“On April 28th, helicopters dumped 300 tons of sand into the reactor. On the 29th: 750 tons; on the 30th: 1,500 tons; on May 1st, May Day, a popular annual holiday in the Soviet Union: 1,900. In total, around 5,000 tons of materials fell into the reactor. By the evening of the 1st, the daily number was ordered to be halved, as there was a growing fear that the foundations wouldn’t hold under the strain of so much additional weight.193.”

“On April 28th, helicopters dumped 300 tons of sand into the reactor. On the 29th: 750 tons; on the 30th: 1,500 tons; on May 1st, May Day, a popular annual holiday in the Soviet Union: 1,900. In total, around 5,000 tons of materials fell into the reactor. By the evening of the 1st, the daily number was ordered to be halved, as there was a growing fear that the foundations wouldn’t hold under the strain of so much additional weight.193.”

— Andrew Leatherbarrow