Anatoli Bugorski is a Russian scientist who defied all laws of physics and he is miraculously still alive today.
The Grim Reality
Scientists that work with particle accelerators are at constant risk of being exposed to massive amounts of radiation. Fortunately, laboratories that have this type of equipment are put under strict guidelines to ensure the safety of their scientists, but when the perfect storm of mechanical failures occurs, there is no telling what could happen.
The Man in Question
Anatoli Bugorski was a Russian scientist who was working at the Institute for High Energy Physics in 1978. He was working on the U-70 synchrotron particle accelerator, which is still the most powerful particle accelerator in Russia. That day, there Anatoli was searching for malfunctioning pieces of equipment, just when everything went wrong…
Business as Usual
Anatoli discovered a faulty safety feature, something that is a routine fix. Anatoli leaned in fearlessly since he’s performed this simple procedure so many times before. Then, the plexiglass that was separating Anatoli from the laser gave in, and Anatoli fell into the particle accelerator.
Beam Me Up
Anatoli fell, headfirst, into the active particle accelerator. Meanwhile, the scientists were aghast, they were positive that Anatoli would have instantly died due to the sheer power of the laser. Anatoli collapsed, and the scientists rushed to pull him out of the machine. He was unconscious but still breathing. Anatoli was rushed to the hospital, nobody expected him to survive the ambulance ride…
For the Record
To break things down, it takes about 500 rads (unit of measurement for radiation) to kill someone. Death by radiation is one of the most painful ways to go, and people usually die within 5 days of being affected by radiation. Anatoli was exposed to 200,000 rads through his brain. Nobody had ever been exposed to this much radiation, and the doctors were certain that this would kill him.
Au Contraire
Anatoli had clear indications of trauma in the back of his skull, where the laser entered, and on the left side of his face, where the laser exited. The laser exited through Anatoli’s left nostril, his nasal cavity had collapsed, and the entire left side of his face was swollen and burned, but miraculously, he was still living…
The Dead Man Lives
Two days after his exposure to the proton beam, Anatoli woke up. He couldn’t move his body, but he was able to speak. Somehow, he was completely lucid and was able to accurately describe his experience.
What It Felt Like
Anatoli described the feeling as “experiencing the brightness of one thousand suns,” but he said the beam passed through painlessly. The scientists, Anatoli included, predicted that the beam would have just burned a hole completely through his head and kill him instantly. Anatoli became a case study, but the science didn’t seem to match up with the result…
Give Him Some Time
On the third day in the hospital, Anatoli’s skin shed off the side of his face that was affected. The swelling in his cheek went down, and now the path the laser took through his face was physically noticeable. The doctors expected this beam to incinerate his bones, but his skull was completely intact.
The Immediate Effects
The left side of Anatoli’s face became paralyzed, and his left ear went deaf. All of this happened on his third day in the hospital, so the doctors put him on death watch. The doctors 100% expected Anatoli to die within the day, so they set up a team to study his body once he passed, but the man continued to live…
On the Upswing
Miraculously, on the fourth day of hospitalization, Anatoli began to move and function normally, despite the injuries to his face. This gave the doctors the opportunity to study Anatoli much closer. After taking an MRI of Anatoli’s head, the doctors could see a bright line of active radiation spearing through his brain and face. The doctors also reported that the nerves inside his face were still actively burning nearly five days after the incident.
How is He Still Alive?
This case marveled scientists and doctors alike. Generally, people with significant radiation poisoning in less important parts of their body deteriorate very quickly and die. Anatoli, however, appeared to be healing at an extraordinary rate…
One Lucky Son of a Gun
Post observation, the doctors deduced that Anatoli might live a bit longer than they expected. Since Anatoli was struck through the far-left side of his brain, and no critical part of the brain was affected, they expected him to make a full physical recovery.
What Are the Odds?
If the laser struck anywhere but where it did, Anatoli would have, without question, died. If the laser hit any other part of his brain, he would likely have died instantly or been permanently disabled. If the laser struck through his heart, he would have died of a heart attack. It also seemed like the radiation was aiding in his healing process…
The Hospital’s Assessment
After a week in the hospital, Anatoli was making extraordinary progress following an incident that would have killed him had he not been so lucky. On the eighth day of treatment, Anatoli was released back into the public.
The Aftermath
Anatoli occasionally suffered from seizures after the incident, however, they were non-violent and are not damaging. The left side of his face made a complete recovery, and in some ways, he looks better now than he did before...
