Who took the elephant's foot photo?

A decade later, it was still highly dangerous to be around, making Artur Korneyev's Elephant Foot selfie one of the world's most incredible.

How did they take a photo of the elephant's foot?

At a (relatively) safe distance, the workers (who were usually called “liquidators”) built a crude camera on wheels and pushed it over to the Elephant's Foot. The images revealed that the mass wasn't entirely made of nuclear fuel, but instead only a small percentage.

Why did they shoot the elephants foot?

Unable to find the fuel from the reactor, the scientists had also found no sign so far of the more than sixteen thousand tonnes of materials dropped into the reactor by General Antoshkin's heroic helicopter crews and therefore hoped that the Elephant's Foot might contain some of the lead intended to cool the core.

What happens if you look at the elephant's foot?

When this photo was taken, 10 years after the disaster, the Elephant's Foot was only emitting one-tenth of the radiation it once had. Still, merely 500 seconds of exposure at this level would bring on mild radiation sickness, and a little over an hour of exposure would prove fatal.

Who photographed Chernobyl?

Igor Fedorovich Kostin (27 December 1936 – 9 June 2015) was one of the five photographers in the world to take pictures of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster near Pripyat in Ukraine, on 26 April 1986.

Chernobyl Elephant's Foot Photo - The Most Dangerous Selfie

Are there still bodies in Chernobyl?

Most of the direct victims are buried at the Mitino cemetery in Moscow. Each body is sealed in a concrete coffin, because of its high radiation. Although the power plant is named after the small town of Chernobyl, a new town was built much closer to the power plant; the town of Pripyat.

Is Chernobyl core still burning?

Chernobyl reactor 4 is no longer burning. The reactor was originally covered after the disaster, but it resulted in a leak of nuclear waste and needed to be replaced. The systems for a new cover for the reactor were being tested in 2020 and is sometimes referred to as a "sarcophagus."

Is the elephant's foot still hot?

The Elephant's Foot will cool over time, but it will remain radioactive and (if you were able to touch it) warm for centuries to come.

Will the elephant's foot explode?

Born of human error, continually generating copious heat, the Elephant's Foot is still melting into the base of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. If it hits ground water, it could trigger another catastrophic explosion or leach radioactive material into the water nearby residents drink.

Can the elephant's foot be removed?

Very hard solidified corium, like that of the Elephant's Foot, would have to be broken up to remove it from damaged reactors. "[That] will generate radioactive dust and increase hazards to workers and possibly the environment," Lyman says.

What is the most radioactive place on earth?

Fukushima is the most radioactive place on Earth. A tsunami led to reactors melting at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Even though it's been nine years, it doesn't mean the disaster is behind us.

Who is Artur Korneyev?

Artur Korneyev is a dark-humored Kazakhstani nuclear inspector who has been working to educate people about—and protect people from—the Elephant's Foot since it was first created by the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in 1986.

What happened to the photographer of the elephants foot?

Now in his late 60s, Korneyev no longer visits the Elephant's Foot, having been banned after years of irradiation. But the photograph of him standing beside the Corium spewing from the pipe remains one of the most interesting images of the Chernobyl disaster.

Is Hiroshima still radioactive?

Is there still radiation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? The radiation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki today is on a par with the extremely low levels of background radiation (natural radioactivity) present anywhere on Earth. It has no effect on human bodies.

How radioactive is the elephant's foot now?

It's made up of nuclear fuel, melted concrete and metal, and was formed during the initial accident. The foot is still active. In '86 the foot would have been fatal after 30 seconds of exposure; even today, the radiation is fatal after 300 seconds.

What is black corium?

Corium, also called fuel-containing material (FCM) or lava-like fuel-containing material (LFCM), is a material that is created in the core of a nuclear reactor during a meltdown accident. It resembles natural lava in its consistency.

Why were Chernobyl firefighters buried in concrete?

When Ignatenko died, his body — along with those of 27 other firefighters who died of radiation sickness in the following weeks — was still radioactive. They had to be buried beneath hefty amounts of zinc and concrete to protect the public.

Is Chernobyl reactor 4 still active?

The Chernobyl #4 reactor was catastrophically destroyed on 26 April 1986.

Will Chernobyl ever be habitable again?

Shrouded in secrecy, the incident was a watershed moment in both the Cold War and the history of nuclear power. More than 30 years on, scientists estimate the zone around the former plant will not be habitable for up to 20,000 years.

Will Chernobyl explode again?

The Ukrainian government said on Thursday on its official website that the Russian invasion and its military takeover of Chernobyl “may cause another ecological disaster.” If the war continues, the government added, a disaster like Chernobyl “can happen again in 2022.”

Is The China Syndrome possible?

In nuclear slang, “the China syndrome” could theoretically occur if the radioactive core of a nuclear plant were uncovered, allowing the searing heat of the core to melt through the steel pressure vessel, through the concrete bottom of the building, through the earth and “into China.” (More likely, if it did melt into ...

Who is buried beneath Chernobyl?

In the final moment of Chernobyl episode five, tribute was paid to Khodemchuk alongside the many others who died and have suffered as a result of Chernobyl. Underneath his portrait, the text reads: “Valery Khodemchuk's body was never recovered. He is permanently entombed under Reactor 4.”