Skip to content

April 26, 1986

A.N. Makukhin, 'Concerning the accident at unit Nº 4of the Chernobyl AEhS [Atomic Power Station]'

This document was made possible with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)

[handwritten]: Gorbachev

 

Secret

Copy Nº [left blank]

 

[two illegible addressees handwritten across

the top left-hand part of the page]

[to the] CPSU CC

 

[Letterhead of the USSR First Deputy

Minister of Power and Electrification]

 

26 April 1986   Nº 1789-2c

[faded CPSU CC

General Department stamp]

 

Concerning the accident at unit Nº 4

of the Chernobyl AEhS [Atomic Power Station]

 

URGENT REPORT

 

At 0121 26 April 1986 while taking power unit Nº 4 of the Chernobyl AEhS out of operation for scheduled repair an explosion occurred in the upper part of the reactor chamber after the reactor shut down.

 

According to reports from the director of the Chernobyl AEhS the roof and parts of the wall panels of the reactor compartment, several roof panels of the machine room and of the auxiliary systems unit of the reactor compartment were demolished during the explosion and the roofing caught on fire.

 

The fire was extinguished at 0330.

 

The personnel of the AEhS are taking steps to cool the fuel core of the reactor.

 

In the opinion of the 3rd Main Directorate of the USSR Ministry of Health it is not required to take special measures, including the evacuation of the population from the city.

 

Nine of the operations personnel and 25 of the militarized firefighters have been hospitalized.

 

Steps are being taken to eliminate the consequences and investigate what happened.

 

[signature]

A. N. Makukhin

 

[handwritten at the bottom:]

to the archive

 

The Soviet Minister of Power and Electrification reports on an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl Atomic Power Station in Ukraine. The Soviet Ministry of Heath has determined that "it is not required to take special measures, including the evacuation of the population from the city."



Document Information

Source

Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Dmitriĭ Antonovich Volkogonov papers, 1887-1995, mm97083838. Translated by Gary Goldberg.

Original Archive

Rights

The History and Public Policy Program welcomes reuse of Digital Archive materials for research and educational purposes. Some documents may be subject to copyright, which is retained by the rights holders in accordance with US and international copyright laws. When possible, rights holders have been contacted for permission to reproduce their materials.

To enquire about this document's rights status or request permission for commercial use, please contact the History and Public Policy Program at [email protected].

Original Uploaded Date

2012-09-20

Type

Report

Language

Record ID

115341

Donors

Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)