Where is the equipment cemetery in Chernobyl? Equipment involved in eliminating the consequences of the nuclear power plant accident (20 photos)

30.12.2023

A world-famous and terrible fact is what happened in 1986 near the city of Pripyat, 150 kilometers from Kyiv. Thirty kilometers of territory turned into a dead, uninhabited piece of land, where everything suffered: people, animals, plants in the forest, fruits and vegetables in the garden, Chernobyl equipment.

Wildlife suffered losses that are clearly visible to this day. Thousands of broken human destinies, hundreds of animals abandoned to their fate, frightened wild animals. The pearl of this entire chain is, which is still being cleared of radioactive radiation. According to experts, only after about twenty thousand years will nature be able to completely free itself from the yoke of radiation and will again be able to delight its inhabitants.

But not everything that suffered in Chernobyl will be able to free itself from radioactive elements on its own. A lot of houses, equipment and various inanimate objects remained on the territory of Pripyat and the Exclusion Zone. It cannot be said that the level of pollution remains at the same level thirty years later, but still the Chernobyl technology is still terribly foul.

Now all the abandoned equipment in Chernobyl is located in one of the villages of the Kyiv region. This village was named Rassokha, a cemetery for Chernobyl equipment. Once it was a prosperous village, but now it has even lost its status as a populated area. This is a full-fledged dump of equipment in Chernobyl, consisting entirely of deadly garbage. In total there are more than 400 units of various machines.

When the Chernobyl accident occurred, all people were evacuated to the nearest settlement - Makarovsky district, Kolonshchina - due to the high level of radiation. Soon, abandoned equipment from the Chernobyl region began to be transported there. These machines formed a new dead city, which thirty years later continues to amaze with its uniqueness.

The cemetery of military equipment in Chernobyl was formed there after the participation of these vehicles in the liquidation. Absolutely all cars, helicopters and other abandoned equipment in Chernobyl were so covered with radioactive particles that it was simply impossible to use them in the future. The government decided to bury this equipment by simply transporting it to a certain place and leaving it there forever.

Not far from this place, called the cemetery of contaminated equipment in Pripyat, there was a sanitary station that dealt with the issue of ensuring that Chernobyl equipment could be put into operation again. Scientists and liquidators have developed various methods for neutralizing the burial ground of equipment in Chernobyl.

Workers to neutralize the site where the Chernobyl equipment was located decided to bury in the ground those machines that were very heavily infected and could not be restored. This is how the Chernobyl equipment burial ground appeared. But the problem is that not all Chernobyl equipment turned into a literal cemetery of equipment in Chernobyl. A lot of cars remained standing in the same place when they were left after the Chernobyl disaster.

Chernobyl equipment at the Buryakovka PZRO

Another equipment parking lot in Chernobyl is located 50 kilometers from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. It was named after the village of the same name - Buryakovka, and is now known as Buryakovka - a cemetery for contaminated equipment. This cemetery is not located in the village itself, but four kilometers from it. But, anyway, the settlement has lost its status, no one lives in it, and now this area is considered one of the dead villages.

The full name of the place where the abandoned military equipment is located in Chernobyl is the radioactive waste disposal site, which is denoted by the abbreviation RZRO. Such a PZRO, called Buryakovka, was equipped by the Leningrad Institute. Abandoned equipment after the Chernobyl accident is not only located throughout the cemetery. Just like in Rassokha, it is buried in the ground.

The trenches, which hide the horribly emitting equipment used to eliminate the consequences of the accident, are 25 thousand cubic meters deep. And there are more than 30 such trench graves in Buryakovka.

RZRO Buryakovka is a very important disposal site for radioactive equipment. Scientists and liquidators chose its location for a reason. Buryakovka is located very far from bodies of water, which, as is known, very quickly transport radioactive particles and can infect the entire planet.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW:

Thus, even radioactive machines buried in the ground do not pose a great danger, since radiation does not penetrate into water. Also, the processes that occur in the geological structure of our earth do not in any way affect buried cars. Scientists have perfectly calculated all the options, weighed all the pros and cons, and as a result they chose a place where no one lives and will not live for a long time, and where all conditions are characterized by high protection and can prevent radiation leakage.

Much worse is buried equipment that is not in the ground, but on its surface. Such cars very much attract the attention of different people who are chasing easy money. Recently, rumors have begun to circulate that equipment has disappeared from Chernobyl. The question of where the equipment from Chernobyl disappeared has caused great concern among scientists around the world.

Where did the cars go?

Today, satellites record all radioactive equipment cemeteries as empty. All the cars, helicopters, excavators and armored personnel carriers simply disappeared. Many journalists, scientists and other people who are interested in the fate of Chernobyl equipment conducted an investigation and found out where the equipment from Chernobyl went.

Scientists' concerns are understandable. All the equipment was terribly dirty (in the sense of being contaminated with radioactive elements), and if it is used somewhere in everyday life, then people who interact with it are exposed to deadly radiation.

During the investigation, it turned out that before 2013, radioactive equipment or its spare parts were removed from the Exclusion Zone three times.

The first time equipment was exported was in the Soviet Union. As always, there was a shortage of everything you could think of, and, of course, spare parts that could be found at the Chernobyl radioactive equipment cemetery. Some spare parts were removed and taken out of the Exclusion Zone, and then used as if nothing had happened.

The second time an invasion of the cemetery by Chernobyl equipment was noticed was in the 1990s. It was a very powerful wave of equipment removal. At that time, they mainly exported engines and radiators that were removed from trucks. Sometimes the hoods were also taken. The strange thing is that these parts were not only used in the intended place. Very often, radioactive spare parts were spotted on the automobile market as far away as Kharkov. It was not possible to determine who exported the technical spare parts - the state, or people who entered the cemetery illegally.

The third wave of equipment export was recorded already in the twenty-first century. What was left of the equipment in radioactive cemeteries was taken in pieces and sold for scrap. There were no longer any prohibitions, the fear of becoming infected with radiation had long gone.

Infected equipment in Donbass?

In 2013, the liquidation of the radioactive equipment repository continued. Everything was cleared and taken away, but there is one “but”.

Today, when asked where the equipment from Chernobyl went, other interesting facts emerge. It turns out that not all equipment disappeared from the Exclusion Zone in the early 2000s.

During the hostilities in the Donetsk region, rumors began to circulate that soldiers were fighting with radioactive equipment. None of them knew that they were endangering their lives not only by walking under bullets, but also by using military equipment. There is no confirmed information about this fact, but many other data indicate that this may be true. Even the very fact that military equipment was in short supply during the hostilities in the Donbass can already raise alarm bells.

When will it be possible to use Chernobyl machines?

An area of more than twenty hectares was occupied by abandoned equipment from Chernobyl. Many people were attracted to these abandoned cars. There were rumors that the Chernobyl cemetery of equipment in total cost is equivalent to the figure of 46 million dollars. These data were given as of the year when the accident occurred.

Those who were not afraid of becoming infected with radiation and came to see the cemetery of radioactive equipment in Chernobyl often wondered when it would be possible to buy back all the cars and sell them at an even higher price. Many serious people took the opportunity to see the equipment cemetery in Chernobyl from a satellite. Everyone really wanted to quickly take possession of such a valuable treasure as the Chernobyl equipment.

But, despite the government's announcement that the Chernobyl equipment dump was a place that would remain buried forever, Chernobyl had its own plans for the abandoned equipment: due to the colossal level of radiation, Chernobyl vehicles could never be used. They will rot and collapse tens of thousands of years before they disappear completely.

