The immediate response to the disaster was marred by confusion and delay. The severity of the accident was not immediately realized, and it took several days for the true extent of the disaster to become clear. The nearby city of Pripyat, home to over 49,000 people and just three kilometers from the plant, was evacuated within 36 hours, but many were exposed to high levels of radiation before they were aware of the danger. Firefighters and liquidators were called in to extinguish fires and contain the damage, often without adequate protective gear, leading to severe radiation exposure for many.
Unlike the frantic disaster management of the first three episodes, Episode 4 focuses on the harrowing cleanup efforts. It tells the story of the "Bio-Robots" —human liquidators who were sent to the roof of the destroyed reactor to shovel highly radioactive graphite back into the core because the robots available were failing due to radiation. chernobyls01e04720pblurayx264hdhub4umkv