesRdumb I remember reading somewhere that it has the consistency of sand nowadays, so it should be pretty easy to scoop up a bag full.

[@justinthomas7222]

I've been watching just about everything I can find on Chernobyl; never have I heard of the Partisan Tree. Until now. And this is why I watch Mr. Difficult!

[@MonoChorMe]

Just as an allegory, "partisan" (партизан) in the English meaning is similar to as the word "minute men" (both with very similar meanings).

[@justinthomas7222]

@@MonoChorMe thank you, that makes sense, amd I learned something about two languages today!

[@mattilindstrom]

As the weather (and ABC protection) officer of the garrison in my time in the national service, I had the (dis-)pleasure of being given the right to take 0.1 gray of ionizing radiation in conditions where I could help, in an emergency 0.25 grays and in a desperate emergency 0.5 grays. Not the ideal position, but I'll take it over being in the sharp end of the infantry. The liquidators were both mis-informed and brave, there were controls in place but flying over a site with the TV camera snowy with static is something else. My heart goes out to the helicopter pilots with the rest of the flight crew flying through the dispersed cloud of rising ashes, and the direct radiation from the reactor. Not to forget the first responders, they did what any fireman must do, and many paid with their lives.

[@hawkeye454]

Your Chernobyl series has been absolutely amazing. Great work my friend.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@sawyerawr5783]

An interesting side note on the cleanup operations in 86: there's a couple abandoned ISU-152 tank destroyers/self-propelled guns in the exclusion zone. originally, when I first saw photos of thse, I thought they were relics from WWII, but it turns out that when the disaster happened, the fact the russian army doesn't throw anything away was came back to "help." At least 4 of these machines were hauled out of storage to use as ad-hoc bulldozers: since they don't have a turret, they carry thicker hull armor (thanks to the weight savings of not having the turret, traverse gear, etc), and were pretty stoutly built...or as stoutly as any Soviet tank of WWII was that is. they were used to literally drive through and demolish buildings...and I've heard that they even used their .50 caliber machine guns on the roof, and even the 152mm main cannon, to destroy more contaminated items from afar. which seems insane, but then again there's reports that the Elephant's Foot "Shatters readily when hit by AK-47 fire," which clearly means some genius went down there with a battle rifle and shot it. Either way, at least two of the ISUs were left in situ when the cleanup was finished.

[@tcg1_qc]

that's amazing

[@mollymillions6586]

So you're saying the elephant's foot CAN be killed!

[@theleva7]

@@mollymillions6586 Not sure that "kill" is the proper term to describe turning one immensely radioactive uranium-concrete-reactor steel boulder into many immensely radioactive uranium-concrete-reactor steel pebbles and dust. I'd go with "spreading it further than absolutely necessary".

[@Windsor_351]

*downs entire bottle of stolichnya* dmitry, watch as I of take kolashnikov rifle and show debil glowy rock who of runs things

[@iplaygames8090]

@@theleva7 thats just phase 2 of the bossfight.

[@paststeve1]

Great video John! I re-viewed parts 1 and 2 so as to view the entire series in one sitting. Thank you for the incredible amount of research, writing and editing this project must have required. Grace & Peace to you and prayers for all of those affected by the disaster.

[@krissteel4074]

Chernobyl for most of us growing up in the 80's was a true horror that just seems to keep rearing its legacy time and time again. As I think it will be for many generations to come. In something of a gallows humour moment, when asked about digging in the Red Forest, one of the site operators advised the Russians to 'dig very deep'. Which by the evidence coming out of that area they apparently did and made good use of those holes, sleeping, living in them for some time and also filling their sandbags with the same soil. Normally this would really not be funny, but recent events have me a bit jaded in regards to those affected

[@corvuscorax7451]

I'm a bit torn on whether to find it funny, because I suspect information on Chernobyl is not taught to Russians in history class, or anywhere else for that matter, and the average Russian conscript was probably not told much of anything about the risks of the place. They're caught in the gears of a war machine they probably had little choice in being part of. But, I don't feel bad that the site expert had no love for the soldiers and told them to dig deep. Mostly I hope that the higher ups who should have known better get that radioactive contamination tracked straight back to them, and get to experience a heaping helping of radiation poisoning right alongside the people they sent there.