Contaminated military equipment has disappeared from the exclusion zone in Chernobyl. This is proven by satellite images of the area of the man-made disaster, which are available via open link. As can be seen in the footage, the area, which is designated as a cemetery for equipment, is in fact no longer such: not a single car is visible in the photo. After the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, about 100 thousand units of equipment, both military and civilian, were used to eliminate the consequences of the accident . Trucks, bulldozers, helicopters and even tanks were used in work in the exclusion zone.
After eliminating the consequences of the explosion, all this radiation-contaminated equipment was sent to eternal storage in a special equipment cemetery in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. But now, 30 years after the disaster, according to satellite data, the landfill is empty. There are no official reports about where the contaminated equipment could have disappeared. However, according to numerous unconfirmed reports, Kyiv transferred equipment from a radioactive burial ground to the so-called ATO zone in Donbass. This was reported by the DPR media in 2015 with reference to military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to this information, the Ukrainian army command is making up for the shortage of military equipment, including at the expense of those vehicles that were used to eliminate the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
It is possible that the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine sent military equipment with an increased background radiation to the combat zone, while the military personnel themselves were not informed about the radiation threat to the health, sources in the DPR claim. Back in January 2015, the Cyberkut hacker group published information that at least half of Ukrainian equipment has Soviet passports with marks of deployment in the Chernobyl zone.
Where could the infected cars actually go? Who might need them? Is it true that they were seen during the conflict in Donbass? And what other secrets does the worst man-made accident in history keep? About all this in the new

There are many objects of interest to visit in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The absence of humans and the stage of irreversible degradation of buildings have formed a unique post-apocalyptic world that does not imply the presence of people in it. There are many different elements in the ChEZ that shape this world. This is both, thickets, and. At the same time, there is another important element in the culture of the Exclusion Zone, which influenced the emergence of the current post-apocalyptic reality. We are talking about abandoned equipment in these places.
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In the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, at one time there was a RZRO - Radioactive Waste Disposal Site. They were ordinary burial grounds and settling tanks for equipment that took part in eliminating the consequences of the Chernobyl accident. Due to high radiation levels in 1986-1987. equipment (namely helicopters, IMR, infantry fighting vehicles, trucks, tractors, etc.) was contaminated with radionuclides and, accordingly, was unsuitable for further operation. The contaminated equipment was sent to the PZRO, where it remained to this day, representing a real technical cemetery for various machines. There are two such PZROs on the territory of the Exclusion Zone - "Buryakovka" and "Rassokha". “Rassokha” is especially interesting in this regard - for a long time there were helicopters there that took part in eliminating the consequences of the accident, as well as countless armored personnel carriers. But this is where the trouble lies. Starting in 2006, access to the site was limited, and at the end of 2012, Rassokha ceased to exist. Some were cut into scrap metal, some were liquidated. Since I started actively traveling to the Chernobyl Zone in 2012, I simply physically could not go to “Rassokha”. To appreciate the aesthetics of this PZRO, I recommend looking at this photo:
2)

The stunning magnificence of rotary-wing vehicles and wheeled-tracked vehicles! For some time, the interest of fans of the Exclusion Zone equipment was satisfied by the Buryakovka PZRO. Of course, it was difficult with helicopters there, but there was plenty of other equipment. In 2012, I had two options for traveling to the Zone - in September or in August. I went in August and... didn’t get to Buryakovka. Since 2013, limited access to this site has been introduced. In principle, technology is not the primary point of my interests in the Exclusion Zone, so I take this quite calmly. If you want to watch "Buryakovka", anzee (clickable) 2010, as well as pictures of the Pripyat City project (see and). I, in turn, will show some photographs of abandoned equipment that can be found in various parts of the Exclusion Zone. Still containing traces of radioactive contamination, affected by rust and peeling paint, but at the same time, real attributes of the radioactive technical industrial of the post-apocalyptic world of the Zone...
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The vicinity of the Yanov station, the IMR cemetery - engineering vehicles barricade. IMRs were used to remove radioactive soil.
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The trademark of the IMR is its enchanting bucket.
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For some experienced walkers in the Exclusion Zone of the IMR, visiting the IMR is akin to religion. I have a friend Alexander Artyukhovsky from St. Petersburg, for whom technology in the Zone is much more important than visiting Pripyat. Personally, I am indifferent to these iron monsters, but, nevertheless, I agree that they also play a role in the formation of the post-apocalyptic culture of the Zone.
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Dosimetry enthusiasts always measure these wheels. There's definitely some background here, though I don't know what the exact values are here, but the background is elevated. The increased background is quite logical - after all, the equipment was moving on radioactive soil.
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Such a freak in Yanov.
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It has its own aesthetics, but personally, one visit is enough for me to satisfy my curiosity about the technology in the Zone.
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In addition to Buryakovka, equipment in the Zone is clustered at the Yanov station. By the way, it’s also difficult to get there now because they’re starting to cut down the equipment.
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Time, industrial, post-apocalyptic... Machines in a world without people.
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Kopachi sat down. There is an MTS nearby, so in the vicinity of the village you can find various equipment, including agricultural equipment.
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"Trolleybus that goes east." A unique Chernobyl trolleybus in one copy, the village of Kopachi. The “trawlers” themselves were not (and could not have been) in the Zone; the inscription on it speaks about the purposes for which it was used.
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Winter Chernobyl trolleybus.
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IMR in Kopachi. The village of Kopachi itself was completely buried by equipment. Apparently, the IMR remained just after the liquidation of the village itself.
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Combine harvester SK-5 "Niva"
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There is another accumulation of agricultural machinery in the Zone in the village of Zimovishche, but I have not been there yet.
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Backyard in Pripyat.
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Right there.
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Chernobyl "Cossack", village Kupovatoe. I’ll have to recommend the famous root-crawler of all LJ to the collection yozas_gubka .
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The famous Pripyat ladle. Or a ladle named after Ruslan Muradov, a well-known lover of this particular item in Chernobyl circles.
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Bucket in winter. The ladle itself was used to clean the roof of graphite of the 4th power unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. There is an increased background radiation inside the bucket; 8-9 milliroentgen can be detected with a dosimeter there.
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Remains of equipment in the forest, road to What it is doing in the deep forest is unclear.
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From a different angle.
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And finally - the ship cemetery, the Chernobyl backwater.
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The photos were taken early in the morning, which is why they turned out so colorful.
Although I have not visited “Rassokha” and “Buryakovka,” you can still get an idea of the equipment located in the Exclusion Zone. Unfortunately, the equipment belongs to the endangered objects of the Zone, since it is cut into scrap metal and every year there is less and less of it in these places. But something else can still be seen...

In addition to ordinary cars, other equipment of various types was also involved in the liquidation, including advanced foreign ones, which we will get acquainted with later.

The first photos after the disaster. They were taken by the famous photographer of the Zone Igor Kostin. Forbidden zone, Exclusion Zone. You can't go any further. In this case, the OZK is worn like a jumpsuit; we trained in BJD classes and tried to put it on for a while. It was fun when you didn’t know what was sticking out behind you.

Cemetery of equipment and things Buryakovka. Burial of cars. Don’t be surprised by the water, sometimes worse things have happened. In the background are preparations for the burial of medical RAF 22031. I want to say that it is 22031, and not 22038, which appeared a couple of years later.

The liquidators' machine. This *troika*, like many cars in the Zone, was subjected to severe derban. Spare parts are in short supply, so why waste them? Fonit? And to hell with him! They just couldn’t understand that others would also suffer...

Remote controlled equipment. Komatsu (Japan), near power unit 4. Preparations for clearing the territory near the block.

"Roof cats" Young soldiers, still very young, twenty years old, will soon climb onto the roof in order to “bask” under the generous Chernobyl Sun, get a nuclear tan and sterilize their, ahem. The weight could reach up to 20(!) kg! Lead aprons, lead sheets, protective bandage, glasses, cap, helmet, face shield and back of the head, *egg basket* made of the same sheet lead, pea coat and tarpaulin boots with lead insoles. And in less than a minute, pick up a piece of garbage with a shovel, go to the collapse and throw it. And everyone run, run! 3,828 people passed through the roof. 3828 broken human lives. 3828 unnamed heroes. And it's official. They protected us, who are now living from nuclear pollution, and they were forgotten... A low bow to them and a huge human thank you for their feat. Superheroes in real life, not in comic books.

