象脚 (车诺比)

51°23′21″N 30°05′54″E / 51.3892°N 30.09833°E / 51.3892; 30.09833

由阿图尔·科尔涅耶夫(Artur Korneyev)在1996年拍下的象脚

象脚”(英语:Elephant's Foot乌克兰语Слонова нога罗马化Slonova noha;俄语:Слоновья нога)是给予在1986年4月的车诺比核灾期间,于乌克兰普里皮亚季附近的车诺比核电厂地底下形成的大质量高放射性堆芯熔融物英语corium (nuclear reactor)的绰号。它的确切位置为在四号反应堆残骸附近的维修走廊内,并于1986年4月遭人发现。尽管其极高的放射性已因衰变而随著时间的推移降低,但还是非常危险,因此象脚目前仍存且未被移除[1][2]

起源

编辑

象脚是一团黑色的多层堆芯熔融物英语corium (nuclear reactor),皱巴巴、像树皮和玻璃一样的表面容易让人联想大象的脚,因而得名。它在1986年4月的车诺比核灾期间生成,并在同年12月被人发现。象脚是车诺比核电厂四号反应堆下方更大质量物质的一小部分,并位于废弃反应堆东南方15米(49英尺)处,距地面6米(20英尺)的第217/2室[3][4]。构成象脚的物质烧穿了至少2米(6.6英尺)厚的钢筋混凝土,然后流过管道和裂缝,沿著走廊到达现在的位置[4]

构造

编辑

象脚的主要成分为二氧化矽,还带有微量的石墨[1][2][5][6]。尽管解聚英语Depolymerization过后的矽酸盐玻璃偶尔会含有锆石晶粒,但它的质量基本上仍是平均的[7]。这些锆石颗粒并没有被拉长,证明结晶的速度正常。当二氧化铀树枝石英语Dendrite (crystal)因身处在岩浆的高温之内而快速生成时,锆石也在岩浆慢慢冷却的期间开始结晶。象脚的含铀粒子虽分布得不甚均匀,其放射性质量却分布得十分均匀[7]。它的密度极大,且不能被安装在遥控手推车上的钻头凿穿,但AK-47所发射的穿甲弹却可造成损坏[1][2][4]。到了1998年6月,象脚的外层出现龟裂的情况,并开始产生粉尘[7]。23年(2021)后,它的硬度据说已与沙子无异[8]

杀伤性

编辑

在象脚形成八个月后被发现时,其周边的放射性高达约8,000–10,000伦琴[9],或每小时80–100戈雷[2],且能够在五分钟内发出造成50只试验动物全数死亡的致死量辐射(4.5戈雷)[2][10]。从那时起直到1996年,它的辐射强度已经下降到足以让新安全围堵体计划英语Chernobyl New Safe Confinement的副主任阿图尔·科尔涅耶夫(Artur Korneyev)入内调查的程度[a],他还用自动照相机拍照,由于环境昏暗的关系,还用了闪光灯照亮整个房间[11]

参见

编辑

注释与参考资料

编辑

注释

编辑
  1. ^ 科尔涅耶夫在2014年退休前于乌克兰斯拉武季奇接受《纽约时报》记者亨利·枫丹(Henry Fountain)的访问:Fountain, Henry; Daniels, William. Chernobyl: Capping a Catastrophe . The New York Times. 27 April 2014 [21 March 2019]. (原始内容存档于2019-06-14). 

参考资料

编辑
  1. ^ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Higginbotham, Adam. Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster. Random House. 2019: 340. ISBN 9781473540828. The substance proved too hard for a drill mounted on a motorized trolley, ... Finally, a police marksman arrived and shot a fragment of the surface away with a rifle. The sample revealed that the Elephant's Foot was a solidified mass of silicon dioxide, titanium, zirconium, magnesium, and uranium ... 
  2. ^ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 United States Foreign Broadcast Information Service (编). Daily Report: Soviet Union. No. 235–239. The Service: 133. 1989. The radiation level near it was approximately 8,000 roentgens per hour in 1986. Even five minutes spent near the “foot” would have killed a man ... the substance failed to yield to a drill mounted on a special remote-controlled truck ... A skilled marksman ... fired armor-piercing bullets into it ... Analysis of the fragments obtained in this way showed that they consisted of 70–90% silicon dioxide (fused sand), 2–10% fuel particles, and, in addition, contained graphite (hence the black color), metal alloys, and so on ... 
  3. ^ Hill, Kyle. Chernobyl's Hot Mess, 'the Elephant's Foot', Is Still Lethal. Nautilus. 4 December 2013 [8 November 2018]. ISSN 2372-1766. (原始内容存档于2018-11-15). 
  4. ^ 4.0 4.1 4.2 R. F. Mould. Chernobyl Record: The Definitive History of the Chernobyl Catastrophe. CRC Press. 2000: 130. ISBN 9781420034622. 
  5. ^ Jaromir Kolejka (编). Role of GIS in Lifting the Cloud Off Chernobyl. NATO Science: Earth and environmental sciences 10 illustrated. Springer Science & Business Media. 2002: 72. ISBN 9781402007682. 
  6. ^ Ann Larabee. Decade of Disaster illustrated. University of Illinois Press. 2000: 50. ISBN 9780252068201. 
  7. ^ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Vlasova, Irina; Shiryaev, Andrey; Ogorodnikov, Boris; Burakov, Boris; Dolgopolova, Ekaterina; Senin, Roman; Averin, Alexey; Zubavichus, Yan; Kalmykov, Stepan. Radioactivity distribution in fuel-containing materials (Chernobyl "lava") and aerosols from the Chernobyl "Shelter". Radiation Measurements. 2015, 83: 20–25. Bibcode:2015RadM...83...20V. ISSN 1350-4487. doi:10.1016/j.radmeas.2015.06.005. 
  8. ^ Stone, Richard. 'It's like the embers in a barbecue pit.' Nuclear reactions are smoldering again at Chernobyl. Science. 5 May 2021 [12 May 2021]. (原始内容存档于2021-05-12). 
  9. ^ The Elephant's Foot of the Chernobyl disaster, 1986 - Rare Historical Photos. Rare Historical Photos. 2014-07-02 [2022-04-29]. (原始内容存档于2019-05-30) (美国英语). 
  10. ^ Lethal Dose (LD). US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 21 March 2019 [21 March 2019]. (原始内容存档于2019-07-13). 
  11. ^ Goldenberg, Daniel. The Famous Photo of Chernobyl's Most Dangerous Radioactive Material Was a Selfie. Atlas Obscura. 24 January 2016 [21 March 2019]. (原始内容存档于2016-01-26).