[@skeeterinnewjersey5256]

Chernobyl haunts me personally to this day. My husband and I were stationed in southern Italy at the time. Since the amount of exposure we may have received there is unknown, my idea is pure speculation. But when my husband was diagnosed with leukemia in 1996, passing away only 5 weeks later, I can't help but wonder.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

@@corvuscorax7451 The soldier may well be at the bottom of the chain of command... AND even the "great" U.S. doesn't operate a military on principles of democracy... BUT when you're given orders in a uniform YOU are still the one who makes a choice, whether to follow them or not. YOU will bear the deepest and most permanent scars of your decisions... Putin can call for a war and rattle his saber all he wants... The officers under his command can threaten all manner of hell... trying to urge more brutality or whatever... AND if they start killing their own, they better remember there's about 100 to 1 more "peasants" with rifles in hand than there even are "officers" loyal enough to take the in-fighting and try to make any progress... In a completely useless and unjustifiable genocide, I have NO feelings for them, the same as I have no feelings for the Nazi's tortured and tormented in the fields of WWII when I hear the legends about platoons "not taking SS as prisoners of War"... You ALWAYS have a choice. It's not always pleasant and it's almost never fair... BUT you ALWAYS have a choice. ;o)

[@maxpeck4154]

This happened when I was 9 and I don't remember seeing much about it on the news but I do remember seeing a magazine cover at the checkout in the grocery store. It haunted me then as it does now and is why I've been very interested in anything nuclear all these years.

[@marcd6897]

There are several folks trying to rewrite history by telling that Chernobyl wasn’t that much of a disaster, there were no death caused by this accident back in 1986, it was all a story invented by the west to make Russia look bad. I’m not surprised they made them dig up soil while they’re raiding Ukraine.

[@benmcreynolds8581]

I'm really glad you added the most recent events. It's crazy how many modern day soldiers exposed themselves to such high levels of contaminated soil. They even put the dirt in sand bags and took them with them in their cars everywhere. It's crazy because it actually was not too extreme but digging into the soil and laying in the sediment and it raining and the wind blowing the dirt dust around their foxholes... Man that's crazy. They must really not talk about it In Russia? I wonder if they are embarrassed and try to suppress it in some ways?

[@marcd6897]

No, they don’t talk about it, and for sure not in today’s Russia. Instead there are even people trying to downplay Chernobyl and what it caused. It’s mindboggling.

[@jooleebilly]

Yep, my friend from Minsk knew a lot more about it after it happened than they talk about now, though having relatives in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus means she may have gotten more information from her family and friends than the government. I asked her recently if the thing about Russian soldiers getting irradiated from not knowing about the dangers of Chernobyl was true. She said absolutely they were. And she's the one who can tell me if the news is propaganda, misreported, or just plain fake. She has no qualms about calling out the media reports about Russia, Ukraine, or Belarus. She drew me a picture of the reactors and the space *between* the buildings where those "Human Robots" threw the radioactive waste off the roof. The Russian soldiers didn't know about this and were staying there as well, eating and sleeping, oblivious to what they were sleeping on. Based on the pictures coming out of there when the area was occupied, she's sure they were digging trenches literally where the Red Forest was. She was a child when Chernobyl happened, and they drank milk with iodine in school for years. She still got thyroid cancer among other things. She and her sister - and the people she knows from that era - have a very hard time having children. But the USSR, and now Russia has kept downplaying or denying it.

[@rb8165]

You believed that nato bullshit?? Lmfaooo

[@lindsayshanks7555]

​@@jooleebilly stories like this nake me wonder what people are gaining by denying something as tragic and catastrophic as this. It's embarrassing and just makes them look infinitely worse than if they just admit that what happened was just as bad as it looked.

[@mysideacc2770]

@@lindsayshanks7555 what you're missing is the political perspective. if a big disaster happens in your country, you will want to learn more about it. if you find out it was almost entirely caused by issues with the government, you become critical of the government. for the rest of us this is considered acceptable, but for countries like russia and china it's vital that people trust/fear the might of the government. if they honestly talk about chernobyl- sure, the nuclear industry can learn from it, but then the government is in trouble. but if they don't? eh, just lose a few cities. lose the battle but win the war. it sucks :/

[@gabymirsky5629]

This is crazy. My dad was "recruited" to help in the Chernobyl response fairly soon after it happened. He talks about it a lot and its interesting to see the whole picture and what he did in it. He was a firefighter from a different soviet country that was essentially told to respond to the incident. This is interesting to see it all

[@aleksandralis9134]

Where are you from?