Almost completed "Shelter" object. And private transport for liquidators at the industrial site. I don’t think it’s worth saying what happened to the “kopeck” later?

Ship Graveyard. With their help, materials and parts of the Sarcophagus structures were brought to the industrial site, and the liquidators themselves lived in floating hotels. And then most of these ships were drained! The infamous Bulgaria is from there. But the fate of all those watercraft is foggy and unusual. They all sank.

Rassokha. Doesn't exist now. One of the iron heroes who helped in eliminating the consequences. I want to repeat that ALL the equipment that was on the settling tank was melted down. Previously, yes, playful little hands carried away what they could. Someone supertima said that the BRDM from there was not melted down, but sold. Lin, this can't be true! No one will definitely buy such equipment now, especially if it is so dismantled. Yes, even phoning. Yes, they melted it down, legally or not, everyone cared about the same place when they did it. What kind of nonsense do people sometimes talk about, honestly.

Soviet space robot explorers STR-1. Used to clean the station roof from radioactive debris and debris. In the photo: specialists from the *Jupiter* plant (Chernobyl) prepare robots for work.

Mogilev MoAZ scrapers also took part. With their help, they dug burial grounds on Buryakovka and removed the contaminated top layer of soil. They made their invaluable contribution to the liquidation, even if they remained with those others.

Robot on the roof of power unit 3 of the station. The filling burned stupidly from the level of radiation that was there. And under the Sarcophagus there is also a fairly serious level of radiation now! They inspect, but the doses they receive are very large. If you stay there long enough, you can catch radiation, or you can lose your life. Sometimes robots fell from the roof. They used both imported and Soviet robots, but they still couldn’t stand it. They worked until the last hope died in both senses of the word. The German robot *Joker* drove only 4 blocks across the roof and got stuck. By the time he was rescued, the filling had already burned. A very difficult decision was made to release people onto the roof to clean the roof...

Digging under block 4 to create a freezer, as originally intended. The reactor managed to cool down and the entire tunnel was filled with concrete, thereby creating an additional foundation. The work of miners from all over the Soviet country was enormous and invaluable. Radiation levels there were far from within normal limits, and the working conditions were simply hellish. Without fresh air, in a cramped space, with a shovel at the ready and bent over.

To be honest, I was a little surprised by the presence of such a car as the Nysa 522 in the Zone. But the fact is a fact - this Polish car with Gorky roots is in front of you.

Yanov station. Trains. Workers who, along with others, carried the necessary materials to the destroyed station.

After the accident, there was a threat of underwater currents entering and contaminating drinking water. To prevent this, a biological wall made of cast concrete was created, which separated the pool from possible water contamination. The depth is approximately 10 meters. Cast concrete.

Cassagrande grabs were used for this operation. They made a narrow passage in the ground, which they then filled in. Maybe *drill*, maybe dig up. Almost everything is possible.

I don’t know why the city of Korosten is written on the bumper; probably the driver of this unique Kremenchug hero is from there.

Recent work on the construction of the Sarcophagus. KrAZ lays out slabs, which will then be asphalted; there is already a fence made of the same slabs. Concrete pumps are filling the last gaps and will soon be sent for disposal.

Vadim Turkich

Chernobyl technology

Photos of unique equipment and detailed comments on them

№ 1

Chernobyl technology

Protection of equipment from radiation

URL: https://www.drive2.ru/b/2581168

Hi all!

And today I’ll tell you about how people protected their cars from the effects of radiation on their cars. But the bottom line is this: metal adsorbs (i.e., absorbs) these deadly rays quite well. And a lot of equipment was required, its failure meant the arrival of new ones. And the driver’s work itself in those conditions was difficult, again exposed to radiation. For this purpose, the liquidators “dressed” their cars in lead armor. And sometimes it’s done handicraft, but what else? Let's start with them.

Regular KamAZ mixer. Zero radiation protection. Apparently, he traveled outside the industrial site. But he had already accumulated so much radiation that he could no longer travel beyond the 30-kilometer zone. The license plate number cannot be distinguished in the photo, which means it has already been assigned its own intrazonal number.

Another KamAZ mixer. This time they worried about protecting the driver and riveted the driver's seat with sheet lead. Just what will a 3-millimeter “foil” do from those x-rays? Yes, she reduced it, but what was the point? It went right through!

You can see how they tapped the lead onto the car. Rough and not aesthetically pleasing? But at least there is some delay.

Tractor "Fedya". Wrapped in lead and stuffed with equipment, he cleaned the roof of the turbine hall from debris and pieces of nuclear fuel. The fate of the car is quite quickly clear - it is buried in a special burial ground. And maybe in . As a rule, people didn't go there. I mean in cars.

And this is already a heavy uniform. Self-made from thicker lead, somehow riveted, and apparently welded, to the DET-250 bulldozer. Well, here it will be more impressive, although it is quite possible that this equipment was remote-controlled and worked directly at the industrial site near the reactor.

The turret of the same bulldozer, wrapped in lead armor. Imagine how much the weight of this hero has increased?

Photo from the category - my mind is blown. BRDM in lead armor.

There were few chemical reconnaissance vehicles, and the liquidators distinguished themselves here, too, in carrying out their service, that is, driving and measuring radiation levels both at the unit and throughout the Zone. The weight became unepicly large, the brakes simply burned, and sometimes they drove up to a hundred an hour, and slowed down even longer. Controllability? No, have not heard. The photo breaks my mind. By the way, you can talk about chemical preparation machines .
In short, compared to a conventional BRDM, the chemical reconnaissance vehicle had additionally protected walls with lead, air filters and some other improvements. only all this affected the weight, speed, maneuverability and tightness in the cabin.

KrAZ trucks, due to their heroic abilities, tried to engage in the most difficult work - near the walls of the future Sarcophagus - for the removal of garbage, earth and other things. Lead sheathing and forward.

Let's take a short break. A photo worth bringing to life...

The creator of this photo died a few days later.

You may ask: were there really machines that were designed to work in conditions of heavy radiation? The answer is yes, they were. Corresponding telegrams were sent to the factories.

Bus Tajikistan, nicknamed there "Lead Bus".
Here is an excerpt from the factory essay for the 50th anniversary of CHAZ:
“We all still have pain from the events that happened at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. In 1986, 10 special buses with radiation protection were manufactured in 15 days to work in the zone to liquidate the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The work was carried out in emergency conditions on 16...17 hours per day, and the first batch was shipped in early June, then several more batches of buses were manufactured and shipped. The bus was equipped with an air purification unit and treated with sealant. The main protection against radiation was a double layer of lead, covered with plastic on top, welded as a single unit for the convenience of washing the interior. The number of seats was reduced to 20, the design of the seats was changed, a new entrance door was made, additional lead bars were hung on the side to protect seated passengers. The buses delivered emergency crews to the scene of the accident. More than 50 buses were manufactured".
I would like to add that most of these unique buses were buried in various burial grounds, and only a few units remained at the site in Rassokha. And now... I won’t talk about bad things.

LAZ 692. The main differences between LAZ 692 and LAZ 695: lead sheets were installed in 692, , there was no sunroof, the rear area in the cabin (above the engine) was fenced off ), an air filtration system was also installed. These buses delivered liquidators to the work areas entrusted to them, and to be more precise, to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Because There are no buses in Rossokha; we can conclude that they were disposed of in Buryakovka. Civilian LAZs carried people out during evacuation.

