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The "Elephant's Foot". Once molten fuel/debris mixture that dripped down through the floors of the exploded RBMK-1000 reactor at Chernobyl. It was so radioactive and solid, they had to use a rifle to chip a piece of it off.
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From: Reinhold (Thu Aug 5 12:59:31 2004) this is uran that melt after the explosion because of the enormous radiation |
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From: isa gonzales (Fri Jan 21 05:00:25 2005) that is big!@!!!!!! |
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From: willis.219@osu.edu (Mon Feb 21 18:39:24 2005) Dose rates this close to the Foot probably exceed 1000 rem / hr. Now that is some hot stuff! |
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From: aaron.shipley@gmail.com (Thu Feb 24 13:57:51 2005) Not even close on the dosage, try 10,000 roentgens per hour or more. |
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From: kacperus (Fri Mar 11 05:57:35 2005) How can you tell how big this is, is there any reference point in the picture. |
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From: reggieted432@yahoo.com (Mon Mar 21 08:47:34 2005) This had to bigger than you think |
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From: person (Sat Mar 26 15:07:27 2005) actually, after the accident the estimated amounts of radiation was over 20,000 roentgens. since this is even closer to a lot of the radioactive matereal, i'm guessing its even higher! |
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From: person (Sat Mar 26 15:08:58 2005) sorry, i didn't explain myself well. actually, after the accident there was an estimated 20,000 Roentgens of radiation at any given point inside the reactor hall. since this is even closer, im guessing its even higher! |
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From: Pointy Tail of Radiation (Tue Mar 29 14:10:47 2005) It's roughly 6 ft across at the bottom. |
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From: dratomic@indiatimes.com (Fri Apr 29 01:57:23 2005) You have to wonder about the film used to shoot these photographs. |
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From: pollo (Thu May 26 14:13:59 2005) I wonder if they even had to open the shutter to take the picture?!? |
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From: Joe (Fri May 27 02:36:34 2005) why is the photo black and white? |
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From: omg!! (Mon Jul 11 08:09:25 2005) joe i think i dont wanna see tha **** whit colours !!! |
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From: fk (Sun Jul 24 04:29:33 2005) According to the scientis that found the feet the meauserd radiaction where approx 24,000 to 25,000 roentgens per hour, if you were near it you'll die in 3 to 5 minutes. |
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From: Imma (Fri Sep 23 21:57:54 2005) I heard that everyone who was involved in the cleanup process died because of overdosage. Is this true?? |
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From: zamdn@mail.ru (Sat Oct 1 03:44:52 2005) You can compare a size of the Elephant's Foot with a banisters' size (5 centimetres width) |
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From: streaky (Wed Mar 29 18:24:57 2006) "It was so radioactive and solid, they had to use a rifle to chip a piece of it off." They did what?! Leave. It. Alone. "Where did my immune system go??" |
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From: Radrat (Mon Apr 3 13:14:00 2006) Streaky, I think they needed to take a sample to analyze the stuff. |
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From: Lorus (Tue Apr 18 20:44:35 2006) Actually, from what I udnerstand after watching a Ukranian documentary this is molten metal and glass. However inside are whole peices of Uranium. Scary. |
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From: michaelguth@verizon.net (Wed Apr 26 12:05:20 2006) On the International Nuclear site referenced for one of these pictures, in image 386 there is a picture of 2 unknown workers who appear to be INSIDE this area of the reactor. Did they survive? Why were they there? When were they there? God help them. On anothe web site I did find pictures of the robot crews sending the robots into the reactor. |
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From: va1@freemail.hu (Thu Apr 27 05:43:32 2006) Dear michaelguth@verizon.net, what's this nuclear site, youre referring? I can't find it.. |
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From: duralinux@gmail.com (Thu Apr 27 10:08:20 2006) Yes I would also like to find out what site is being refered too. How could those people not know the risks? |
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From: RYENZERO (Fri Apr 28 13:09:19 2006) According to what I have read on many internet sites, the robots were malfunctioning due to the radiation. They were also time ineffective. This reactor had to be contained so quickly to avoid further spread of radiation. |
