The tragedy of a poor design…

The other night I watched a documentary on the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which happened almost 40 years ago on April the 26^th, 1986. While it has been known for some time that the cause of this disaster was entirely preventable, new details were presented that demonstrated the extreme extent of the mistakes and outright malfeasance that took place. In essence, the power plant was built wrong and was doomed to failure.

And not only was that infamous reactor built incorrectly, but the Russian government went to extreme lengths to cover up the disaster. A major problem was that there was no containment building around the reactor itself. Essentially nothing more than a warehouse type building’s roof and walls separated the boiling rage of the nuclear meltdown from the open air. All Western reactors have a huge dome of thick concrete surrounding them. Chernobyl lacked that very important safety feature. Officially, only two people, both plant workers, died in the blast. But as it was later found out, far more were sickened and there were more deaths to come. No one really knows how many, as they purposefully did not keep records and the news media was shut out. The meltdown was presented as just a minor incident and it was hoped that the world would forget about it. This documentary also noted that Chernobyl wasn’t the only dangerous nuclear reactor in the country. There were several others, including one that almost had a meltdown.

As I was watching this show, I noticed some parallels between that incident, the destruction it caused, and how it was officially ignored, and another very deadly thing. This other notorious structure was also built wrong, and many deaths have been attributed to it because of that mistake. It also lacked an important safety feature that could have mitigated much of the carnage. But unlike Chernobyl, this structure is still in service to the people of its locale. At least it was (and still is) to those people who didn’t meet their demise because of it.

Since the Chernobyl disaster, the damaged reactor was sealed off, although this did not make the remaining parts of the plant and the surrounding area safe to occupy for any length of time. But it did keep the worst of the radiation contained within, preventing more from escaping. Likewise, parts of the other notorious structure were eventually walled off in order to try and prevent any more fatalities from happening. It never suffered any structural damage due to this oversight, but instead its construction was, at least in my way of thinking, deeply flawed. I have gone into that premise in much detail in past entries.

So then, why is this existing object still standing and performing its original function? That’s because, like a nuclear reactor, it has an essential job to do. As horrifying as the Chernobyl disaster was, that power plant did supply energy to the surrounding area (which is now part of Ukraine). It could also have been used for an ulterior motive, which was to make fissile material for nuclear bombs. The other structure had nothing so nefarious in its design, at least not as intended. It simply turned into a slow marching disaster that has unfolded over the space of almost 40 years. One by one, many lives were lost. And all the while the toll was officially ignored and statistics were rarely kept. Some victims were never even found, as they were swept away by the ocean waters surrounding the infamous structure. Likely many initial Chernobyl survivors quietly succumbed in obscurity to various cancers over the years following the blast. However, the name of that disaster is known worldwide, while the hideous death toll associated with the other structure is not. However, I must point out that the predecessor of the other structure suffered a terrible disaster of its own, and so it too is associated with death and destruction.

The faulty reactor at Chernobyl exploded in April of 1986, and less than a year later in January of 1987 the cause of the other disaster was completed and began its working life. Like the ill fated power plant, things were fine, for a while at least. But then, people began to die, here and there and (usually) one by one. Most of the nuclear meltdown victims perished from cancers fueled by radiation exposure. No doubt many suffered detrimental effects of the fear that they had been fatally exposed and would eventually get sick and die. The victims of the other structure died either from blunt force impact and/or by drowning. There were of course many people who survived the Chernobyl explosion and were alive and well many years later. Unfortunately most who had placed themselves on the lethal side of the other structure did not survive. However, some have been saved before they got too close, just as those who were further away from the power plant suffered less radiation exposure.

