Live data from Hacker News

Radiation Spikes at Chernobyl

zetter.substack.com

71–80 of 141 posts

Re: Radiation Spikes at Chernobyl

#71
post #2

> The IAEA sent experts to do a radiological survey in the CEZ in April, but their focus wasn’t on determining the cause of the spikes. Investigators instead wanted to determine if Russian soldiers who dug trenches in a small section of the CEZ had released dangerous levels of radiation in that area that could have sickened the soldiers or anyone else who passed through that area. (The IAEA determined the radiation l…

> They thought they were going to get all of Ukraine in 3 days.

The claim of a 3-day takeover has never been official. It came from a random article that was erroneously published. The reason it was written stems from the fact that many news agencies prepare drafts for various scenarios. To rely on a news article as evidence of one country's legitimate plan to invade another defies common sense.

Re: Radiation Spikes at Chernobyl

#72
post #2

> The IAEA sent experts to do a radiological survey in the CEZ in April, but their focus wasn’t on determining the cause of the spikes. Investigators instead wanted to determine if Russian soldiers who dug trenches in a small section of the CEZ had released dangerous levels of radiation in that area that could have sickened the soldiers or anyone else who passed through that area. (The IAEA determined the radiation l…

> "accused the IAEA of being untrustworthy because IAEA Deputy Director Mikhail Chudakov, a Russian, is a long-term official with ROSATOM, Russia’s state atomic corporation.)" Fair enough, such a team might be biased.. > "Three months later, the Ukrainian government invited Greenpeace to conduct its own radiological survey" Lmfao , of all the organizations they could have called on, they picked Greenpeace ? Anything…

Greenpeace Germany didn't really pull that one off (IMHO).

I went looking to see if the commissioned an independant industry standard radiometric spectral survey .. they flew a drone themselves at 100m altitude (standard for big heavy crystal packs - bit high for some lightweight count detector) recording gamma CPS (counts per second total, not banded to identify types of radiation).

They did hire a UK company to compile sat data images (to identify areas of interest)

What's missing from their release is a detailed radiometric techical report - gear that was used, calibrations, raw data, processed "normalised data" etc.

Greenpeace press release:

https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/54762...

McKenzie Intelligence Services: https://www.mckenzieintelligence.com/

MIS- Chornobyl Report: (32 pages) https://www.greenpeace.de/publikationen/20220718-greenpeace-...

(FWiW I did some decades of radiometric environmental survey work related to geophysical exploration and IAA inspections)

Re: Radiation Spikes at Chernobyl

#73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone knows about Chernobyl. Most likely what they didn't know was where they are. I saw too many videos of soldiers asking locals for directions in the first days of war.

You underestimate Russia's induced ignorance about Chernobyl. Most of these 20-year-olds were from remote, shit-poor areas of Russia, and even if they went to school of some sort, it didn't matter much. You think those textbooks mentioned the incident? No. To this day, Chernobyl is a pain point for Russia - f--k knows why because it didn't even happen there . When HBO's Chernobyl came out, Moscow went into a full-blo…

Gorbachev is quoted as saying that Chernobyl was the beginning of the end of the USSR.

Nobody likes to talk about that stuff. Ideologues most of all.

Re: Radiation Spikes at Chernobyl

#74
post #56

If Ukrainian people (whether state sanctioned or independent) manipulated the sensors to amplify concern about Russia’s invasion —- it would not be remarkable. Deception, misdirection, sabotage, these are all crucial elements in every war.

> Deception, misdirection, sabotage, these are all crucial elements in every war.

If the Ukrainians tampered with the sensors, the Russians undoubtedly knew about it. In such a scenario, the deception and misdirection are aimed at the rest of the world. If that is the case, there are much more similar manipulations taking place.