[@gabymirsky5629]

@@aleksandralis9134 I am in America but my parents are from Latvia

[@marishiten5944]

No he wasn't. Cool story

[@gabymirsky5629]

@@marishiten5944 Do you know my family? No? Then don’t assume what is or isn’t our story

[@bsadewitz]

@@gabymirsky5629 Why would someone even lie about her father being a liquidator? What, for the residual prestige?

[@compatriot852]

Imagine how worse things could have been if Chernobyl's sister plant in Ignalina, Lithuania went off as well

[@theAessaya]

It wouldn't've. Ignalina was where the RBMK flaw (potential runaway of reactor due to over-withdrawal and then quick reinsertion of graphite tipped control rods) was discovered at in 1983 and safeguards (prevent over-withdrawal of control rods and SCRAM rods servo upgrade) were installed to prevent just that. It just happened so that the other RBMK type plants did not receive the memo in time.

[@pontiacmaniac7772]

Or if reactors 1-3 also exploded

[@whyindeed9937]

@@theAessaya They received the memo, they just did nothing about it. It just goes to show that if you take the Russians out of the equation, Nuclear power can be quite safe. Even without newer reactor concepts.

[@SMGJohn]

@why indeed Another racist garbage human huh? Guess three mile island and Fukushima was also caused by Russians. You should follow your dear leaders footsteps 1945, he made the right choice, now its your turn.

[@Benson_aka_devils_advocate_88]

One of Chernobyl's operators apparently took advantage of the situation and told the Russians it's safer the deeper you dig, knowing full well what fate that could lead to. Especially if they lost the Chernobyl roulette and dug on top of one of the many hastily dug pits used to bury the meltdowns aftermath.

[@osumbuckeyenut]

Probably not true, but hilarious if it is

[@Benson_aka_devils_advocate_88]

@@osumbuckeyenut I think it was a radio free Europe journalist that did the interview, so I'm trusting their translation as I don't speak Ukrainian. But knowing what Russia does to those it is "saving" I wouldn't put it past the guy. And it went with the interview questions, so 🤷

[@shatbad2960]

That sounds about as probable as the 'Ghost Kieve' and Ukrainian Babushkas taking out dozens of Russian soldiers armed only with soup ladles....

[@david-468]

Weird you guys are supporting this when this would contaminate more area if this were true because “durr save Ukraine durr”

[@CtrlOptDel]

Savage.

[@dez1989]

Hey Jeff, Have you thought about doing a documentary on unit #2 at Chernobyl NPP? It looked like it was a fairly bad accident. There isn't much to be found about that incident. Would anyone else be interested in the subject of reactor #2 and the fire in the turbine hall? Thank you Jeff for all of your work! You do an amazing job!

[@Opiuth]

It’s John

[@q3st1on19]

Fuck yeah, more Chernobyl. Good job, been eagerly waiting for this episode for a while

[@PlainlyDifficult]

I hope you like it

[@q3st1on19]

@@PlainlyDifficult loved it. Liked the nod to current events at the start, good reminder that this is a story still unfolding

[@FluffyEmmy1116]

The last thing we need is more Chernobyl... ☣ .. .. .. .. I know what you meant, that was a joke.

[@AcornElectron]

Keep up the good work fella and, as always, stay safe!

[@landtechnik4k]

no danger on editing.. neither he was there on person..so idk why u want him to stay safe..

[@AcornElectron]

@@landtechnik4k Of course he wasn’t there. He probably wasn’t even born. However I was and my reasons are because I want another video next week. Stay safe is a fairly common end to a text to a friend/content creator you’ve followed for ages. What kind of a dick reply was that from you? I’m going to assume you don’t want him to stay safe.

[@stevewhite3424]

@@landtechnik4k Why do you care? Why do you question one human being telling another human being to stay safe? What skin is it off your nose?

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

Outstanding series John. Undeniably depressing, but still managed to be informative and entertaining - not easy to pull off. Great work as always.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Many thanks!

[@Poly-Goon]

Steroids

[@megarural3000]

You could have called this episode "Balls: Chernobyl just won't end."

[@noahthesarcastictd]

Balls: The Liquadators.

[@charlestorruella8591]

YOU COULD HAVE CALLED YOURSELF DUMB BUT YOU DIDNT SO WHY SHOULD HE RENAME THIS THAT AGAIN

[@megarural3000]

Oh balls! A keyboard warrior looking to pick a fight over a one liner! Kid, lean what friendly sarcasm is, your life will be a lot easier.

