On 1 March 1984, slightly more than two years before the April 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion that rocked the globe, Soviet intelligence agents provided information to the Ukrainian KGB regarding the alarming condition of the power plant – in particular, load-bearing structures (girders and concrete slabs) at three different locations of reactor No. 3 were in danger of collapse, dangerously shifting due, in part, to the overheating of the room housing the massive steam separating drums. The temperatures in these rooms were consistently maintained at 270° C, per manufacturing specifications, but contrary of standards for thermal insulation protection of 90° C, the temperature in the Chernobyl reactor’s inner walls was recorded in excess of 160° C, at which the concrete would critically degrade.
Almost as a casual aside, the author of the report noted that the same failures were beginning to take place in reactor No. 4, which happens to be the reactor that exploded in 1986, setting off the entire Chernobyl catastrophe.
The report was written by Lieutenant Colonel Yu.V. Nikolayev, Chief of the Pripyat Ukrainian KGB branch of the UkSSR for Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, and was addressed to General Lieutenant M.Z. Banduristyy, the Chief of the KGB Directorate of the Ukrainian SSR for Kyiv and the Kyiv Oblast.
The following is the translation of the original two-page report.
1 March 1984
Secret
To the Chief of the KGB Directorate of the Ukrainian SSR for Kyiv and the Kyiv Oblast
General Lieutenant comrade M.Z. BANDURISTYY
Concerning the critical situation in the 3rd and 4th reactors of the Chernobyl nuclear power station
According to available intelligence information received from agent “Yury,” rezident “Azis,” trusted agent “F.V.I.” and formal avenues, we have learned at the 35.5-, 39-, and 43-meter marks of the 3rd reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power station, load-bearing and cladding structure (enclosure panel) failures are occurring in the reactor building spaces – specifically, cracks in the floor slab, shifting of girders and floor slabs, movement of reinforced ceramic and concrete cladding panels.
Taking into account that the girders are load-bearing structures which take on the load from the floor slabs and the equipment mounted thereon, which includes the steam separating drums, the situation that has been created presents a grave danger for the housing of the 3rd reactor.
We enlightened the Chernobyl nuclear power plant administration and Construction Directorate on the issue, after which a designated department commission of Chernobyl plant specialists and a working design group from the S.Ya. Zhuk Survey and Research Institute “Gidroproyekt” noted that in fact, there is a gradual breakdown occurring in the girders. Shearing in the protective layer of the girders has reached 5 mm deep, up to 200 mm high, across its entire length. In some spots, they have identified separations of the protective layer of the girders of up to 50 mm, at an area of 400×400 mm. The reinforced ceramic and concrete cladding panels have moved 30 mm from their axis. Observations made by committee members indicate that over the past 2-3 months, the floor slabs continue to separate away from the girders.
A preliminary analysis allows us to believe that the cause of this is a significant overheating of the walls of the steam separating drums because of the ineffective performance of the thermal insulation (mineral wool plating), which breaks down when exposed to high temperatures and persistent radiation.
According to the manufacturing specifications for the operation of a similar nuclear power plant, in the steam separating drum location, the temperature is constantly maintained at approximately 270° C, and the inner surfaces of the walls of the reinforced concrete structures that use thermal insulation protection must be at a temperature of no greater than 90° C. However, at present the temperature on the surfaces of these walls is recorded at greater than 160° C, at which point concrete disintegrates.
Currently, in order to prevent the breakdown and collapse of the cladding, the Chernobyl plant administration, by agreement with “Gidroproyekt,” temporary steps have been taken to fortify the load-bearing structures, but this does not solve the problem that has been encountered.
We also report, for your information, that the same situation is developing in the 4th Chernobyl reactor.
With all of this in mind, we feel it is advisable that this information be relayed through higher headquarters and competent specialists in order to identify the true causes of the breakdown of the load-bearing and cladding structures, and to eliminate these problems, which can lead to serious emergency situations.
Chief of the Pripyat Ukrainian KGB branch of the UkSSR for Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast Lieutenant Colonel Yu.V. Nikolayev
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