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From: John (Wed May 3 07:10:35 2006) Notice the white colour of the molten lava in the photo above? Thats the radiation, right? |
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From: lk (Wed May 3 10:28:34 2006) @john no, this is black and white photo. Radiation is invisible. But sometimes you can see "blue glow" around spent nuclear fuel. This is called "cerenkov radiation". It happens because neutrons fly faster than light speed (in air/water) around fuel. |
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From: Juan (Wed May 3 11:12:10 2006) jesus.... the worlds technology is getting so complicated we dont even know what to do in such a situation! |
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From: vampiricon@abv.bg (Fri May 5 01:37:30 2006) Oh... my!!! I remember that there are some uran places under the surface of my town Sliven! We, the popilation believe to be a victims of the radiation, that is under the Tulbuhin Street. Unfortunately the cancer is a fact that is not easily to forget... even I don't know am I healthy 100% or not?! |
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From: kezia.c.p@hotmail.com (Fri May 5 11:24:10 2006) Noossa! quantos desastres.... |
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From: michaelguth@verizon.net (Sun May 7 19:15:06 2006) I have learned that there was a human mission into the reactor documented in a BBC Horizons/ NOVA TV program titled Suicide Mission Inside the Chernobyl Reactor. BBC hasn't answered, NOVA public television states that they no longer have rights to the material and no copies for sale. One is at the Univ. of Md. library. |
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From: ivanxsem@gmail.com (Wed May 17 03:30:38 2006) My father told me that he refused to go as rescue squad from our city vich is Vinnica but about 40 of his coworkers vent there as volontiers, they did worked in 5km radius of reactor none alive now. Now what i was told not only radiation was high but intence heat was there too, they been droping ice blocks in opening with help of helicopters, when heat went down they sent poor bous from engeniring battalion "stroybat" on roof of reactor to collect and drop back in smoking opening rest of debre,people been droping ill on roof. |
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From: Alan (Tue May 30 19:37:45 2006) Something doesn't add up here. If this thing is giving off 10,000-20,000 Roentgens of radiation. How was this photo taken? Even a few minutes of exposure would fry a person on the stop. Secondly, that much radiation would do a number on the film as well. |
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From: robertmacnary@yahoo.com (Mon Jun 5 09:23:14 2006) consider this, those first batch of "bio robots" they sent in to clean up the mess yeah well there all dead but the scary thing is that when they buried them they had to put them in lead coffins because there bodys were so radioactive now thats a lot of radiation |
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From: blablason (Tue Jun 27 08:52:44 2006) wow that is weird. a rifle to chip a piece off that is some serios radioactivity |
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From: cc (Mon Jul 10 05:34:03 2006) 1 mg of radioactive uranium can kill a person in 1 2 hours the mass shown above is 100kg's of uranium... |
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From: Alan (Wed Jul 12 00:29:08 2006) " 1 mg of radioactive uranium can kill a person in 12 hours" ... that doesn't seem right? Even at 100 Roentgens of radiation per hour, it would take a few weeks for a person to die after a 12 hour exposure. It would have to be giving off 1000+ Roentgens of radiation per hour to kill a person that quickly. Is 1 mg of uranium THAT radioactive? Sure seems like a lot for such a small piece. |
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From: Robert (Thu Oct 19 00:05:28 2006) The amount of radiation given off by uranium is related to the isotope of uranium involved (and what other radioactive contaminants it contains). Fresh nuclear fuel (uranium) that has not yet been in a reactor is relatively safe. [still dangerous, but nowhere near as dangerous as spent fuel). Put it in a reactor for a while and it becomes VERY dangerous--On Nukeworker.COM they mentioned something like if you put a piece of reactor waste at the 100 yard line of a football field with you would be dead by the time you ran 50 yards (or something like that--I don't remember the exact scenario). |
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From: James (Sun Nov 12 20:44:53 2006) There are color pictures of people walking around a lava flow at http://insp.pnl.gov/photobook/UK_CH/picturefiles/228.html. Looks like it's glowing. How does one find volunteers for this? |
