![]() The meltdown and its aftermath drained the Soviet Union of billions in clean-up costs, led to the loss of a primary energy source and dealt a serious blow to national pride. The Chernobyl disaster not only stoked fears over the dangers of nuclear power, it also exposed the Soviet government’s lack of openness to the Soviet people and the international community. Eventually, thousands of people would show signs of health effects-including cancer-from the fallout. The worst nuclear disaster in history killed two workers in the explosions and, within months, at least 28 more would be dead by acute radiation exposure. A routine test at the power plant went horribly wrong, and two massive explosions blew the 1,000-ton roof off one of the plant’s reactors, releasing 400 times more radiation than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.Chernobyl is a nuclear power plant in Ukraine that was the site of a disastrous nuclear accident on April 26, 1986. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. The interview is archived at the Library of Congress.Ĭopyright © 2023 NPR. INSKEEP: Stephen Quandt in New York City. And for all I know, he's still there in that radioactive forest with the dogs. But I never learned his name, and I never saw him again. And I'm holding his medal that I don't deserve, knowing full well the measure of his sacrifice. He wanted to give me his medal for helping the dogs. And then he pulled out this old, worn medal commemorating his valor. He said that he was what was called a Chernobyl liquidator - one of the guys who fought the fire in the core at the time of the accident. And she motioned me over, and he started talking. We were told we could give out little gifts - nice, you know, I heart New York bottle opener. And she points at this old man, and she says, did you give him a fridge magnet and a bottle opener yesterday? And I was like, yeah. ![]() On the last day that I was there, our translator comes up to me. But they moved back in and wouldn't leave. At the time of the accident, they were evacuated. ![]() And in this immense radioactive forest, it turns out there are squatters. They would gather in the town square and howl collectively. Every single night, a huge group of dogs would come out of the forest. So we went there and provided care for the dogs. And for 35 years, they've been breeding, living and dying in the forests around Chernobyl. And then the military was directed to kill the dogs, but many of them lived. They had less than an hour to get ready to go, and they had to leave their animals behind. QUANDT: At the time of the accident, which was in 1986, there was an order to evacuate the people. At Stor圜orps, he recalled a 2019 trip to Ukraine and the site of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. INSKEEP: You see, Stephen Quandt cares for abandoned animals in disaster zones around the world. And I realized that what I'm doing with these animals is trying to find them their future. ![]() STEPHEN QUANDT: When I was a gay teenager in the '70s, I had no vision of a future - no picket fence, no house, no romantic life, nothing. Stephen Quandt is an animal welfare worker in New York City. It's Friday, which is when we hear from Stor圜orps.
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