Digital Archive
International History Declassified
digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org
April 26, 1986
Urgent Report, Accident at Chernobyl Atomic Power
Station
Citation:
“Urgent Report, Accident at Chernobyl Atomic Power Station,” April 26, 1986, History and Public
Policy Program Digital Archive, Volkogonov Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.
Translated for NPIHP by Gary Goldberg.
http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/115341
Summary:
The Soviet Minister of Power and Electrification reports on an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl
Atomic Power Station in Ukraine. The Soviet Ministry of Heath has determined that "it is not required
to take special measures, including the evacuation of the population from the city."
Credits:
This document was made possible with support from the Leon Levy Foundation and Carnegie
Corporation.
Original Language:
Russian
Contents:
English Translation
Scan of Original Document
[handwritten]: Gorbachev
Secret
Copy Nº [left blank]
[two illegible addressees handwritten across
the top left-hand part of the page]
[to the] CPSU CC
[Letterhead of the USSR First Deputy
Minister of Power and Electrification]
26 April 1986 Nº 1789-2s
[faded CPSU CC
General Department stamp]
Concerning the accident at unit Nº 4
of the Chernobyl AEhS [Atomic Power Station]
URGENT REPORT
At 0121 26 April 1986 while taking power unit Nº 4 of the Chernobyl AEhS out of operation for
scheduled repair an explosion occurred in the upper part of the reactor chamber after the reactor
shut down.
According to reports from the director of the Chernobyl AEhS the roof and parts of the wall panels
of the reactor compartment, several roof panels of the machine room and of the auxiliary systems
unit of the reactor compartment were demolished during the explosion and the roofing caught on
fire.
The fire was extinguished at 0330.
The personnel of the AEhS are taking steps to cool the fuel core of the reactor.
In the opinion of the 3 rd Main Directorate of the USSR Ministry of Health it is not required to take
special measures, including the evacuation of the population from the city.
Nine of the operations personnel and 25 of the militarized firefighters have been hospitalized.
Steps are being taken to eliminate the consequences and investigate what happened.
[signature]
A. N. Makukhin
[handwritten at the bottom:]
to the archive
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