The truth about Chernobyl

By Grigoriĭ Medvedev

Subjects: Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, Chornobylʹ, Ukraine, 1986

Description: The Truth About Chernobyl is a clear and impartial account of a tragedy that, three years after the event, still inspires fear and anxiety. In it, Grigori Medvedev, a nuclear power expert, has provided us with the first complete and objective account of what happened, devoid of the evasiveness or the omissions found in official versions. Having worked at Chernobyl, he is familiar with the plant and its staff. In the course of his duties, he attended many high-level meetings about the construction of nuclear power plants. Shortly after the disaster, Medvedev was sent to Chernobyl, where he was able to see the aftermath of the accident and learn a great deal about what had happened. He gives many technical details necessary for an understanding of these events, reveals the secret workings of the bureaucracy, and denounces the miscalculations of designers and scientists, and pressures from high Soviet officials, as well as the harm caused, before and shortly after the accident, by the lack of open communication. A day-by-day account of the tragic developments of April and May 1986 at Chernobyl takes up most of this story. - Foreword.