The main task of the Komatsu D-355W radio-controlled bulldozer, as well as other radio-controlled bulldozers, was to clear the OS construction site from radioactive soil. Because The radio control range was small; this equipment was controlled from the cabin of an army armored vehicle (for example, from the IMR cabin). The remains of this bulldozer are still located on the territory of the Jupiter plant.

An ordinary "Stotridtsatka" with an unusual cabin. The cabin was made of lead plates and protected from radiation. It has a semi-handicraft character, but still.

MAZ 504V. So there is no such prototype, but it does exist.

I leave the best parts for later.
KrAZ 256.

But they said that she didn’t get into the frame. There are a lot of photos.

An order came to the plant in Kremenchug to urgently produce 18-20 dump trucks specifically for Chernobyl. Within a couple of weeks, the cars were ready for shipment. The main features of the design: a single cabin made of armored steel, a crystal windshield, an air purification system, and a large-capacity body with high sides. And it looks like lead was poured into the walls of the body. You can read more about them .

The driver of the car is visible in the window. The size of the window is slightly larger than an A4 sheet. The thickness is 4 centimeters and it was made of crystal.

Work directly at the walls of the sarcophagus. I can’t understand who dragged the KrAZ on the right so that its headlight box was almost torn off?

The cars, due to severe radiation contamination, were buried in special burial grounds and their further fate is unknown.

Construction of a new Shelter-2 facility is currently underway. There is a lot of technology there, big and different. They just don’t have protection from radiation, or maybe they do, no one says that. But even now machines are working there, which once also selflessly worked there, protecting the world from deadly rays. These cars will never leave the zone again, and it is also unsafe to approach them. Their work doesn't take long. KrAZ trucks still drive like this, old and beaten up, wrinkled. They are looked after and kept in good technical condition. And then - melting down, no burial. There is no more dryness.

I hope you enjoyed taking some of your time to read. I won’t stop there and will continue to write about this technique. But it's easy for you .

Thanks, see you!

№ 2

Vadim Turkich

Chernobyl technology

Concrete pumps

URL: https://www.drive2.ru/b/2556627/

Since the topic of the Chernobyl disaster is not indifferent to me, I will tell you a little about the unique technology that took part in eliminating the consequences of the accident at the fourth power unit.

After a decision was made about what would happen to the reactor, construction of the facility began , which I wrote about earlier. To put it simply, it was decided to close the reactor with a concrete Sarcophagus. But how to place this concrete there is another matter. For this purpose, several concrete pumps from the companies “Putzmeister” and “Schwing” based on MAN trucks were imported from Germany. With their help, the northern cascade wall, which was most damaged by the explosion, was erected. We couldn't find anything about the Worthington company.

Handsome Putzmeister at the industrial site.

From the memoirs of Sergei Grigorievich Dmitriev: “ When the 2nd district began to concrete the walls of the sarcophagus, V.K. Speransky took in all the drivers from his construction site. Don’t think I’m bragging, but the drivers from our construction site are experienced. We drive up to loading bins or unloading to concrete pumps - and we’ve never had someone open the door when turning back. We were definitely approaching the mirrors».

From the memoirs of Nikolai Vasilyevich Borisenko: “ The pumps often broke down. Our domestic pumps did not work there at all. They need cement and gravel, but there was only cement and crushed stone from the Pripyat River. The mixture turned out like buckwheat and gathered into lumps. Our pumps, as it happened, were all poured with concrete on top, even the motors were accidentally “concreteed.” Only German pumps worked - "Schwingh" and "Pultmaster"».

While working.

All concrete pumps were equipped with remote controls and video cameras for remote control.

Interestingly, these cars did not have radiation protection for the driver’s cabin. The car was simply installed and with its help the concrete mixture was placed into the formwork. Concrete was delivered to the industrial site in all possible ways - mixers, dump trucks, barrels... More often in the chronicles we come across KamAZ mixers. Concrete plants have already been deployed. One of the main tasks is to bring these plants to their designed capacity, because it is not enough to build a sarcophagus, it must be concreted. The factories were located in a relatively clean zone, and the sarcophagus was in the Black Zone. Concrete was transported by mixers, and each multi-ton dump truck-mixer had to be loaded and reloaded in order to reduce the radioactive load on the clean area. Concrete plants were located in Lelevo, and a transshipment point was located near Kopachi. Now it stands like a monument. And then, in those days, a dump truck drove onto this overpass and dumped concrete into the mixers standing below, which went to the Black Zone. These mixers drove up to the sarcophagus and delivered concrete to the concrete pumps.

Delivery of fresh concrete. These cars will no longer leave the exclusion zone due to severe radiation contamination.

Concreting the first tier of the cascade wall.

Mixers deliver concrete one after another, ensuring uninterrupted operation of the concrete pump.
During the cleaning process, containers with contaminated soil and contaminated equipment were thrown behind a 5-meter-high wall. As a result of all this work, a slab 5 meters thick was formed. A ramp was built to allow cars to enter this wall. This made it possible to install the first wall of the cascade.

Not the first tier anymore, but you can still see what was happening.

From the memoirs of Alexander Vasilyevich Turkuletsky:
« We practiced working with the pumps for a couple of days, and already on July 1-2, we drove the first concrete pumps into the zone, to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant itself, and began installing them in hangars made of concrete blocks. The operators themselves were located half a kilometer from the pumps, in a relatively clean area, sitting in bunkers, which were called “birdhouses” among themselves. We were driven to the concrete pump cabins in armored personnel carriers. They take one operator to the birdhouse, he knocks on the door. The operator who was in the cabin jumps out - into the armored personnel carrier and into the bunker. And the shift operator takes his place in the birdhouse cabin».

Work on the first tier. This is probably not a MAN, the cabin is not similar.

Another example of work.

Concreting the next cascading walls of the sarcophagus.

From the memoirs of Sergei Petrovich Proskuryakov: “ The first time I saw the reactor was on October 12. At that time, it was already the 3rd watch, and as such there was no longer an exploded reactor, that is, they were finishing building the cascade wall, and also erecting a dividing wall between the 4th and 3rd power units. We have already brought the reactor under the roof. That was the first time I got behind the wheel of a mixer and started working on my own.”.

At that time, imported equipment of this kind could not be compared with ours. The transformation options and work were on a completely different level. Therefore, these machines were driven “both tail and mane” in order to complete the construction of the Sarcophagus as quickly as possible. And this is how the machine was “transformed”, or more precisely, how the “arm” of the pump could bend in order to lay the mixture.

Scheme of the construction of the Sarcophagus as a whole. Location of concrete pumps on tiers during construction.

Concreting of subsequent tiers.

A kind of unique photograph of what was in the cascading wall of the last tier. Inside these boxes there is radioactive debris, highly radioactive equipment that took part earlier, other debris, etc. The photographer, in all likelihood, has long since passed away.

On November 30, 1986, the construction of the Sarcophagus over the 4th power unit of the Chernobyl station was officially completed. In honor of this, a red flag was hung on the “sleeve” of the concrete pump, as a symbol of victory over the “peaceful atom.”

The flag itself was not included in the frame.

Something like this. Thank you for your attention!

A small survey on "Auto-movie hero". What movie would you like to see? I will give some examples in the comments. Just put a “like” under the option you like. As a result, whoever gets the most votes will be in this section on Sunday.
And second - after the review on What remains is a small “photo shoot” with large-scale copies of it. Will you watch or not?

Thank you all, see you soon!

№ 3

Vadim Turkich

Chernobyl technology

Tracks instead of wheels

URL: https://www.drive2.ru/b/2620893/

Hi all!

