Heavy Water

True Stories • Season 2009 • Episode 18

About this episode

On 26 April 1986, reactor four at Chernobyl nuclear power station exploded, sending an enormous radioactive cloud over northern Ukraine and neighbouring Belarus. The danger was kept a secret from the rest of the world and the nearby population went about their business as usual. May Day celebrations began, children played and the residents of Pripyat marvelled at the spectacular fire raging at the reactor. But after three days, an area the size of England was contaminated with radioactive dust, creating a 'zone' of poisoned land. Based on Mario Petrucci's award-winning poem, this is the story of the people who dealt with the disaster at ground-level: the fire-fighters, soldiers, 'liquidators', and their families. The poetry is read by David Bickerstaff, Francine Brody, Juliet Stevenson, David Threlfall and Samuel West.