Now Playing
Poisoned on Paper: How the Soviet State Lied to the Liquidators
Audio is available on Spreaker — see link below.
Between 1986 and 1990, up to 800,000 liquidators were sent into Chernobyl's contaminated zone — many conscripted under the guise of routine military training, nearly all given falsified dosimeter readings. This episode dismantles the myth of the willing volunteer and exposes the bureaucratic machinery that kept men in the zone long after their bodies said stop.
Audio is available on Spreaker — see link below.
Here's what nobody has ever been able to settle cleanly about Chernobyl's cleanup. Hundreds of thousands of men were sent into one of the most contaminated environments in human history, and to this day, no one can say with confidence whether they went by choice.
Chapter summary auto-generated from the verified script. Listen to the full episode for the complete content.