Chernobyl

Who ran the control room that night? (ep 1)

Anatoly Dyatlov

What was his punishment? (ep 1)

10 years hard labor in prison

What is the last action of the man making the recording? (ep 1)

He commits suicide

What is the setting of the film? How long before the last scene has it flashed back? (ep 1)

Pripyat, Ukraine, 1986 - 2 years before the opening scene

What is "the only thing that matters" according to Dyatlov? (ep 1)

Keep water flowing through the core

What has happened to the core, according to the panicked man? (ep 1)

It exploded

What do the firefighters initially think is burning at the power plant? (ep 1)

The roof

How far in are the control rods, according to the control room operators? (ep 1)

A third

What is the low level dosimeter reading? Why isn't that likely to be the real amount of radiation? (ep 1)

3.6 roentgen - It's an inaccurate number because it's the highest level that the low level dosimeter reads

What do the firefighters taste in the air? (ep 1)

Metal

Why are the two men going to the reactor building? (ep 1)

To lower the control rods

What does Anatoly Dyatlov refuse to believe? (ep 1)

That the core has exploded

What does the nurse ask for, and what is the response from the doctor? (ep 1)

The nurse wants to get iodine pills, and the doctor asks why the hell he would have iodine pills

What does Dyatlov report to his superiors (Viktor Bryukhanov and Nikolai Fomin) is the cause of the accident? (ep 1)

The control system tank caught fire

What do the onlookers see when they look at the power plant fire? (ep 1)

A solid beam of bright, colorful light shining from the explosion site

What does Akimov tell Boris needs to be done to avoid a core meltdown? (ep 1)

What falls from the sky upon the onlookers? (ep 1)

Ash

What is decided by Zharkov (the old man with the cane) about the response to the town? (ep 1)

The city should be sealed off and the people told nothing; Nobody leaves

What happens to the dosimeter from the safe? (ep 1)

It burned out the second it was turned on

What is the reading of the second dosimeter? (ep 1)

It maxed out at 200 roentgen

What does the "graphite on the ground" outside building 4 indicate? (ep 1)

The core exploded - It's the only place in the facility where graphite is found

Dyatlov decides to go to the roof to look at reactor 4. Why doesn't he end up going? (ep 1)

He vomits and passes out from radiation poisoning

What is Valery Legasov an expert in? (ep 1)

RBMK reactors

What is Valery Legasov's role in the committee that is managing the accident? (ep 1)

Answer questions about RBMK reactors if they come up

What has happened to the forest downwind of the fire? (ep 1)

It was turned yellow and red due to radiation

What do the two scientists in Minsk discover when they open a window? (ep 2)

Their high level dosimeter is blaring an alarm

What "medicine" do they take? (ep 2)

Iodine pills

What happens when they call the Chernobyl nuclear power station? (ep 2)

There is no answer

What is done with the firefighters' uniforms at the hospital and why? (ep 2)

They're disposed of in the basement because they've been contaminated by radiation

Why does Legasov refuse to end the meeting? (ep 2)

Nobody else knows that there is graphite on the ground (that the core has exploded)

Give a brief description of the analogy that Legasov uses for radiation from the reactor. (ep 2)

Radioactivity is like bullets

What does graphite do in an RBMK reactor? (ep 2)

It slows down the uranium atoms so they can react with each other

Where are the firefighters being taken? (ep 2)

Hospital 6

How does taking iodine protect a person's thyroid gland from cancer? (ep 2)

Stable iodine prevents the thyroid gland from absorbing radioactive iodine

What is the reading on the high level dosimeter that is driven to the plant on the truck? (ep 2)

15,000 roentgen

What does Legasov suggest for covering the reactor? (ep 2)

Sand and Boron

What happens to the first helicopter to fly over the core? (ep 2)

Its wings collapse and it crumbles to the ground

Legasov talks about the need to evacuate the city. How long does he predict Boris and he have to live? (ep 2)

5 years

How does the whole world now know of the accident? (ep 2)

The Americans took satellite photos of the reactor building after a plant in Sweden identified radiation as a Chernobyl bi product

What are all the buses for? (ep 2)

The evacuation of Pripyat

What is the problem with the sand and Boron solution? (ep 2)

Smothering the core will cause the temperature to increase, which will lead to a meltdown in 2 days - Furthermore, it will cause the tanks, which are full of water, to explode

What is the solution to this problem? (ep 2)

Opening a sluice gate will allow the water to drain from the tanks

What happens to the 3 "divers" as the episode ends? (ep 2)

The radiation becomes so intense that their flashlights stop working

Are the men successful in opening the sluice gate valve? (ep 3)

Yes

What are the conditions under which Ludymilla can see her husband Vasily? (ep 3)

She can't touch him, she can't be pregnant, and she can only stay for 30 minutes

Why does Legasov think the 30 kilometer evacuation zone is too small? (ep 3)

Radioactive emissions have been found as far as 200 kilometers away

What does the spike in zirconium 95in the air samples tell Legasov about the core? (ep 3)

The core meltdown has begun

What does Boris Shcherbina tell Gorbechev will happen to the water supply for Kiev if the core melts down? (ep 3)

The water supply for 50 million people, along with crops and livestock, will be rendered useless

How much liquid nitrogen is needed to cool the core to keep it from melting through the concrete pad? (ep 3)

All of the liquid nitrogen in the Soviet Union

Describe the effects of radiation exposure on the firefighters that Legasov details. (ep 3)

