The results of a nuclear incident in Czechoslovakia

A photo of the Jaslovske Bohunice Power Plant - Slovakia

The results of a nuclear incident in Czechoslovakia

I don’t think there’s anyone who hasn’t heard of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe. The recent Sky drama reanimated people’s memories of those days. Few are aware there almost was a Czechoslovak Chernobyl in Bohunice.

The power station

Czechoslovakia’s first nuclear power plant is in Bohunice, about an hour north of Bratislava, which is now the capital of Slovakia. It was a symbol of faith in Soviet technology and the sort of progress that communism provided1.

It would be unfair to label Soviet technology as all wrong, especially given what they did with the church in Most. Blind trust was – and still is – dangerous.

A photo of the power station complex - Bohunice, Slovakia
The power station complex – Bohunice, Slovakia

The state approved plans for construction in 1958 and the plant was operational from 1972 till 19772. The power company commissioned it on 25 December 19723. This was a Soviet A-1 type heavy water reactor4 5. It had a single reactor with 150 MW of capacity6, based on 3 x 50 MW turbines7.

So what was the disaster that few know about?

The event

On 05 January 19768, workers at the power plant were replacing the fuel rods in Reactor #19. All of a sudden, one of the four-and-a-half ton rods shot into the air10. It hit a crane and smashed into pieces11. Carbon dioxide gas filled the room to cool it down. The explosion had forced open a shaft, letting in fresh air and neutering the cooling effect12.

As a result, poisonous radioactivity leaked into the countryside13.

Milan Antolik, a technician who was there recalls, “The noise was incredible. It was so loud – a ship’s siren was nothing compared to this. The whole building started shaking and there was just this incredible cacophony of sound.“14

If the shaft wasn’t closed in 30 minutes, it would have been impossible to cool the dangerous reactor down15. Without cooling, the zirconium fuel rods would melt.

This would have been far, far worse than the Chernobyl disaster.

A photo of the Jaslovske Bohunice Power Plant - Slovakia
The cooling towers of the Jaslovske Bohunice Power Plant – Slovakia

The radiation levels were so high, their devices couldn’t record it16. The level was higher than any device could measure.

Antolik and a colleague, Viliam Pačes, put on their radiation suits and got to work clearing the smashed fuel rod so the shaft could be closed17. They worked as fast as they could, but 2 other men still died from carbon dioxide suffocation18 trying to wrestle control back from the out of control reactor19.

Reaction

The Communist regime hushed the whole incident up20.

The police opened an investigation to look for saboteurs21. The authorities were so convinced about Soviet quality, they felt there must have been a saboteur because it couldn’t have been a fault.

In 1977, a second accident – a fuel meltdown – occurred22 23. On 22 February 1977, the authorities decided to shut the dangerous A-1 power plant down24. The Soviet V-1 and V-2 plants on the same site were not shut down.

In 1987 – 11 years later – Czechoslovakia awarded Antolik and Pačes with a Soviet-era award for services to construction25. As then-prime minister Štrougal gave them the award he was sweating, shaking and couldn’t speak26. Milan Antolík later chuckled with Právo newspaper, “I think he was worried I was still radioactive.”27

On 10 October 1990, readings in the nearby Dudvah riverbed showed an average of 200 Becquerel/kg plutonium-23928.

For comparison, safe levels are 10 Becquerel/kg29.

The Dudvah feeds the Danube river.

In 1991, the public started receiving information about these shocking incidents30. At the time, spent fuel was still inside the reactor core and could not be removed31.

Readings of radioactivity in the Slovakian countryside in 1991 showed the following32:

Readings
(Becquerel/litre trittium)		Safe levels
Ground water24 000 7 000
Water near the storage tanks11 000 0007 000
Radioactivity readings around the Bohunice power plant

In 2007, details of the incident became public33. Antolík and Pačes were given state honours for bravery by the then Slovak president34. (There’s no mention of whether he too was shaking and sweating.)

In the early 21st century, Westinghouse won a contract to dismantle the V-1s and upgrade the V-2s to extend their lifespan to 204535. On 01 October 2018, the Bohunice skyline changed when the 120-metre high V-1 cooling towers were demolished for good36.

References

  1. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  2. The project of the A-1 NPP decommissioning; EnergyWeb.CZ; (Retrieved 2020-06-15) [↩]
  3. THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF REACTOR ACCIDENT IN A-1 NUCLEAR POWER PLANT JASLOVSKE BOHUNICE; Jozef Kuruc, Ľubomír Mátel; Comenius University; 2007[↩]
  4. The project of the A-1 NPP decommissioning; EnergyWeb.CZ; (Retrieved 2020-06-15) [↩]
  5. Czechoslovakia: 1977 meltdown; Gabriel Gulis; Nuclear Monitor; 1991-01-18[↩]
  6. Czechoslovakia: 1977 meltdown; Gabriel Gulis; Nuclear Monitor; 1991-01-18[↩]
  7. The project of the A-1 NPP decommissioning; EnergyWeb.CZ; (Retrieved 2020-06-15) [↩]
  8. THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF REACTOR ACCIDENT IN A-1 NUCLEAR POWER PLANT JASLOVSKE BOHUNICE; Jozef Kuruc, Ľubomír Mátel; Comenius University; 2007[↩]
  9. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  10. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  11. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  12. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  13. Czechoslovakia: 1977 meltdown; Gabriel Gulis; Nuclear Monitor; 1991-01-18[↩]
  14. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  15. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  16. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  17. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  18. THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF REACTOR ACCIDENT IN A-1 NUCLEAR POWER PLANT JASLOVSKE BOHUNICE; Jozef Kuruc, Ľubomír Mátel; Comenius University; 2007[↩]
  19. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  20. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  21. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  22. The project of the A-1 NPP decommissioning; EnergyWeb.CZ; (Retrieved 2020-06-15) [↩]
  23. Czechoslovakia: 1977 meltdown; Gabriel Gulis; Nuclear Monitor; 1991-01-18[↩]
  24. The project of the A-1 NPP decommissioning; EnergyWeb.CZ; (Retrieved 2020-06-15) [↩]
  25. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  26. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  27. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  28. Czechoslovakia: 1977 meltdown; Gabriel Gulis; Nuclear Monitor; 1991-01-18[↩]
  29. Food Safety after Nuclear Accidents: – a Nordic model for national response; Nordic Council of Ministers; 1992[↩]
  30. Czechoslovakia: 1977 meltdown; Gabriel Gulis; Nuclear Monitor; 1991-01-18[↩]
  31. Czechoslovakia: 1977 meltdown; Gabriel Gulis; Nuclear Monitor; 1991-01-18[↩]
  32. Czechoslovakia: 1977 meltdown; Gabriel Gulis; Nuclear Monitor; 1991-01-18[↩]
  33. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  34. Europe’s narrow escape from “Czechoslovak Chernobyl”; Rob Cameron; Radio Prague International; 2008-07-01[↩]
  35. Westinghouse signs Bohunice V1 dismantling contract; World Nuclear News; 2017-09-28[↩]
  36. Skyline of Bohunice nuclear power plant has changed; Slovak Spectator; 2018-10-02[↩]
Remember: links were correct at time of publication.

Would you like to receive more of this kind of content by email? Fill in your details and we'll keep you up to date!