Emily Chan
When a reactor at the Chernobyl power plant in Pripyat, Ukraine, exploded in 1986, over 50 tons of toxic radioactive material was released into the air. The effects of the nuclear disaster could be felt all the way in France. For 10 days, the radioactive material continued to waft out of the plant.
Months later, investigators decided it was time to explore the site. There, they discovered that a hot, lava-like blob of chemicals had burned its way down into the plant’s basement, where it had hardened into a solid mass.
From then on, the mass was called the “Elephant’s Foot” because of its color and shape. It contains a mix of corium, uranium, and other radioactive materials. To this day, the Elephant’s Foot still radiates high levels of radiation.
The explosion occurred during a safety test. The uranium core of reactor four of the plant overheated, reaching a temperature of more than 2,912 degrees Fahrenheit. The extreme heat caused a chain of nuclear reactions, leading to an explosion that destroyed all 1,660 of the reactor’s pressure tubes.
That resulted in a second explosion, exposing the radioactive core of the reactor. Hundreds of workers at the power plant were killed after being exposed to the radiation.
Many even sacrificed their own lives to contain the explosion. Others fell ill with terminal diseases like cancer, and millions of people who lived near the blast were left with health issues.
Even now, researchers are still studying the aftereffects of the Chernobyl explosion and how the Elephant’s Foot formed. When the reactor was blasted apart, a combination of heat, steam, and molten nuclear fuel gushed out through the concrete floor to the basement.
Eventually, it solidified and became known as the Elephant’s Foot. At the time it was discovered, the structure was radioactive and searing hot.
When it was first measured, it released almost 10,000 roentgens per hour, which meant that an hour’s exposure equated to four and a half million chest X-rays. A mere thirty seconds of exposure would have caused fatigue and dizziness, and more than five minutes would lead to death.
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