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From: Steve Sahlstrom (jodieandsunny@charter.net (Thu Nov 23 12:57:16 2006) Hi guys, I have downloaded some amazing video footage on the elephants foot as well as other rarely seen footage at elenafilatova.com THIS IS MUST SEE STUFF!! When you get to this site click on "High Resolution Pictures and Chernoybl Videos", then scroll down past the pictures till you get to the video and film clips. I downloaded one that shows the men sending a rigged up camera into the room with the "elephants foot." There is a 6min film titled "a chronicle of severe days" that must be seen too. Anyway, it's some footage that I've never seen anywhere else. I would appreciate any other links with video if anyone knows of any. Oh, by the way, does anyone know where a copy of Nova's "SUICIDE MISSION INTO CHERNOYBL" can be purchased?? I've only been able to find existing copies at a few state universities. THANKS Steve |
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From: phdsharkey@gmail.com (Fri Dec 8 08:03:35 2006) They got the volunteers because the Russian Afghan war was raging at the time. 2 years in Afghanistan or 2 hours on the roof of the reactor. There was compulsory military service at the time. |
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From: Daniel (Wed Dec 13 17:22:54 2006) That link James, the blokes are not even even a metre away from the foot! Damn I hope they are ok :/. |
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From: Daniel (Wed Dec 13 17:24:51 2006) Could be one bloke actually, I presume the radiation is causing that distortion or he was bolting his arse out of that area, not that I can blame him. And yeah, -even from above comment. :P |
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From: hun (Sun Mar 11 13:08:44 2007) People dug a tunnel underneath the surface towards the 4th 'unit' then they dug a hall as well, to drive the water away from the glowing and melting waste. if the 2 things would meet, Eu can't be inhabited now, since there would have been a 100 times greater explosion, then at Nagasaki. that is the most terrifying |
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From: hun (Sun Mar 11 13:10:17 2007) "these two things" i meant water and the uran |
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From: $H@KTI (Sat Mar 17 10:21:58 2007) Check out this video that i found on youtube.com!!! You be amazed what you see!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbnj3y6z4bU |
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From: twelveways (Sat Mar 24 15:03:38 2007) James. I think that picture may be a double exposure and those people arent actually there. If you look closely (at the legs of the closest guy in particular) they are slightly transparent. |
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From: tanel (Fri Apr 6 09:44:43 2007) that video on youtube has been erased. weird, what the hell was on it?? |
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From: ColumbineGirl (Sat Apr 14 20:22:41 2007) I don't know if this was the video that everyone was talking about, but youtube has a couple pieces on Chernobyl. ElenaFilatova.com (a great Chernobyl info site) has some video to download also. |
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From: Centaur (Sat Apr 14 22:09:31 2007) It certainly pays to read some of the information on wikipedia about Ionizing radiation and it's affects, if you haven't already. I noticed someone in here wrote about how our technology has become so complicated that we do not know what to do in this situation. From other perspectives our technology could be seen as crude, Nuclear power generation is from what I have seen very crude even in the most safest plants, they are still incredibly inefficient and most of all the factor which the powers that be seem to keep consciously ignoring is that RADIOACTIVITY is dangerous. We know it yet we keep making that yellowcake. One thing which even for me which I find fascinating is the nature of radioactive isotopes and what they can do, someone else in here mentioned how sources of types can glow. I cannot possibly imagine the level of radiation that can kill a human in a mere instant as is mentioned on wikipedia. I remember when I was young and they put that 60 minutes report on about chernobyl and those ominous photos of fuel melting it's way through the site. I guarantee you in any fashion if I was to go anywhere near that place which I would prefer not. I would have at least three well calibrated Gieger counters with excellent sensitivity and as soon as that guage started getting over my own personally regarded safe limit, I would be out of there. As a hobby of knowledge I will always share the interest in Nuclear Physics like many, but it simply is not worth dying for. I really feel for all those people who have been thrown into that invisible snake pit without the facts. Some do know and even though the are reluctant, they go in with all their might and mental will and give their lives to something which really is not a nice way to die. I hope younger generations will learn a way out of these consequences and find better ways to produce energy. Remember our technological experience is still very young, use this to find a positive way to advance into the future that will benefit us all. C |