I’ll start like this - I was banned) And all because some people are fools. They can’t do it themselves, but they can pass someone’s creations on to the court as a kind soul. And sucking up to this person is akin to admiration. When are you going to stop “humiliating” someone’s business? Are you jealous? Nothing to do? Why downgrade your view of the world? They don’t agree, so we need to drive him down, to survive him from society? You know who, after this? I won’t write, you can guess for yourself. Don’t say a word to you, you vulnerable souls. Not much older than me, but with the arrogance of a carriage and a small cart. And this is not about my blog. I can no longer write about myself. This is about a beautiful girl driving a real Russian car, and making the body kit with her own hands. I won’t share anything specifically.
By blog. This entry is about the technology for eliminating the Chernobyl disaster in this The last one for the year, approximately on December 28-29 there will be a New Year's car movie hero, and on December 31 I will sum up the results of the year. And yes, I passed the coursework) Out of excitement, minor shortcomings, the teacher was a little flustered, a 4 is solid) And then... Another coursework, a diploma and I am a “specialist”) More precisely, the army) Well, let’s continue reading and adding to our knowledge base on the disaster . Unfortunately, due to the limitations of the photo and material, as well as its delimitation, a large amount of that information will not be included here, but I will post what I can. I’m unlikely to write everything by April 26, but something will happen. Don't be upset =)

Helicopter over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant industrial site, Spraying a special binding liquid to suppress radioactive dust and prevent its distribution.

Today we will talk about special equipment that has tracks instead of wheels. Unfortunately, she didn’t get into the frame so often; her work was not just exhausting, but very dangerous and in this place and unusual.

Engineering barrier clearing vehicle - IMR.

The versatility of this special equipment made it possible to use IMR-2 to solve a wide range of problems during the liquidation of the consequences of the radiation disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Such technical parameters of the vehicle as high maneuverability, crane and bulldozer equipment, anti-radiation protection, were intended, according to the designers, to create routes for the advancement of military columns through territories subject to the use of nuclear weapons.
The technical characteristics of the IMR-2 made it possible to lay passages both in solid forest rubble in rough terrain, and to make overpasses for military equipment in urban rubble.
In addition, the IMR was adapted to work in unfavorable environmental conditions (radiation and chemical contamination) and even for driving underwater (at a depth of 5 meters).
These properties of the IMR were extremely useful and required in work in the radioactively contaminated areas of the Chernobyl zone.
As of 1986, the IMR-2 was a fairly new machine. IMR-2 was put into service in 1980. The vehicle was developed on the basis of the T-72A tank and was mass-produced by Uralvagonzavod in the city of Nizhny Tagil.
IMR was actively used during work near the destroyed power unit. The radiation levels that existed in 1986 (from 60 to 500 or more R/hour) excluded (significantly limited) the possibility of using conventional construction and transport mechanisms.
IMR appeared near the reactor in early May 1986.
To understand the monstrous radiation conditions in which the liquidators and operators of the barrier machine had to work, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the map of the exposure dose rate near the destroyed Chernobyl reactor. Data on the radiation situation are presented for the beginning and middle of the summer of 1986.
Thanks to the gripper installed in the front part, it was used to load highly active “garbage” - nuclear fuel, concrete pieces, etc.

One of the first tasks assigned to the IMR crews was to clear the rubble of the destroyed 4th block. This special equipment was also used to cover the rubble with a layer of soil and rubble. Thus, it was possible to significantly reduce the levels of radiation from the rubble and begin the construction of the base of the Sacrophage. According to some literature sources, ionizing radiation dose rate levels in these areas reached 1000 R/h.
Having unique equipment, and the IMR-2 bulldozer equipment made it possible to operate in dual-blade, bulldozer and grader modes (and the crew did not need to leave the vehicle for this), the vehicle was used for decontamination purposes. It was these machines that removed and buried the top layer of soil in the area adjacent to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the 4th block.
IMR was also used in the construction of a containment shell over the destroyed reactor. Thus, during the construction of the pioneer walls of the Sarcophagus, IMR-2 loaded containers with high-level waste (DER levels from containers reached 300-1000 R/hour) into the base of the walls. After installing the containers, the space was filled with concrete.
This special equipment was used during the construction of the Podlesny burial ground, in which high-level waste from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was buried. IMRs were also used to load waste containers into this repository.
IMR was used in particularly dangerous areas during the liquidation and burial (conservation) of forests that died from high doses of radiation (the so-called “Red Forest”). The work was carried out in accordance with the Red Forest Conservation Project. The document was approved in March 1987 by the Government Commission.
In the first days after the accident, the IMR was also used for radiation reconnaissance purposes.
However, the role of IMRs was also different. Destruction of buildings and structures. The reason is infection above the permissible level, the impossibility of cleaning it up and simply so that people cannot return...

Ladoga is a highly protected vehicle

The unique special vehicle was delivered to the area of the destroyed reactor on May 3, 1986. For this purpose, a special flight Leningrad - Kyiv was organized. From the airport, the special equipment reached the city of Chernobyl under its own power and then to the industrial site of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The special vehicle, on which experts had high hopes, was supposed to provide reliable protection for personnel performing radiation reconnaissance in order to determine the current radiation situation in the immediate vicinity of the destroyed reactor. This problem was especially acute in the first months after the depressurization of the nuclear reactor.
The special vehicle that could solve the problem was the VTS (Highly Protected Vehicle) “Ladoga”. You can read more about this unique item for the ChEZ

Tracklayer BAT-M.

The use of the BAT-M track-laying vehicle in eliminating the consequences of the radiation disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is determined by the unique technical characteristics of this special equipment.
Equipped with a pressurized cabin that allowed the crew to work in conditions of radiation and chemical contamination of the area, the BAT-M was widely used to carry out excavation work directly near the destroyed power unit.
Designed on the basis of an artillery tractor (AT-T) and equipped with a working body that is installed in a grader, bulldozer and two-blade position, the BAT-M was used to remove the top layer of soil, heavily contaminated with radionuclides, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant industrial site. The BAT-M working body is equipped with a ski, which made it possible to remove soil to a given thickness required by the operator. In the transport position, the working element is thrown onto the roof, which allows you to relieve the load on the front of the machine and thereby increase cross-country ability. Possessing high cross-country ability and a weight of 27 tons, the BAT-M can be used for work on rough terrain, making passages in small forests and bushes, backfilling ditches and trenches, and excavating pits.
BAT-M can also be used in different terrain conditions - on snow, in wetlands, as well as on soils with a light mechanical composition (sand and sandy loam).
In addition, the BAT-M is equipped with a winch and a crane (with a lifting capacity of 2 tons), which allows you to use a track-laying machine to clear the rubble of buildings and structures in zones of military conflicts or in places of man-made accidents.

3/4 rear view.

Front view. Menacingness inspires confidence.

PTS-2

When the question arose about removing “joyfully active” rubbish from the site around the reactor to burial grounds, a solution was found in the form of containers for household waste (regular, standard), which the IMR manipulator completely grabbed and lifted. They were installed on the PTS-2 (for this reason, several FSoks were installed in its body (to protect the crew) and the cabin was covered with lead). The PTS took them to the burial ground (the one that is being filled today). There, another IMR unloaded containers into the burial ground itself (a pit lined and divided into several compartments by FSKs). It was a kind of all-terrain vehicle-truck. Perhaps for this reason, these machines have a very high level of radiation, which is why they have survived to this day.
But what is this PTS-2 - a medium floating conveyor. Designed for transporting troops, amphibious crossing of artillery systems, wheeled and tracked tractors, armored personnel carriers, vehicles, personnel and various cargoes through water barriers. The transporter has good maneuverability, high maneuverability and a large reserve of buoyancy and can be used in sea conditions with sea waves up to force three. It is equipped with a system for protecting crews from toxic and radioactive warfare agents, equipment for self-entrenchment, a radio station, a tank intercom and a night vision device.