The Benefits of Radiation Poisoning
The left side of Anatoli’s face was preserved post skin shedding. The radiation that passed through his head acted as a chemical peel. This absolutely should not be replicated at home (obviously), but it worked out for Anatoli.
*Shhhh*
At the time, the Soviet Union did not want to release any information about this event because of the Cold War. Rising tensions against America set the platform for government secrecy, so Anatoli’s incredible story was not released until recently. Fortunately, we have bridged the communication gap, and fortunately for Anatoli, this event helped him stride towards making massive improvements in his life…
Dr. Bugorski
Anatoli decided, post-accident, that he would pursue his doctorate in radiation science. The incident did not impair Anatoli mentally whatsoever, despite the grim sentence he was given by his doctors and colleagues.
Building a Support System
Anatoli regularly attends support groups for radiation victims who were not as fortunate as he was. These individuals were exposed to a fraction of the radiation that he was exposed to, yet their radiation poisoning ravaged their bodies and left some of them permanently incapacitated. Anatoli is thankful for his recovery and is now doing everything he can to help those who were less fortunate.
Radiation is a Weapon
Unfortunately, this case is a lesser example of the effects of radiation on the public. Here are some instances when radiation decimated entire cities, killed people, and was used as an intentional poison.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Towards the end of WWII, America dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. One dropped on Hiroshima, killing at least 70,000 individuals, and the other was dropped on Nagasaki, killing at least 45,000 individuals. Another 200,000 died due to health complications following the nuclear attack. Nowadays, 1% of the Japanese population is still suffering from the effects of the 1945 attacks.
Chernobyl
In 1986, a nuclear reactor melted down in Ukraine. Through a series of unfortunate malfunctions, the fourth reactor in Chernobyl exploded due to using unstable coolant. Nearly 50 people died from the radiation immediately, and an estimated 134 individuals still suffer from the effects of radiation.
K-19 Submarine
This is another failed Russian experiment. While testing submarine transportation for nuclear devices, the reactor on K-19 melted down, sinking the submarine and killing everyone on board.
Alexander Litvinenko
This former KGB officer fled Russia to start a new life in the UK. It is suspected that the Russian government poisoned him with a lethal dose of Polonium-210, although there is no definitive evidence that the Russian government had anything to do with it.
Marie Curie
Curie was an American scientist during the early 1900s. She was the inventor of the term “radioactivity” and she conducted most of her research by extracting radioactive isotopes from pitchblende ore. Due to her lack of protection, and close proximity to radioactive materials, Curie developed aplastic anemia and died in 1934.
Hiroshi Couchi
In 1999, Japanese scientists were conducting an experiment combining uranium and uranyl nitrate solution to see if it would dissolve in water, creating a self-contained radioactive coolant chamber. The experiment failed miserably and caused a massive meltdown, affecting Couchi the worst. Couchi suffered for 83 days until he eventually passed, a documentary team spend those days with him, observing his descent into radioactive death.
Eben Byers
Byers was an athlete and socialite, one of the wealthiest individuals on the east coast in the early 1900s. Byers suffered from chronic pain due to injuries caused by playing football and he consulted his doctor for a cure. His doctor prescribed him a patent-pending drug called Padithor, which contained radium. For 3 years, Byers drank nearly 1400 bottles of this solution, and eventually died from complications relating to the drug. He was buried in a lead casket in Pittsburgh.
Louis Slotin
This Canadian scientist worked on the first steps of the Manhattan project. He was testing reaction materials in a stable environment when his hand slipped and he caused an immediate nuclear reaction. This reaction held the radioactive equivalent of standing 1500 meters away from an atomic bomb explosion. Slotin died in the hospital 9 days after his exposure.
Harry K Daghnian
Daghnian was an American physicist that worked on the Manhattan project as well. He too conducted the same experiment that Slotin was conducting, and the results mirrored themselves. Daghnian died within 25 days of his exposure. Coincidentally, he and Slotin had been working with the same core, which has since been retired and nicknamed “the demon core.”
Cecil Kelley
Kelley was a chemical operator who was working with an unusually high solution of polonium to determine its effects after being mixed with water. The chamber that the chemical was being stored in created a vortex to mix the ingredients, but that pulled the polonium to the surface and caused an exposed reaction. Kelley fell to the ground and complained about being on fire, although he was not on fire at all. When rushed to the hospital, doctors discovered that Kelley’s bone marrow had completely melted away, and he died within 35 hours of being exposed.