became concerned about the quality of equipment, poor construction, the lack of training of operators and the lack of training simulators. From 1984 to 1985, Legasov with other specialists had reviewed the state of chemistry research in the country and found it to be in a critical state. Under his leadership, a series of drastic reforms of the organization and funding of scientific institutions were drafted. The proposals triggered a significant backlash from the existing scientific leadership. While Legasov attempted to include all the top scientists in the new organization, many objected to Legasov being given a top leadership position, considering him an upstart. Malicious rumors began to be circulated such as the accusation of being an alcoholic, over-ambitious or to blame for the Chernobyl disaster. In the public sphere, he still kept to the official position that nuclear power was safe. In January 1986, Legasov co-authored a propaganda piece in Soviet Life magazine claiming there had been no nuclear accidents that had seriously threatened personnel or risked contamination, which ignored multiple serious nuclear incidents in the Soviet Union. Even before the Chernobyl disaster, Legasov was known to stress the need for new security and safety methods to prevent large catastrophes. He had been involved in work on industrial safely with the GKNT (State Committee for Science and Technology), in which he had explored the risks involved in energy generation. Legasov was particularly concerned with complex systems reliant on a single operator without adequate safety systems. Legasov had the opportunity to visit nuclear power plants in the West, such as the Soviet designed Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant in Finland, and was shocked at the higher safety standards, better equipment, a containment structure and superior construction. Chernobyl disaster Reactor 4 of Chernobyl nuclear plant exploded on 26 April 1986 at 1:23:45 a.m, releasing a massive amount of radiation and contaminating a large area. By that time, Legasov was the first deputy director of the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy. Although not a reactor specialist, he became a key member of the government commission formed to investigate the causes of the disaster and to plan the mitigation of its consequences. Legasov was told he was assigned to a government commission that was looking into the accident. At Vnukovo airport, Legasov met Boris Shcherbina, the head of the government commission dealing with the accident response. When the team reached Pripyat, Legasov was put