ISU-152
SU-152
Heavy self-propelled artillery unit (self-propelled gun) from the Second World War.

Unfortunately, there is no reliable information yet about how the ISU-152 was used to eliminate the consequences of the Chernobyl accident. What is known is that about a dozen units of this equipment were delivered to the Exclusion Zone to fire at the base of the destroyed 4-block (to gain access inside the littered premises). But later this idea was abandoned. There is a photo where ISU-152 is used to destroy a building in the area of the station’s industrial site.

To destroy the graphite that had melted into the roof of the turbine hall, it was planned to use large-caliber machine guns. During the liquidation, self-propelled guns ISU-152, developed in 1944, were used to destroy the walls.
Magazines "Wings of the Motherland", "Military Review", "Chernobyl Notebook" Grigory Medvedev, "Chornobyl" Yuri Shcherbak.
They fired cumulative shells. What is this, can you or watch a short video that explains everything quite clearly.

ISU-152 at Rassokha.

I conveniently forgot the name of the next caterpillar giant; I couldn’t gather information. Thanks a lotfor the tip! This is BTS-4, I only know that it had a , which was dismantled and then “sheathed” with lead. This "dish" was used to measure radiation levels around the station.

A protruding antenna is visible.

Komatsu
Yes, this is a tractor, it must be here.

The high radiation background at the OS construction site did not allow workers and builders to stay at the OS construction site for a long time. But the work on clearing the Chernobyl nuclear power plant territory from radioactive waste and erecting a sarcophagus had to be completed, and in the shortest possible time. Then it was decided to use radio-controlled equipment. An example of such equipment can be a radio-controlled bulldozer of the Japanese brand Komatsu. The main task of the Komatsu D-355W radio-controlled bulldozer, as well as other radio-controlled bulldozers, was to clear the OS construction site from radioactive soil. Because The radio control range was small; this equipment was controlled from the cabin of an army armored vehicle (for example, from the IMR cabin). The remains of this bulldozer are still located on the territory of the Jupiter plant. Standard Komatsu d155a bulldozers were also used. The number of units is unknown. Some of them had a leaded cabin.

There were representatives and Chelyabinsk TZ.

Tractors were used to shovel away dirt and debris, emitting as much noise as the reactor itself. There were both remote-controlled and human-controlled ones. Naturally, they were lined with lead.

I left the most interesting for later. some kind of cross between a bulldog and a rhinoceros, but it was a production car GPM-54
The GPM-54 tracked fire truck, built on the T-55 tank chassis, is currently produced and offered to fire services by the Lvov Armored Repair Plant. This heavy armored vehicle is designed to extinguish high-complexity fires in extreme conditions using water, air-mechanical foam and powder.

During the LPA, it was used for extinguishing, suppressing dust, and due to its characteristics, it also served as a ram when destroying buildings. In fact, it is a multi-purpose firefighting tank.

Well, that's all, see you later! Yes, although I can’t respond to your comments, I’ll evaluate it for now.

№ 4

Vadim Turkich

Chernobyl technology

BTR and BRDM

URL: https://www.drive2.ru/b/2721638/

Hi all!
The last article broke all records. The absolute number of views and likes. After that, other articles gained popularity and views, etc. I didn’t think that it would interest everyone so much. At the same time, I found out how many liquidators are on the site. Thank you so much for saving us from this invisible enemy! Low bow to you!

I’ll continue the topic, tell you about the next equipment of the Exclusion Zone - armored personnel carriers and BRDMs.

A rare photo from October 1986. the *cat house* beam and the first sections of the buttress wall were installed

So, in conditions of heavy radiation pollution, and indeed in general, for reconnaissance in fields of activity (radiation level, area of the contamination spot), either armored personnel carriers or armored personnel carriers were used. Why? THEIR thick armor contributed to at least some delay from the penetration of radiation and exposure of people. Plus there were ready-made vehicles, BRDM-2RKhB, for working in conditions of chemical and other pollution.
On the very first day, the 26th, such cars entered the city to measure radiation levels; they were the first to find out how bad everything was. In a unique video filming in the city, on the afternoon of the 26th, we see these cars.

Presumably April '86.

So. Since the Zone turned out to be quite large, it was necessary to travel for reconnaissance in a vehicle that would meet certain requirements - speed, security, weapons (in extreme cases), cross-country ability. The latter was also necessary; activity measurements were everywhere. The most maneuverable (although loudly said) was the BRDM - combat reconnaissance patrol vehicle

Example BRDM-2RKhB. The arrow indicates a filter for air purification. Only BEHIND the hatch.

In the most contaminated areas (nuclear power plant industrial site), cars were driven with additional lead, which they made themselves.

According to the stories of dosimetrists. The increased weight of the car, and the weight was already large, affected control, acceleration and fuel consumption. And the brakes on these ones burned immediately - an accelerated car could stop for a very long time. But the defense was good.

Also, according to stories, they also tried to make protection inside - they covered the floor and seats with the same lead sheets. They used bags of shot to thicken the walls.
The level was measured as follows. The train of three people traveled along a specific route. At the required point, the dosimetrist jumped out (through the hatch; the side exits were blocked to avoid unnecessary contamination) and measured the level - the air, at a height of a meter from the ground, and the ground itself. The commander wrote it down and they drove on.

Realizing that the equipment would never leave the Zone again, they marked it in this way. In the circle there is the inscription “Zone” and additionally the tail number on the side (for some they were duplicated on the front).

But cars were needed! No one will give you a new one; a heavily contaminated one was forced to be written off if decontamination no longer helped.

At the end of the *working day* the equipment was sanitized at the sanitary checkpoints. The dosimetrist measured the background of the wheels and the bottom, then, regardless of the dose received (in the end it was still large), the car was sent for washing.

In some places the pass was strict. If the contamination was higher than permissible and was not washed, the car could remain inside any zone. For example, a car could no longer go from 10 km to 20 km, the level was not the same.

Inside the BRDM.

Dosimetrists at the OZK check for contamination. At one of the sanitary checkpoints.

Upon completion of work on the LPA, all these vehicles were sent to Rassokha.

The photo is already old. At the moment, the cemetery no longer exists; everything was sent for melting down.

This is roughly how it happened.

The special vehicles prepared from the factories for chemical reconnaissance had a device that fired pins with shields attached to them with a radiation sign. In order not to be irradiated again, they fired a pin that stuck well into the ground.

The second were armored personnel carriers. Cars of this kind were used on the industrial site itself. And when pulled out, and when measurements were taken at the walls of the reactor. Who is Viktor Kibenok? .

Armored personnel carrier with additional leaded sheets.

I won’t vouch for the authenticity, I’ll just make a guess. Personnel to work at the power unit to decontaminate premises, etc., transferred from the bus to armored personnel carriers and moved to the site. Or is it a delegation? Many unique shots of the liquidation of the consequences of the accident were filmed from armored personnel carriers...

An example of intra-Zonovsky designation. Board number of the armored personnel carrier. Accounting was strict. Sometimes the drivers were slack. Even if the car could no longer be washed, they no longer stopped at the next round, but took a roundabout route to the parking lot. It wasn’t done out of a good life, but still. These cars were also used to crush the cars of looters.

Already at Rassokha. Took an unacceptable dose. In the background is a Tatra truck.

The BRDM, however, is on reconnaissance mission.

Liquidation by liquidation, and raising the spirit of people was also necessary. Singers gave concerts and staged performances. They came in all kinds of vehicles, plus it was convenient to see from above.

Museum of Technology in Chernobyl. The cars took part in the LPA. They sound, yes. The URAL tank in the background on the right is believed to have belonged to Victor Kibenko. But this is not true. This fireman's car was right next to the reactor, and for quite a long time. The radiation level is extremely high. As other liquidators wanted, it did not work out to be placed on a pedestal. The car is buried. But on Buryakovka or in the wall of the Sarcophagus - history is silent and covered with a wall of radiation...