Re: Radiation Spikes at Chernobyl

#75
post #61
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone born in Russia, I can assure you that since the 1980s everyone in Russia became well aware of Chernobyl. In my oblast there were furious protests against the construction of a nuclear power plant, and Chernobyl was likely their main cause. My parents told me some horror stories about the cleanup crew of Chernobyl when I was a kid.

as somebody who born in russia you can't represent everybodies in russia knowledge. in case you don't watch them, go watch some of zolkin videos where he asks russian solders questions about history and ukraine. very enlightening

Sure, you can always cherry-pick someone from a remote village so this can't be literally "everybody", but it's absurd to claim that the majority of the population doesn't know about Chernobyl. It was a very hot topic in Russia for a long time, and in the 90s the government lost control over the information space of the country so the information about Chernobyl was spreading freely. The younger generations can learn about the topic from either their parents, or from pop culture things like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and even HBO's miniseries (freely available on Russian torrent trackers that are quite popular).

Re: Radiation Spikes at Chernobyl

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of the Russian soldiers come from regions without widespread indoor plumbing, to put some perspective to how backward and disconnected some people are.

Don't see how a country's infrastructure issues are related to people backwardeness. The same people who use outhouses probably also have smartphones. It's like saying people who live in remote Canadian villages without road access are backward.

Oh man, in my experience having a smartphone doesn't say anything about ppl intelligence and the level of their education. There are some extremely poor regions in Russia and in those regions education system is also usually poor, bc good teachers migrated to better regions

Re: Radiation Spikes at Chernobyl

#77
post #39
post #2

> The IAEA sent experts to do a radiological survey in the CEZ in April, but their focus wasn’t on determining the cause of the spikes. Investigators instead wanted to determine if Russian soldiers who dug trenches in a small section of the CEZ had released dangerous levels of radiation in that area that could have sickened the soldiers or anyone else who passed through that area. (The IAEA determined the radiation l…

The story of Russians digging holes and getting radiation poisoning was propaganda, just like Ghost of Kiev. The levels of radiation in the soil are not high enough to cause radiation poisoning, except for very few hotspots that they'd have to go looking for. It's mostly alpha radiation left which is dangerous only if radioactive particles are inhaled. I'm more inclined to believe the IAEA. Also, >They concluded that…

Also Greenpeace investigated, so they are not a credible source after all the lobying and protests they did in Germany and which closed down nuclear power stations. The Ukrainians invited Grrenpeace likely to amplify the concerns. It was likely another propaganda attempt, as opposed to actual research.

Re: Radiation Spikes at Chernobyl

#78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of the Russian soldiers come from regions without widespread indoor plumbing, to put some perspective to how backward and disconnected some people are.

Don't see how a country's infrastructure issues are related to people backwardeness. The same people who use outhouses probably also have smartphones. It's like saying people who live in remote Canadian villages without road access are backward.

Do you think the average person in Nunavut knows about Chernobyl? I’m somewhat skeptical but I spend time out there once in a while, I’ll have to ask.

Re: Radiation Spikes at Chernobyl

#79
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You underestimate Russia's induced ignorance about Chernobyl. Most of these 20-year-olds were from remote, shit-poor areas of Russia, and even if they went to school of some sort, it didn't matter much. You think those textbooks mentioned the incident? No. To this day, Chernobyl is a pain point for Russia - f--k knows why because it didn't even happen there . When HBO's Chernobyl came out, Moscow went into a full-blo…

Do you know the name of the show, I’d like to watch it

[deleted]

Re: Radiation Spikes at Chernobyl

#80
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, but if would also be self-sabotaging. Their emergency services are stretched thin. And the population does not believe that the government can deal with a nuclear threat. It can cause a panic among population, within and outside of Ukraine and the sentiment might be hard to control.

Obviously we are not privy to all relevant information, personalities, bureaucracies, etc etc, to be able to make such a strong claim as “would also be self-sabotaging”. A more reasonable claim, may I offer, would be something like “that may turn out to be…”

I am 100% certain, that fall out from a panic from a nuclear threat is as unpredictable as stock market. Surely there may be enough idiots in any government who might think that they have a grip on public opinion strong enough to direct it.
Post reply on HN