Shcherbina Quotes

Sandbags caused the fire’s temperature to drop straight away, but radioactive particles in the air increased sharply because more and more dust and debris was kicked into the air from the heavy falling bags’ impact. After the first day, Major General Antoshkin proudly told Shcherbina that 150 tons had been dropped into the reactor. He responded, “150 tons of sand for a reactor like that is like a BB shot to an elephant.”192 The General, taken aback, arranged for far more soldiers and pilots to be brought to the Exclusion Zone. These young pilots each flew many times over the reactor, and soon took to placing lead plates underneath their cockpit seats to minimise radiation exposure. Despite their homemade preventative measures, many pilots were fatally contaminated and died.