A doubly unique photo. On reconnaissance at a cement transfer point.

After the completion of the construction of the Sarcophagus and the LPA, in the winter of 86/87, the detour of the territory of settlements was carried out on the same BRDMs.

Winter in the city. Film on the Volga grille to protect the radiator from radioactive particles. Don’t write that it’s for warming up! 24 has blinds in front of the radiator! This is made for easier cleaning.

I still can’t get around to making a model of a reconnaissance vehicle that at least resembles a BRDM. I will remake it from an armored personnel carrier, shorten it, cover it with foil, make it look like lead sheets, etc.

I hope it was interesting. See you!

PS. We have declared a quarantine during our studies. Although the headache has not decreased =)

№ 5

Vadim Turkich

Chernobyl technology

Cranes

URL: https://www.drive2.ru/b/2638438/

Hi all!

Happy New Year 2016 to everyone, separately to those who just woke up after the 1st =)

I’ll start the year with an article about Chernobyl technology.

I'll start with these.

Portal cranes.

Those cranes that worked near the walls of the Sarcophagus had video cameras, which were used to guide the installation of structural parts. The viewing angle and working conditions were extremely difficult; it was necessary to be able to hit the target accurately in order to install the multi-ton structure in its place.
“In mid-June, platforms with the designs of three Demag cranes began to arrive at Teterev station. They began to be distinguished by the last digits of the serial number. Thus, cranes with serial numbers 41016, 41020, 41021 turned into short combat ones - 16th, 20th y, 21st. The installation work of these cranes was entrusted to MSU-116 of the Spetsmontazhmekhanizatsiya trust.
They were installed at a distance of about one kilometer from the fourth power unit. To imagine all the difficulties and dangers of this work, it is enough to say that the components and parts of each crane occupied 32 railway platforms during transportation, and the assembled crane weighed 1200 tons. At the installation site, where assembly was underway, the radiation background was 200 mr/hour. But the installers of MSU-116, under the leadership of the head of the department - Vladimir Anatolyevich Kovalchuk and the chief engineer of the department Valery Davydovich Muchnik, at a site located 15 minutes walk from the destroyed unit, completed the task in the shortest possible time. By July 8, the designs of all three Demags were delivered to Chernobyl and already on July 21, ahead of schedule, the first Demag, No. 16, moved self-propelled to the emergency fourth block.

At the most crucial moments of assembly, adjustment, and then delivery of the cranes to the block, K.N. Kondyrev was next to his workers. Moreover, his optimism and confidence in success forced him to do the almost impossible.”

Demag crane assembly.

For three or four days, when the installation of cascade walls, turbine hall floors, main load-bearing beams and other large structures was underway, our people did not leave the station. In the “bunker” (6th mark of the KhZhTO) repair teams were formed, operational decisions were made, and food was eaten, brought in plastic bags from Chernobyl. If we succeeded, we grabbed an hour or two of sleep on the beds located right there, covered with foam rubber. Our specialists were greatly assisted by the military personnel called up for six-month training camps, who, apparently, because of their paramilitary appearance, were all called “partisans.” The fathers of families, wise with life experience, often highly qualified specialists, 40-45 year old men, did not refuse any work, just to quickly fulfill their duty and return home. Sometimes, not understanding the danger they faced when staying in the radiation zone for a long time, they performed the most difficult work. Voluntarily, under the guidance of our specialists, they repaired components and assemblies of cranes and replaced broken two-meter crawler tracks. They dismantled the huge pneumatic wheels of the superlift, punctured by reinforcement, and manually unloaded and reloaded self-propelled counterweight containers with 40-kilogram lead ingots. In cases where the brigade’s task was taking a long time, they decided to withdraw people from the radioactive zone and signed a petition to the unit commander for the early demobilization of the “partisans.” >

In total, 3 Liebherr brand cranes are mentioned in various sources. 1st crane - LT-1300, designed for 300 tons. 2 more cranes designed for 80 tons (source rcforum).
“He, LIEBHER with a capacity of 250 tons (or even 350, I don’t remember), was supposed to come to the construction of the Ignalina NPP (Lit. SSR), but that was not fate. Therefore, without unloading it, (5 cars) they were sent to Sosnovy Bor , where both cabins and the computer were lined with lead. They attached another carriage, a passenger one, and with a lettered one (after leading, the dimensions exceeded the railway workers' tolerances) they sent it to Chernobyl. Those accompanying us drank a little on the way. At the end, there was 1 carriage missing, with spare parts, they looked, yes were not found. The crane never needed any spare parts.
When the crane was working on the site, the driver and crane operator were brought to it by bus and quickly swapped places with the previous crew. They worked no more than half an hour per call. The next one depended on the dose received.

There was always a dosimetrist in the cabin and a walkie-talkie. The “bathyscaphe” could be mounted on a ceiling, on a wall, in a rubble and left for a short time; it could simply hover in the air to inspect and measure any place. Outside the cabin - 150 roentgens/hour, and inside - only 0.2 roentgens. Engineers, designers, designers, and installers “flyed” in the Bathyscaphe.

That's all, see you later!

A month and a half ago

Cranes: https://www.drive2.ru/b/2638438/

https://www.drive2.ru/b/2638438/

Hi all!
Happy New Year 2016 to everyone, separately to those who just woke up after the 1st =)
I’ll start the year with an article about Chernobyl technology.

Welcome to hell! - Welcome to Hell!

Today we will talk about the cranes that reloaded materials and lifted up parts of the future Sarcophagus. They are one of the main assistants in the LPA at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
I'll start with these.

These are port cranes. There were several of them, one of them was floating. With their help, crushed stone and sand, cement and other materials were unloaded onto the shore for the construction of the future Sarcophagus above the fourth power unit. The port was relatively young and was never able to operate at full capacity.

Floating crane.

Portal cranes.

The model of this crane is gearbox 10/12.5

You can read about their technical characteristics by going .
Stalker Andrey MSh, during his foray into the ChEZ the year before last, filmed some material about this port. This is what I want to introduce you to.

And here are the cranes that were directly involved in the construction. These are Demag brand faucets, judging by the information taken from rcforum:

There were three cranes in total, serial numbers: 41016, 41020, 41021, then the cranes are distinguished by “combat numbers” and the last digits of the serial numbers (16,20,21)
- the first one (number 16) did not have a superlift; it can be distinguished by the absence of a lattice strut behind the tower (see photo). it had a lifting capacity of 500 tons
also on it the cabin is located not on the side but in the center of the tower, in addition, at the bottom of the tower there is something like a balcony.
- the second and third (numbers 20 and 21) had a superlift (an additional counterweight on pneumatic tires suspended from the spacer) i.e. they had a lattice strut to which counterweight trolleys with a total weight of 480 tons were suspended; these cranes had a lifting capacity of 650 tons.
— regarding the location, 16 and 21 worked next to the power unit side (where the main structure of the Sarcophagus is mounted) and crane number 20 worked from the turbine room side.

The first one was sent to Leningrad NPP in 1987.
The 2nd (after the fall) was decontaminated and buried... directly behind the industrial site itself. Partially, because during the construction of the new Sarcophagus, part of the caterpillar was dug up.
The 3rd one was dismantled in 1997 and sold by a construction company from Chernobyl (to one of the Baltic countries).

Number 21 presumably, because the cabin is lined and there is no superlift.

“In mid-June, platforms with the designs of three Demag cranes began to arrive at Teterev station. They began to be distinguished by the last digits of the serial number. Thus, cranes with serial numbers 41016, 41020, 41021 turned into short combat ones - 16th, 20th y, 21st. The installation work of these cranes was entrusted to MSU-116 of the Spetsmontazhmekhanizatsiya trust.