But in both cases it was the government that ignored and covered up the menace, and to a degree the media regarding the other structure. The Soviet government owned and operated Chernobyl. The state government of Florida owns and operates the deadly edifice that is associated with more than 150 deaths over the years. Interestingly enough, both the power plant (and the abandoned town that serviced it) and the lethal Florida structure are tourist attractions in and of themselves. Well, at least Chernobyl was a tourist destination up until the Russia and Ukraine war broke out. The site of that infamous nuclear disaster could only be occupied for a brief time, due to remaining high levels of radiation. The Florida structure can traversed by car, seen up close by boat or photographed from various nearby points and from fishing piers. One can visit it and marvel at its creepy elegance and take in its ghoulish history. I know I’ll never get to visit Chernobyl but I do have as a “bucket list” item a trip to the Florida site. Just as special access is (or was) granted to visit that notorious site in Ukraine, such access is also granted once per year to be able to explore the Florida structure on foot. Such an intimate experience will also allow me to look upon the containment wall that was erected a few years ago to try and curb the never-ending fatalities. It is not unlike the massive encasement built around the damaged reactor in that both are designed to separate people from that which is lethal. As long as the radiation shield is maintained, no additional radiation will escape. The containment wall on the Florida structure has also kept most people from coming into contact with the easily surmountable divider between life and death. As long as that wall is kept up, few will perish. What is unfortunate is how both structures were built with such a glaring flaw, one that destroyed untold lives and inflicted so much suffering. I’d imagine that the designers of the Soviet power plant and that Florida infrastructure never had any idea that their creation would spell death and horror for so many. The USSR wanted a power plant that would not only provide electricity, but also serve as means to create fuel for nuclear weapons (which, given the times, was likely its primary reason for existence). Florida wanted their creation to be structurally sound (unlike its predecessor, which collapsed) but also to provide a scenic view of the waters in which it stands. It was the aesthetics of this structure that was to spell doom for so many. Its beauty, the dramatic nature of its location and the easy accessibility of its lethal ledges have caused untold tragedy.

The towns of Pripyat and Tampa might be worlds away, but both harbor something which is dangerous and destructive. The power plant no longer produces any electricity, but the Tampa structure still performs its intended function, which is to facilitate a passage across the bay. One of these days I’ll visit the latter of these in person, but I won’t need to bring a Geiger counter with me. No, the only thing I’ll need to bring is enough resolve and courage to come face to face with that ultimate nightmare should I be able to explore it on foot. And even if I end up only being able to drive over it, it will still be an epic trip. Radiation is scary because it cannot be seen, smelled or felt. The only way some of those exposed to Chernobyl’s blast knew they had been exposed was by feeling ill. The Tampa structure emanates a different kind of energy, that which is dark and sinister but also oddly compelling. It is like the vampire of old movies. Dracula was evil and scary, but his mesmerizing stare could quite easily draw victims to his fatal bite.

There have been a couple of other nuclear accidents, but none were as destructive as Chernobyl. Thankfully the other reactors that were identical to it were either upgraded or decommissioned before they melted down. As that has been decades ago, perhaps none of them are in operation today. The Tampa structure is still in good working order, and alarmingly there are many others of its kind also still in operation but without any safety features. There are a few of these here in Maryland, although one was recently accidentally destroyed. None of those, though, were associated with the extreme loss of life as in Tampa. The worst one of these sorts of structures is in San Francisco. It has been associated with thousands of deaths over decades. It might almost put Chernobyl to shame in that regard… However, it has always generally attracted lots of people to it rather than scaring them away. Although maybe people should be afraid of it! But recently, it was fitted with a containment barrier of sorts. This has reduced the fatalities fairly well but they do still happen on occasion. But the really sad thing is that the cover up continues on. There is no KGB here in the US to go around and censor information and obstruct record keeping regarding such untimely deaths. But the effect is much the same as mentioning this sort of thing is pretty much taboo. Deaths, even though there may be fewer, are still mostly hidden. But what I have discovered is that some of these structures have been (or will be) retrofitted in such a way as to stem some of the carnage. After the fall of the USSR, I’d imagine many Russian citizens pleaded for improved safety standards on nuclear power plants. Concerning these other structures, many people have also demanded that something be done to prevent deaths. I still cannot help but wonder if the new structure being built here in Baltimore will have some sort of a containment wall. Rumor has it that its predecessor had a role in a fair amount of deaths, not including the one I know about. I’d really like to ask those in the know about that but I feel that it is too weird and morbid of a question. Would anyone even want to answer such a question, even if they knew the answer?