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From: $H@KTI (Thu Apr 19 09:53:05 2007) I,m sorry that they removed that video before you could see it!!! On the video you could see how they went into the reactor in surch for the fuell becausse in 1998 they had manached to reach a room nearby the reactor and they drilled a hole in wall of the reactor. they found out that the basse was pushed downwards by the explotion caussing the the fuell mixxing with the sand of the basse creating a lava in several chambers,they had a nica animation of it and some collored vieus of the alaifant foot butt also the steampipes and the waterbassin. you could see the real colof of the lava and that it,s still boiling and hott!!! |
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From: $H@KTI (Thu Apr 19 10:25:32 2007) here you find some more information how the reactor basse is loose!!! http://www.rri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/NSRG/reports/kr79/kr79pdf/Pavlovych.pdf |
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From: octi (Fri Jul 13 02:19:05 2007) "James. I think that picture may be a double exposure and those people arent actually there. If you look closely (at the legs of the closest guy in particular) they are slightly transparent." - That seemed possible, which was a relief, until I took a good look, and you can see the guy's legs reflected in the water along with the lava. That can't be a double exposure. I think it's just one fellow caught moving. The poor man - he must have been terrified, and I'm sure he died an awful death. |
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From: al (Tue Aug 21 14:21:31 2007) youtube has clips called inside the sarcophagus. It shows how the pic of foot was taken |
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From: Cherno bee (Fri Jul 11 10:32:23 2008) if that is fuel, isnt that extremely radio active? |
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From: :O: (Sun Sep 7 14:15:23 2008) Looking through these pics while listening to Kraftwerks' Radio Activity album. VERY CREEPY! |
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From: aryan@home.nl (Sun Oct 19 11:32:39 2008) The robots involved malfunctioned on the roof in such a manner that they drove themselves of the ledge. It was aptly called suicide by their human companions. Discovery did a very good documentary, its on youtube last time I checked. Memorize every aspect of this disaster as it learns that governments lie, deceive or plain ignore important events that have an impact on each and every living and breathing being involved. Learn.And.Be.Prepared. |
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From: Fishunt (Tue Nov 18 11:17:26 2008) Some of the above comments are very informed, some are not so informed. 1. The Reactor Base was broken open by the impact of the loads of boron and sand dropped from high altitude by helicopters. 2. The sand was melted by the molten uranium/metal, mixed with it and flowed out of the broken reactor into the "basement" of the reactor building. This caused the "elephants foot", which I think is still giving off neutron radiation. 3. Yes, getting near any of the spent fuel will almost certainly cause you to die within several weeks/months. |
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From: 1 (Sat Dec 6 23:51:48 2008) i herd when they whent up on th roof the radiation was so intence that they only had a matter of seconds to work then they had to get away or they might die . they sent tons of people wearing lead protective clothing to clar it all off. |
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From: dragonfromthedepths@hotmail.com (Tue Dec 23 14:53:58 2008) at the time it would have been but some of the technicians died on the scene but it was said to have been described as a 'burning volcano' as the fires and lava flowed through the reactor apparently only a few pcitures were caught by camera and permission from a friend's site i have one |
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From: shaky1987 (Thu Jan 8 14:17:41 2009) it says they had to chip a piece off with a rifle. no they did'nt. they never went that close. they rigged up a camera and wheeled it in to take the pictures. to be as close to this to be able to chip a piece off would mean your dead. |
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From: inf@outtoafrica.com (Sat Jan 17 04:18:40 2009) This picture could be anything, it could even be modified. Indeed it looks a bit like an elephant feet! Maybe it was one of the last mammoets? |
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From: James (Sun Feb 21 21:16:48 2010) He was still alive when the photo was taken in 1996: "UK-CH-522 Artur Korneev, Deputy Director of Shelter Object, viewing the "elephants foot" lava flow, Chornobyl NPP. Photographer: Unknown. Fall 1996." Other photo captions at: http://insp.pnl.gov/-library-caption.htm#UK_CH |
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