Summary

Chapter Nineteen, “The Elephant’s Foot,” follows the team of scientists exploring the ruins of unit four to determine what was left inside the Sarcophagus, and whether it could still meltdown. Just like the liquidators, they tried to use robots at first, but they kept breaking down. Instead, they sent in scientists and technicians armed with respirators, plastic suits, dosimeters, and speed. They discovered the Elephant’s Foot, a giant mass of solidified radioactive material, and several other similar formations, but they could not find the fuel that should have remained in the reactor. They also found very little of the material that helicopters had dropped in an attempt to smother the flames, determining that most of it had missed its target. Most importantly, they found that the Sarcophagus was not as air-tight has it had originally been billed as, and...