[@LilAnnThrax]

I love your coverage of this event! Happy weekend everyone!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@Samstrainsofficially]

Always uploading about an hour before I start work. Perfect way to quell the stress ahead of a shift. 😆 and a very interesting topic to boot.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@bw7754]

Have a great shift!!!

[@slaphappyduplenty2436]

So I take it you’re not starting your shift at a nuclear power plant.

[@Samstrainsofficially]

@@slaphappyduplenty2436 night shift supervisor of a supermarket so more rocket science than physics...🙄

[@Moose6340]

22:44 "Not Great Not Terrible"...ah, I see what you did there :D

[@bmstylee]

Oh balls vs not great not terrible might be the best graph ever.

[@usuariu1024]

"The self deconstruction of unit 4...", I'll start using that term for anything that blows up.

[@bmstylee]

I mean that was power generation with Russian efficiency.

[@AaronShenghao]

Rapid unscheduled disassembly.

[@doloritasvega]

I really do love this series! they are done so wonderfully clear and are easily understandable. I appreciate your work, thank you!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@arsenalxa4421]

POV, you're a Russian conscript fighting near Chernobyl and you start to taste metal and hear a voice repeating: IDI KHO MNE. Honestly Chernobyl has been an obsession of mine for years. Your series has been more than informative on the subject.

[@bmstylee]

I assume you have seen Scott Manley and his take on it which was pretty cool. He gets to nerdy levels of science on it.

[@maxhill7065]

Man this video also brought up my number one pet peeve living in Canada, we don't have a permanent waste storage solution, it's currently stored on site for all our reactors, which are all stationed near the Great Lakes for the most part. And people are upset that they're going to build a deep regolith storage in the Great Lakes, or Northern Ontario regions, which would be unbelievably safer, but people are fighting it tooth and nail, apparently completely oblivious to how much safer it will actually be. Every time I drive up to the Bruce Power Complex I get so angry seeing all the protest signs, yet no one seems to bat an eye at the fact that there's a nuclear reactor even closer than the supposed waste fuel repository

[@maxhill7065]

I want to just setup a lemonade stand sorta thing saying "Afraid of nuclear storage? Talk to me and you'll understand it better" in the middle of Teeswater one day

[@Smokey298]

How do you struggle to understand protests to a waste dump on the banks of the St. Clair River? How on Earth would you think it is a good idea to put the stuff on the OUR lakes and risk 30% of Earth's fresh water? Why not put it anywhere farther North where nobody and nothing lives? And lets not forget they are developing new reactors to use the waste.

[@maxhill7065]

@@Smokey298 This is a perfect example of not understanding what the actual plan is for storage, do you know how far from the lakes our waste is currently stored? Less than 200m on average. Do you know how far down they're planning to build the deep regolith storage compared to how deep the water table is? Do you understand that water cannot leech that far down, and even if it did, nuclear waste isn't just stored in the hole and then cemented up, it's stored in specially designed criticality vessels, or vitrified in glass, so please tell me how something encased in glass over 3 kilometers underground is going to affect your groundwater? And how is that more dangerous than our current temporary aboveground storage?

[@pseudotasuki]

People are idiots. Edit: That said, there's nothing inherently dangerous about the current storage. It would simply be cheaper to centralize it.

[@WilhelmDrake]

We need deep borehole storage.

[@asteverino8569]

I thoroughly was riveted by your "tip of the iceberg " reading. Thanks for the push to see the current need to look further.

[@jnerdsblog]

Dude, you should link the previous two vids in the description! I need to go check those out first. Love your stuff!

[@Daydreaminginmono]

i dig the new outtro music! Also thank you for another really interesting video on this awful situation

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Glad you liked it! I made it myself!

[@phil4986]

I knew about the Russian soldiers and the occupation,then you mentioned the digging in the dirt and Russian tanks ,which churn up soil and dust like a tornado and I just gasped. There is a movie called Azure Dust that details the presence of potentially fatal hot spots still there many decades later. And these hot spots are where you would never think they are. Every soldier who breathed in that dust may well have signed his own death warrant. Very sad stuff. Great video,as usual.

[@grmpEqweer]

Dunno if he covered it, but the soldiers also stole a large number of radioactive sources from a lab, as souvenirs. Some of these have probably already killed the persons who took them, there were heavy gamma emitters.

[@PlatinumLemur]

@@grmpEqweer People don't realise they don't know what they don't know..and many people have a very cavalier attitude towards radiation and they're not even Russian soldiers but same result.

