1986's Chernobyl disaster - FROM THE ARCHIVE - BBC Newsnight

It has been 33 years since the Chernobyl disaster - the worst nuclear catastrophe in human history.

In the early hours of 26 April 1986, one of four nuclear reactors at the Chernobyl power station exploded. Chernobyl is north of Kiev, Ukraine.

Since the explosion an area of more than 4,000 square kilometres has been abandoned.

There is no official account of how many died and suffered as a result of the meltdown, and the health implications of the disaster have long been debated.

Newsnight is the BBC's flagship news and current affairs TV programme - with analysis, debate, exclusives, and robust interviews.

[quackhouseproductions]

Wow todays news has seriously been dumbed down

[stevencassidy]

This is old school BBC. Clever, informative and doesn't talk down to you. You are mean't to keep up with it - not it with you

[scheimong]

It is evident with hindsight that these experts really knew what they were talking about. Information was incredibly scarce at the time of this news piece (they had no idea that the entire building blew up and the core was completely exposed), yet the advice and predictions these experts gave were still helpful and mostly accurate.

[ІгорСемак-пщ]

they couldn't have even imagined that the reactor could've exploded (speaking of the leacks)

[snufkin]

Good to hear Brian O'Hanrahanrahan reporting live from the scene.

[DrCharlesMontague]

Calm, factual, informative, and objective journalism. Rest In Peace 😪.

[arguscontrol]

Their guesses about reactor types were wrong, but you can't blame them under the circumstances.

[atomsmash]

amazing how much has changed in 33 years.. the world was forced to speculate about the type of reactor, the nature of the accident, etc. in this broadcast he says it's likely a pressurized water reactor (PWR) and in reality it wasn't that at all

[ylette]

Serious news without an agenda. I miss this.

[Puter]

That pronunciation of Chernobyl though

[johnnyyyy]

Wow, looking back 30 years later. I’m surprised how accurate Dr Medvedev described the situation, he really knew this stuff.

[facundoalvarado]

Man, was journalism great in those days... Never got to see it, I hope my generation can get to see some quality journalism like that

[zoidberg]

At this point as the BBC reported i don't think even the Soviet government realised how bad it was. That the reactor had been completely destroyed and was on fire and they had no idea what to do about it.

[jtaylor]

When news was news, not propaganda. And you were treated like an adult, even if you were a kid! I was 6 when this happened, but it fascinated me.

[itzthemuffinman]

He’s actually on the phone 😂 how naive of me to not expect that

[robsmith]

I really like this old school presenting. Everything is so dumbed down now because people have no attention spans these days.

[eamonreidy]

Chernobyl was a nail in the USSRs coffin but the lack of transparency in the weeks surrounding it outraged the Soviet peoples who had greater press and speech freedoms under Gorbachev and that was even more detrimental

[Mattyuk]

At the time of this BBC Newsnight broadcast, the BBC got it wrong about the type of reactor Chernobyl was. Peter snow says the reactor is probably a 'Pressurised Water Reactor', or more specifically the soviet designated 'VVER' Vodo-Vodyanoi Energetichesky Reaktor' (Water-Water Power Reactor). In fact it was a much higher powered, and as it turned out, far more dangerous RBMK Reactor 'Reaktor Bolshoy Moshchnosti Kanalnyy' or High Power Channel-type Reactor.

I'm no nuclear scientist, but the difference between the two is that the VVER uses water as it's main 'Neutron Moderator', whereas the RMBK uses Graphite, and at that time, graphite tipped control rods. It is understandable that the BBC wouldn't know this, the whole Soviet nuclear industry was highly guarded and effectively a state secret.

[Perkelenaattori]

That is one of worst maps of Finland I've ever seen.

[saintuk]

I remember watching this, I was 16. Where I lived there was always a fear of Sellafield, not too far across the sea on the Cumbrian coast. Chernobyl, however, scared the life out of us.... we knew it was bad, very bad. Those initial days concerned it was a water tank / hydrogen did we know! And yes, today's news has been dumbed down immensely.