The Elephants Foot
A large mass of corium formed from the meltdown of the reactor core was nicknamed “The Elephant’s Foot” due to its unusual shape. At the time of the meltdown, the molten mixture was so hot it burned through the steel and concrete of the reactor before settling and cooling in the basement of the facility. It wasn’t discovered until December 1986, months after the meltdown. At the time of discovery, radioactivity near the Elephant’s Foot was approximately 8,000 roentgens, which would deliver a lethal dose of radiation within 5 minutes to a human standing next to it. The picture shown below was taken by Artur Korneyev, a radiation specialist tasked with investigating the meltdown. The photo was taken in 1996, 10 years after the meltdown, and the radiation was still strong enough to distort the film used for the photo.