[@AlessandroGenTLe]

Oh, what a pity... The invaders will get a cancer. WHAT A PITY... (and yes I'm ironic)

[@grmpEqweer]

@@PlatinumLemur Those poor schmucks probably had no idea what they were taking. ☠️

[@PlatinumLemur]

@@grmpEqweer The curse of Chernobyl is real and is the gift that keeps giving.😥

[@JagoHazzard]

This is one of those projects that's so huge that it's difficult to wrap one's head around. I don't envy whoever was in charge of figuring the decontamination operation out.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

It was a complete marvel of organisational skills, however I suppose it’s easier if the people doing the clean up are pretty much expendable!!

[@silavantalyn]

Thank you John. I've been following your channel for months, years even, but this is one of your best. Please continue!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@danozism]

That historical tree is really interesting- I never knew about it, and I have researched this topic for years! I can see why you have an attachment to it. Great video, thanks.

[@stefandebeer9375]

Great to see the newest installment of this series, especially since I asked in the comments of your recent videos what happened to this series. 😅

[@juliabazanska]

I visited Pripyat, the NPP and the general area in 2010. The village of Chernobyl is very much inhabited, with a visitors' hotel where we had lunch and a functioning bus stop. Most of the houses are abandoned and taken over by nature, but I was shocked to see people repainting or just sitting on the verandah of very much inhabited cottages.

[@charlestorruella8591]

YA BUT THE SOLDER'S 20 MILES AWAY ARE GETTING RADIOACTIVE SICKNESS RIGHT THESE KZbin COWBOYS BELIVE ANYTHING THEY SEE ON KZbin ESPECIALLY THE LIES

[@Herowebcomics]

Wow! Talk about stubborn!😢

[@quietdignityandgrace]

Awesome work Plainly. You went over things that no channel has bothered to, as far as I've seen. Thank you, from a bright partially cloudy center of Iowa.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@Underestimated37]

Gotta second this, so many channels gloss over this bit, with only the HBO series making an effort to portray the human cost. This was fantastically relevant and hits all the true key points, not just the ones to get people feeling bad.

[@Alan_Watkin]

fantsic, good work John, not sure why i have such stong intrest in you radiolical ones but for me they are for sure your best, thanks for what you do man, good stuff

[@CaucAsianSasquatch]

Well, that tree is etched into my memory forever. Thanks

[@themaskedwander]

The main thing from all of this, the thing that blows my mind is how how people still work in the reactor. That the original canteen is still in use today and that Pripyate has people back in it. Even if restricted, there's still people in the town

[@jacobstewart1950]

When you donate blood there is a question about living in Europe in the 80s. I always taught it was about the Chernobyl, but it's about mad cow

[@donovancampbell3092]

8:40 I love how the unofficial car of Plainly Difficult is a rusty Ford Pinto lol

[@suzannetitkemeyernlq]

Just found your channel! Love history and I've been enjoying this series very much.

[@Mario12342010]

oh man this has got to be my fav series from you m8 great work

[@mikewheeler9011]

Awesome work John! Can't wait for next series, wonder what it'll be? ;p

[@GodlikeIridium]

"self deconstruction" is as beautiful as "rapid unscheduled disassembly" :D

[@RomanCid]

A question that I've always had is, if the entire area was under contamination, how does the remaining reactors continued to operate? Where did this personnel lived? How could they endure so long after the disaster in 1986? Does anyone know?

[@Bit01]

The radiation did not settle evenly across the area. The control rooms and other facilities for the other reactors were shielded to an extent, so the radiation outside wouldn't necessarily make it inside the buildings. They were also reinforced as needed.

[@Thetarget1]

There are still people living and working there. They live in Chornobyl village in shifts, a bit like oil rig worker. You live there for a month, get a month off etc. The radiation mostly spread towards Pripyat and the Red Forest, so the village is quite safe after cleanup. There is even a hotel you can stay in!

[@vovinio2012]

Nuclear plant personnel lived (and, actually, still lives, because station is in decomissioning process) in city of Slavutych, mentioned in video, near 40 km from the power plant. There were a daily commuter trains called "Atomka" ("Nuclear train") that went from the Slavutych to the station site, bringing personnel on their shifts three times a day. Rails were decontamined since 1986, and train was absolutely safe to ride on, also there was built a completely covered station (called Semykhody) with screen doors near the plant. But, railway line used by this train passing through the Belarus, and now, due to being this country a "shadow aggressor" to Ukraine, plant is served by the 14-days shifts bringed from the Slavutych via Kyiv by the buses. Personnel works on the station and rests in the Chornobyl (what an irony, almost not contaminated by the catastrophe, there is a shops and even a hostel in the city).

