NOTEBOOK 8
3c. Write a two-page flash fiction story about at least two characters affected by your real world social
justice issue. While the characters should be fictional, the conditions that they face/experiences that they
have should be based on the facts surrounding the issue.
Nuclear power in America has had its hiccups, but outside of the U.S has seen much worse. The
Chernobyl Incident, and Fukushima disaster have been major events in the history of Nuclear
power. Both have created long term problems for the people and the regions that they occur in.
On April 25 1986, 24-year-old Pokemon clocked in as usual for the night shift at the Chernobyl
power plant in northern Ukraine. It was a beautiful evening, particularly warm and clear, and
Pokeman, an engineer-mechanic, and his workmates were full of their plans for the upcoming
holidays. At home, his wife, Pokewoman, was still up with their fretful two-year-old,
Charmander.
On that fateful night, the water pumps in the newly commissioned nuclear reactor were being
safety-tested. As the clock ticked past
midnight, an argument was raging about the
right power level at which to start the test.
But what no one knew, thanks to years of error
and cover up, was that there was a fatal flaw in
the reactor design that made it unstable at low
power levels. As power levels were lowered in
preparation for the test, they dropped too low and
the reactor grounded to a halt. Meanwhile, unseen,
a dangerous hot spot was building deep in the
reactor.
Pokeman, now 42, recalls what happened that terrible night 18 years ago. "There was a heavy
thud," he says. "A couple of seconds later, I felt a wave come through the room. The thick
concrete walls were bent like rubber. I thought war had broken out. We started to look for
Requaza (his colleague) but he had been by the pumps and had been vaporised. Steam wrapped
around everything; it was dark and there was a horrible hissing noise. There was no ceiling, only
sky; a sky full of stars." A stream of ionizing radiation was shooting starwards, like a laser beam.
"I remember thinking how beautiful it was."
Pokeman went with a party of men to view the
damaged reactor hall. He stayed outside, propping
the heavy reactor hall door open with his
shoulder. The three men who went in all died
within two weeks. "You don't feel anything at the
time," he explains. "We had no idea there was so
much radiation. We met a guy with a dose meter
and the needle went off the dial. But even then,
we were still only thinking 'Rats, this
means the end of our careers in the nuclear industry. We all thought, we've been exposed now,
this has happened on our watch' and set about doing what we could. After about an hour, I
started to vomit uncontrollably. My throat was very sore."
Pokeman was then shipped off to Moscow. No one told Pokewoman where he was. A rule of
thumb is that vomiting that starts within half an hour of irradiation indicates a fatal dose. Of
those transported with him, five died. Those who died quickly were lucky. It is a truly horrible
way to die, burnt from within and
without.
Pokeman spent a year in the hospital
and a further two in rehab. He attributes
his survival to his treatment in Moscow
- and those muscles. He doesn't know
whether he is infertile, although
this is highly likely, but in any case, was
advised not to have another child because
of the risk that they, or their children,
would develop Leukemia.
Pokeman considers himself lucky, especially compared with those whose extraordinary heroism
finally brought the incident under control. Pokeman has a generous pension; they had nothing.
And asked what he now thinks of the future of civil nuclear power, his answer is surprising. "If
one learns the lessons and keeps safety as the number-one priority in all developments, then it is
safe."