The Truth about Chernobyl

The chief engineer at the construction of the Chernobyl plant and an investigator after the accident, gives an account of the accident and its aftermath

This dramatic, minute-by-minute account of the Chernobyl meltdown and its aftermath provides a detailed analysis of the causes of the disaster at the Soviet power station which became a "gigantic nuclear volcano" in April 1986, spewing out radioactivity. Former deputy chief engineer at Chernobyl, Medvedev cites design flaws that could spell catastrophe for similarly built plants. He also blames the accident on plant operators' faulty decision-making, made worse by flagrant safety violations; arrogant, careless managers; the "sheer insanity" of the plant's administrative system; and negligence at the highest levels of the Soviet energy bureaucracy. Interweaving the jolting testimony of eyewitnesses, participants and victims, this volume is invaluable.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Medvedev, a chief engineer at Chernobyl when it was built in 1970, graphically describes the events leading up to and following the world's worst nuclear accident. Asked to conduct an investigation less than two weeks after the explosion, he interviewed most of the major participants, including many who died within weeks from radiation sickness. In lucid detail and with an insider's understanding, Medvedev describes the human and technical failings that led to the accident and, with enormous compassion, recounts the efforts of firefighters and many of the reactor's operators who gave their lives in the struggle to contain the disaster. An authoritative primary document, this book is also an important rumination on the technological and political hubris that led to this disaster. For another Soviet account, see Zhores Medvedev's The Legacy of Chernobyl , LJ 6/15/90--Ed.
- Jennifer Scarlott, World Policy Inst., New York
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.