[@charlestorruella8591]

BECAUSE THE RADIOACTIVITY ISNT AS BAD AS EVERYONE SAYS IT IS THEY CLEANED UP ALMOST ALL OF IT YES IT IS STILL BAD AT THE REATOR SITE BUT THE REST IS FINE YOU ONLY PICK UP BACK GROUND RADIOLOGY OUTSIDE THE BUILDING NOW STOP LISTING TO PROPAGANDA PLUS THE OTHER REACTORS AT CHERNOBYL HAVE BEEN SHUT DOWN FOR 20 YEARS NOW

[@AthosRac]

Cant live there actually means KIDS cant be there. You can work there. There are locations in the planet like the Brazilian city of Poços de Caldas that do have more radiation(natural) than Pripyat.

[@cricket700612]

Back in the late 1980's one of the scientists there wrote a book I believe was called "The Truth About Chernobyl". I read it. Very revealing how it even happened. Your video is very accurate, but does not include the massive loss of life by firefighters and rescue personnel on the roof of the reactor building with no protective gear scooping up chunks of radioactive graphite blown out of the core with simple shovels. Hundreds, maybe thousands were given a virtual death-sentence for working there an hour.

[@michael-h8153]

There is actually alot based on nuclear problems. I believe in nuclear power, but there has been many problems throughout the world....... Money/energía....Im not sure if there is a state that has not created a problem . (20% chance over the cold war.... I forgot where I was going with this.... Oh nuclear power is fine if you take it seriously

[@hiddenInsight486]

can you find anything showing the roof workers had no protection? would be interesting to see since all the videos show protective gear used

[@Bit01]

​@@hiddenInsight486 They had what little protection was available and were limited to 90 seconds, if I remember right. Anyone up there for an hour would be long dead before the hour was up.

[@lolchickenwing3526]

@@hiddenInsight486 Well, even with protection, gamma rays would shatter any attempts to block it off with protection.

[@CesarinPillinGaming]

@@michael-h8153 95% of the problem as always been cost cuts and greed. Example: the Fukishina reactors (2 of them) were supposed to be taken offline and decommissioned because they were past their life. They all had life extensions approved. Chernobyl? The savings of using graphite in the tips of the rods.. and not using fixed containment vessel. Plus not accepting the flaws of the design. 3 Mile island had also issues with the control panel design and its alarms, as well as the sensors functionality.

[@luke-xz6vz]

i would really like to see the entirety of the exclusion zone be turned into a internationally recognized and protected wild life sanctuary, yes finish cleaning up the reactors and make safe the plant but leave the rest alone, leave nature to her own.

[@ashkebora7262]

They were doing exactly that, though not for nature's benefit. It will never be to nature's benefit. As he described in the video, there have been mutations and animals that live there have smaller brains and shorter lifespans. Ionizing radiation is hazardous to all life except a select few particularly resilient species. It's left alone because it's hazardous.

[@TrialzGTAS]

One of my favorite subjects, thank you for the top notch quality

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@s.v.berezin1562]

Thank you for the characteristically good - and impartial - content!

[@thejudgmentalcat]

"My name's Jeff" reference made me choke on my morning coffee

[@lorddampnut5275]

I love that for 2020 Chernobyl also decided to join in on the "potential apocalypse" gang.

[@mattkaustickomments]

8:41. The radiation was so strong it mutated a Lada into a Pinto. 😂

[@alextaylor9778]

I would love to see a video on the, Granville train disaster. NSW AUSTRALIA. 83 dead 200 ish injured

[@donkeyboy585]

I’ve been waiting for this video… Thanks John :)

[@postminchoppa]

some people see the clean up as a disaster, i personally see it as a success, there is no way half that stuff would of worked around say 3mile island (if that went worse)

[@barclay4805]

I've been waiting for this installment. Love the series so far, it's really amazing to see

[@TheKorath]

Did you watch the documentary Chernobyl 3828 as part of your research. Unbelievable the conditions the Liquidators worked in!

[@pseudotasuki]

"Worker's paradise"

[@melplishka5978]

Love your content. Very well researched and well explained.

[@Iffy350]

Bugs have suffered due to the radiation. The normal decay of dead vegetation has suffered leading to extra fuel for wildfires.