Their skin will blister and die; There is a latency period when they seem to be recovering; The bone marrow dies, the immune system fails, veins burst open, and they will decompose alive and be dead within 3 days to 3 weeks

Describe the effects of the exposure that Legasov and Boris have received. (ep 3)

Their DNA has been damaged, and they will likely get cancer and die within 5 years

Why did Legasov and Boris have to take a walk? (ep 3)

They're being followed by the KGB and their rooms might be bugged

Why does Ulyana Khomyuk need to go to hospital number 6 in Moscow so quickly? (ep 3)

She needs to interview the plant employees to find out what happened the night of the explosion, before they die

What must the miners do and why? (ep 3)

They need to dig under the power plant so a liquid nitrogen heat exchanger can be built under the concrete pad to prevent the radiation soup from getting into the groundwater

Why can't fans be used to ventilate the tunnels? (ep 3)

Radiation dust would get into the air and into the miners' lungs

How old is Leonid Toptunov, the senior engineer at Chernobyl? (ep 3)

25

What news does Ludymilla tell her husband Vasily? (ep 3)

They're going to have a baby

How do the miners cope with the heat in the tunnel? (ep 3)

They get nakey

When did the explosion occur, according to Toptunov and Akimov? (ep 3)

After Akimov pressed AZ-5

What happens to Ulyana Khomyuk after she confronts the nurse about allowing Ludymilla into Vasily's room? (ep 3)

She's arrested by the KGB

Describe what must happen to the area immediately surrounding Chernobyl. (ep 3)

The animals must be exterminated, the plants must be ripped up, and the topsoil must be buried

What needs to be built around the power plant? (ep 3)

A containment structure

How many men and how much time will this liquidation take? (ep 3)

3 years and 750,000 men

How many men will die as a result? (ep 3)

Thousands - maybe tens of thousands

What is done with the firefighters' bodies? (ep 3)

They're placed in lead-lined coffins and buried together in concrete

Why does the soldier shoot the cow? (ep 4)

To get the old woman to leave

What has to be done with the graphite on the roof and why? (ep 3)

It must be pushed into the core so it can be safely covered and people can safely build a containment structure around the reactor

Why is this such a difficult job? (ep 4)

The radiation on the roof is so dangerous that people can't go there

How does Legasov suggest the job is to be done? (ep 4)

He suggests using lunar rovers

Where is the "most dangerous place on Earth"? (ep 4)

The third level of the roof - Masha, measuring in at 12,000 roentgen

What war is Bacho a veteran of? (ep 4)

Afghanistan

What is Bacho and Pavel's liquidation job? (ep 4)

Exterminate all animals remaining in the radiation zone surrounding the power plant

What is rule #2 for the animal liquidators? (ep 4)

Don't let an animal suffer

What is "Joker", and what happens to it? (ep 4)

It's a German police robot, and it dies almost immediately when it begins to operate on the roof

Why was the robot never going to work? (ep 4)

The Soviet government gave Germany the propaganda number for the roentgen level (2,000), instead of the actual number (15,000)

What is a "biorobot"? (ep 4)

A human

What is done with the bodies of the animals? (ep 4)

They're dumped in mass graves and covered with concrete

How long do the men have to work on the roof? (ep 4)

90 seconds

What is going to happen to Dyatlov? (ep 4)

He will be put on trial

Why is Legasov going to Vienna? (ep 4)

To speak to the world about what happened at Chernobyl

How did the control rods actually increase reactivity in the reactor? (ep 4)

Their tips are made of graphite - When fully removed and then lowered, the graphite is the first thing into the water, drastically increasing reactivity

Why did the KGB keep this flaw a secret? (ep 4)

They didn't want people doubting or challenging the power of the Soviet Union

How many RBMK reactors are running in the Soviet Union at this point in time? (ep 4)

16

What happens to Vasily's and Ludymilla's newborn daughter? Why? (ep 4)

She dies 4 hours after her birth because she absorbed Vasily's radiation instead of her mother

How many men does it take to clear the roof? (ep 4)

3,828

What is Fomin hoping for after the test is complete? (ep 5)

A promotion

Why is the test delayed? (ep 5)

The power can't be lowered any more for another 10 hours

When are the other reactors supposed to be fixed, according to the head of the KGB? (ep 5)

After the trial is over

Who is invited to observe the trial, acting as a second jury? (ep 5)

Members of the scientific community

Where are Dyatlov, Bryukhanov, and Fomin put on trial? (ep 5)

The City of Chernobyl

What did the accident begin with, according to Shcherbina? (ep 5)

A safety test

What was the goal of the safety test? (ep 5)

In order to sign the document to complete the reactor

What happened the first three times the test was performed? (ep 5)

It failed

What was the 2nd of the 2 problems the delay in the test causes, according to Ulyana Khomyuk? (ep 5)

There was a shift change during this delay, and the second shift had no idea that the test was taking place

What is the poison that was building inside the core due to its low power state? (ep 5)

Xenon

What are the only 2 things that happen inside a nuclear reactor, according to Legasov? (ep 5)

Reactivity either increases or decreases

What factors increase reactivity in a nuclear reactor? (ep 5)

Fissioning Uranium fuel, and steam

What factors decrease reactivity in a nuclear reactor? (ep 5)

Boron control rods, water, xenon, and an increase in temperature

How long have doctors given Boris Shcherbina to live? (ep 5)

A year

How many control rods are there in the reactor? (ep 5)

211