Submitted by Henricus_3141 t3_y0leo2 in askscience
jammerjoint t1_irtkx9k wrote
Reply to comment by Light_bulbnz in How did they fix the RMBK reactors? by Henricus_3141
In addition, added political pressure to brute force results despite running into problems.
Light_bulbnz t1_irtsyv0 wrote
Well, this particular test was supposed to have been done before Unit 4 came online in late December 1983. But the unit was signed off as complete without the test being run in order to meet the end of year deadline. The planned shutdown in 1986 was the first real opportunity to take the unit offline to run the test as they had ~3 year cycles between maintenance shutdowns.
In normal operating situations the accident should never had happened, but given the culture and pressures at the time, it really was inevitable.
Bensemus t1_isn8rn0 wrote
They had tried to run the test a few times but it failed. It failed for the las time because they couldn’t fully shut down the reactor due to power needs and had to push the test to the next shift when power needs were less. It wasn’t about taking the reactor offline for maintenance.
Light_bulbnz t1_isn9p07 wrote
The reason why the test was scheduled for this time was because they were taking the reactor offline for maintenance. It was delayed for hours due to the power needs of Kyiv.
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