[@timbersrcadventures]

Please keep these videos coming I am very intrigued with the fine detail like this

[@REbornDArth]

Thanks for this indepth look into Chernobyl!

[@johnrhoades6214]

Finally a man I've been waiting a long time for this thank you for finally getting it out

[@bmstylee]

This may be a dumb question but how exactly does radiation effect the steel and concrete? I get how it would destroy sensitive electronics as shown at Chernobyl and Fukushima but structural steel and concrete i don't understand. Does the radiation damage the material at the subatomic level damaging chemical bonds leading to failure?

[@jandl1jph766]

Radiation can mess with the structure of chemical bonds and crystal lattices, plus it can in some cases change the atoms themselves to different elements/isotopes. Exactly how that ends up looking at a macroscopic scale varies a lot between materials and radiation type, but it really boils down to faster than expected corrosion in most cases.

[@bmstylee]

@@jandl1jph766 thanks for the answer. I assumed at the smallest levels you can get mutations but I wasn't sure exactly what it would cause. I'm just not very skilled when it comes to chemistry and physics.

[@michaelinners5421]

Neutron radiation can cause degredation of materials, especially metals, by damaging the crystal structure. Search "neutron embrittlement" for details.

[@bmstylee]

@@michaelinners5421 hey i learned something new. Thanks for the information.

[@GilraenTook]

Thank you for asking this, and thanks to the people who answered. I was wondering the same thing!

[@rekall76]

kyle hill's visits to the exclusion zone and new containment structure are well worth a watch

[@0therun1t21]

This is the first I've heard of that tree, it really is ominous looking. I wonder if it's still standing.

[@Votrae]

YES been looking forward to this. Expertly done as always!

[@SoloSailing77]

Operator Starsky's Dad was one of the liquidators who went on the roof, to remove fuel rods. He is still alive, which to me is incredible! People have looted all the copper and other metals from the site, and scraped it for cash! Isn't that nice to know. Irradiated scrap, made it back into regular production!

[@SUNRISE-ADVENTURES]

Always waiting for your next submission!!! ROCK ON!!!!

[@numeristatech]

"The self deconstruction of unit 4" 😂

[@PlainlyDifficult]

That is the technical term

[@blackswan1983]

Great series, keep it up!

[@HEKVT]

Chernobyl is something that fascinates me completely, and it's all the more interesting after speaking to a fire fighter who was on the response team, as well as learning that your neighbour was a liquidator.

[@SgtATON]

Well done! I can't wait for my RBMK t-shirt to arrive!

[@corkycobon1481]

I remember the news here in the US back in '86 as I was 15 at the time Chernobyl went sky high. I remember thinking that there was no way in hell only 30 to 100 people died or suffered from what happened. I am not a nuclear physicist by any means but even then knew that it was not going to be good. Jump ahead 30+ years and Russia decides they want Chernobyl after invading Ukraine. Bad, BAD move. Stevie Wonder could see that those soldiers were literally and figuratively playing Russian Roulette by being there. Digging bunkers and laying land mines in the highly dangerous area around the plant itself is going to lead to very serious illnesses for those soldiers. Bet that by 2024 there are going to be stories about Russian Soldiers coming down with "mysterious illness" aka exposure related cancers.

[@kensurrency2564]

Yeah i was wondering why the heck didn’t Vlad say “OK let’s avoid Chernobyl, guys.”

[@markrice41]

Thank you for reposting this.

[@f.k.b.16]

"I have a great idea! Let's try to recreate Chernoybl" - V. Putin

[@czarnynight]

"let's disturb thing we know very little about and is something no one should even thing about placing ammo next to it" .....it should be one place excluded from fight zones. can't imagine what stray mortar landing on top of sarcophagus would do

[@f.k.b.16]

@@czarnynight I won't lie and say I understand all the politics and motives behind the last couple months in that area but firing on Active Nuclear Power Plants and later digging up crap in the Chernoybl exclusion zone gives me a really really REALLY good idea who the good guys are and who is not.

[@evelynwilson1566]

Thank goodness they built the replacement container before this war started. Those poor soldiers.

