“[Polissya hotel, Pripyat: Helicopters dropping sand and boron to extinguish the fire in the Chernobyl plant]

Shcherbina: It's been smooth. Twenty drops. [notices Legasov's expression] What?

Legasov: There are fifty thousand people in this city.

Shcherbina: Professor Ilyin, who's also on the commission, says the radiation isn't high enough to evacuate.

Legasov: Ilyin isn't a physicist.

Shcherbina: Well, he's a medical doctor. If he says it's safe, it's safe.

Legasov: Not if they stay here.

Shcherbina: We're staying here.

Legasov: [impatiently] Yes, we are, and we'll be dead in five years! [Shcherbina looks shocked] I'm sorry, I'm... I'm sorry.

Shcherbina: [sits in stunned silence as the phone starts to ring; after several seconds, he answers it] Shcherbina. [listens] Thank you. [hangs up] A nuclear plant in Sweden has detected radiation and identified it as a byproduct of our fuel. The Americans took satellite photos. The reactor building, the smoke, the fire. The whole world knows. The wind has been blowing toward Germany. They're not letting children play outside... in Frankfurt. [glances outside at the children playing]”