They were installed at a distance of about one kilometer from the fourth power unit. To imagine all the difficulties and dangers of this work, it is enough to say that the components and parts of each crane occupied 32 railway platforms during transportation, and the assembled crane weighed 1200 tons. At the installation site, where assembly was underway, the radiation background was 200 mr/hour. But the installers of MSU-116, under the leadership of the head of the department - Vladimir Anatolyevich Kovalchuk and the chief engineer of the department Valery Davydovich Muchnik, at a site located 15 minutes walk from the destroyed unit, completed the task in the shortest possible time. By July 8, the designs of all three Demags were delivered to Chernobyl and already on July 21, ahead of schedule, the first Demag, No. 16, moved self-propelled to the emergency fourth block.

Photos from the series - feel small. Demag crane tracks.

Any breakdown of the cranes, leading to their stop, paralyzed the construction of the Sarcophagus. There was an immediate reaction from the Government Commission, big and small bosses, whose work directly depended on the serviceability of the cranes. Phone calls and threats came from all sides, but despite the extremely nervous situation and exhaustion of physical strength, our people sometimes did the impossible. The cranes worked. The construction schedule was on track.

Voluntarily, under the guidance of our specialists, they repaired components and assemblies of cranes and replaced broken two-meter crawler tracks. They dismantled the huge pneumatic wheels of the superlift, punctured by reinforcement, and manually unloaded and reloaded self-propelled counterweight containers with 40-kilogram lead ingots. In cases where the brigade’s task was taking a long time, they decided to withdraw people from the radioactive zone and signed a petition to the unit commander for the early demobilization of the “partisans.” >New volunteers came to replace them and brought the job to completion.

To help these mastodons there were another telescopic cranes - Liebherr.

In total, 3 Liebherr brand cranes are mentioned in various sources. 1st crane - LT-1300, designed for 300 tons. 2 more cranes designed for 80 tons (source rcforum).

“He, LIEBHER with a capacity of 250 tons (or even 350, I don’t remember), was supposed to come to the construction of the Ignalina NPP (Lit. SSR), but that was not fate. Therefore, without unloading it, (5 cars) they were sent to Sosnovy Bor , where both cabins and the computer were lined with lead. They attached another carriage, a passenger one, and with a lettered one (after leading, the dimensions exceeded the railway workers' tolerances) they sent it to Chernobyl. Those accompanying us drank a little on the way. At the end, there was 1 carriage missing, with spare parts, they looked, yes were not found. The crane never needed any spare parts.

When the crane was working on the site, the driver and crane operator were brought to it by bus and quickly swapped places with the previous crew. They worked no more than half an hour per call. The next one depended on the dose received.

Liebherr cranes were used in the assembly of Demag cranes, during the construction of the Shelter, as well as during the cleaning of the roof of power unit 3 from radioactive debris. The further account of this equipment is not reliably known, but the Liebherr LT-1300 is definitely stored along with the remains of one of the Demags (where is unknown).

A Manitowoc crawler crane is currently taking part in the construction.

I’ll finish the story about cranes with this. Partly because, with the help of the same cranes, this “bathyscaphe” was in the very heart of the source of evil - in the very collapse of the reactor.

For radiation reconnaissance, they made a chamber that looked like a deep-sea bathyscaphe. Its body was made of steel and lead, and the porthole was made of special thick glass that does not transmit radiation. The specialists who boarded this “bathyscaphe” were lifted above the nuclear ruins on a crane. The liquidators made one such cabin on their own back in June in Chernobyl and used it initially for a short rest - a person monitored the installation work, then ran out, raised the rafters and returned to the protection of lead. The second Bathyscaphe was factory-built, weighing 25 tons. Internal dimensions - 1.5 by 2 meters. It was hooked on top by a crane hook and lifted to any height.
There was always a dosimetrist in the cabin and a walkie-talkie. The “bathyscaphe” could be mounted on a ceiling, on a wall, in a rubble and left for a short time; it could simply hover in the air to inspect and measure any place. Outside the cabin - 150 roentgens/hour, and inside - only 0.2 roentgens. Engineers, designers, designers, and installers “flyed” in the Bathyscaphe. you can read here. I will say this - only about four hundred thousand cubic meters of this mixture were used. For this purpose, special vehicles were involved in the delivery of this material - concrete mixers (mixers), special mixers (driven by a pump, usually delivered in the form of a dry ready-made mixture, which, mixed with water, is supplied where necessary), ordinary dump trucks and in semi-trailer barrels.

At the time of construction of the nuclear power plant itself, there was one concrete production plant operating there, which fully met the demand and productivity... But in April 1986, the reactor exploded and a lot of concrete was required.
Not far from Chernobyl, three more plants were urgently erected, and concrete and/or its components were delivered along railway lines. There, part of the future Sarcophagus was loaded into cars and delivered to the industrial site.

The problem was that some of the equipment that the reactor had emitted hundreds of X-rays. Naturally, she was buried. The problem was also not to let such machines leave the industrial site, into a relatively clean area. For this purpose, special transfer points were built, where concrete was transferred from *clean* vehicles to *dirty* ones. Please note the lack of protection on KamAZ. The car drivers were called suicide bombers.

Here is one example of such points. Vehicles (in this case, most likely MAZ dump trucks) unload the finished mixture into “dirty” vehicles.

The same cars, only in profile.

In addition to the point of simple reloading, from car to car, there was also a trip to car. Unfortunately, it was not possible to find such archival photos due to the limitations of my abilities. But the essence was this: the freight car stopped on a special stand, the valve opened, and all the mortar/concrete tumbled into the bowels of the transporting vehicle.

Here's another example, a color photo. Now, of course, it doesn’t work.

Bird's-eye*. This was precisely the transit point.

Even closer. Behind, people are clearing the remaining concrete from the sockets. What is noteworthy is that vehicles for liquidation were collected throughout the Soviet country. This one, apparently, is from Krasnoyarsk. And they brought it from Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, etc., etc. Apparently, the cars were for an industrial site.

And this is a concrete plant. Yes, they were also delivered by dump trucks, only their bodies were often covered in hardened concrete, which were cleaned at the end of the day with a stream of water, at the same time decontaminating the vehicle. New MAZ, still rare, *face* new.

Behind MAZ's fellow *hurricane*, MAZ is a mixer, not a truck tractor with a barrel. The parts of the future Sarcophagus were delivered to the construction site at the MAZ in front.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to find these vehicles on the move during construction, but whatever they have, they will also work on Rassokha. The vehicles being liquidated were not limited to KamAZs and MAZs; there were also less noticeable vehicles carrying concrete equipment.

The famous Tatra 815. It’s rare in itself, but here we managed to get a few for the LPA.

Bogatyr from Kremenchug. KrAZ with a mixer. The looters did not hesitate to steal spare parts at all. Well, I waved a hundred grams (or maybe more) and went ahead for x-rays.

Evgeniy Buldozer52ru identified it as Tatra 815. For which many thanks to him!

And this is laying concrete. As I said, the ready-made cement mixture, only dry, was delivered in special vehicles, in common parlance a tsmychok. This unit had a bunker at the back, tapering downwards, inside there were many augers that periodically mixed the mixture so that it did not cake (such a machine is in the photo on the right, behind the KrAZ). Then, using a KrAZ installation, this mixture was mixed with water and delivered under pressure to the pump. The same machines are now used for cementing well walls during oil production. While at my father's work, I had the opportunity to get acquainted with these cars. The same machines were used in the construction of the biological wall. But about it later, in one of the next issues. Construction of the next tier. In a white booth, drivers waited for the concrete to be unloaded.

Photo of the presence of a Schwing concrete pump, which were in addition to Putzmeister.

I hope that this chapter of the story was also interesting to you. That's all for now, see you!