[@stefaneer9120]

This is a great trilogy about the history of Chernobyl. 👌😏

[@jazzhandssixninesixninesix40]

I've been waiting for this for so long

[@XmarkedSpot]

No 3.5 Röntgen comments yet? Not great, not terrible

[@susanlansdell863]

Thank you John, this has been a fascinating series.xx

[@halexvr]

Ah yes a new episode of my favorite USSR/Russian saga "And Then it Got Worse" In this episode: "We Made it Worse"

[@EEF.GeneralMarkusJKeetz]

I am glad I am a supporter of this channel :)

[@sonianali5480]

My grandmother was there in May day parade in Kyiv 3 days after the reactor exploded, she died a few years a years after from cancer I never had a chance to get to know her. Today me, her granddaughter have to pray that a russian missile won’t kill me in the night in my own home. As Ukrainian I hate that nation with my whole heart.

[@MarkLLawrence]

13:47 had to pause for a sec, wasn't expecting that lol 😆😂

[@Produkt_R]

John, what kind of weather was it in the southeastern corner of London?

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Its raining at the moment!

[@Produkt_R]

@@PlainlyDifficult Rainy day, innit? Lol

[@laurenparajecki1387]

Please do a video on the Waterford fire of the 1890s. I live right off the main street and near where it happened. We have had several major fires since then but it's been a major part of our town

[@YouTubeSaysThereCantBeTwoRyans]

The other day there was actually a medal ceremony for the workers who were held during the invasion. They were saying during the ceremony, that the Russians took it over because a general used it as a command post, knowing it wouldn't be bombed. The lower ranked troops also had no idea where they were, or the significance of the area. They had no idea of what happened in the past there. Russian troops sat, slept and ate on sandbags filled with radioactive dirt. Last I heard there was 75-100 russian troops hospitalized in Gomel, Belarus, with varying ranges of radiation poisoning.

[@dimbasz]

> Russian troops who are taught radiological and biological protection with Chernobyl disaster as prime example and also taught about Chernobyl in school didn't know they are in Chernobyl and what happened there. Cool story bro. Please jump off whatever junkyard western mainstream media/delusional Reddit threads you've learned that BS incarnate from. Your brain is dissolving already

[@oldowl4290]

I knew a young guy, all of 20 while in my mid 20s in Denver circa 2000. He was small and frail and had his thyroid removed. He had grown up in Belarus before moving to the USA and had obviously lived in an area that suffered sufficient exposure. I felt really sorry for him and since that time learned that thousands of kids were effected just like him, having also had the same surgery. He had to take pills every day for hormone supplements. He was very angry and sad about it feeling like a normal life had been robbed from him.

[@SkepticalTeacher]

I love the generic "guy in an orange biohazard ☣ suit" that you use for all of these, he's appropriately eerie...!

[@Lrr_Of_Omikron]

I'm curious to know what country had the most incidents involving a radiation accident? I know Russia and the U.S. had a bunch but who had the most?

[@tihspidtherekciltilc5469]

There's this Google thing. Give it a try sometime.

[@ZiddersRooFurry]

@@tihspidtherekciltilc5469 you don't have to be a tool.

[@ZiddersRooFurry]

Of all the nuclear accidents in the world, the US has had the most. This is both because it was the first to develop bombs and nuclear reactors but also because it's one of the wealthiest countries with the most access to nuclear materials.

[@Lrr_Of_Omikron]

@@tihspidtherekciltilc5469 I'm guessing you've never researched something properly because Google is a joke. Google works by what's popular and not what's correct. Anyone who's used google extensively knows what I'm talking about.

[@Lrr_Of_Omikron]

@@ZiddersRooFurry the U.S. really? I would have thought Russia would be the winner since their regulations and security were so relaxed.

[@sonianali5480]

Thank you for this absolutely amazing detailed voice I really appreciate your work !

[@MaxHDAvenger]

I have heard of Chernobyl, but when Russia decided to occupied the ghost city... yeah real smart move and that cost quite alot of troops for the rest of thier lives.

[@keeganpriebe6128]

22:50 “not great not terrible” glad to see the meme hasn’t died :)

[@jimsvideos7201]

The Russians making a mess of Chernobyl... again.

[@Realistic_Secret]

This makes a lot of sense now. I had always wondered what the 3rd video was going to be about.

[@tenebra9962]

These Russian soldiers were astonishingly ignorant it seems. They may have left the Zone, but the Zone won't leave them.

[@Iffy350]

Serves them right!

[@Mildly_Dead]

If some sources are to be believed they were using maps from before the disaster happened, which is its own form of stupid.

[@JasonLambek]

Just stumbled upon the channel. I have one question. WTF is up with the algorithm not suggesting sooner?? I only search with the word “nuclear” dozens of times at least. Anyway, brilliant content. Thank you!