Tun & TreAns.Red.

Samfunnet After the explosion - He breaks the silence

Tun & TreAns.Red.
Samfunnet After the explosion - He breaks the silence

Samfunnet After the Explosion

- He breaks the silence

In  2022 electricity prices rose dramatically, which led to the postponement of the renovation of Aud Max. The following year, former rector Curt Rice had to resign as rector of NMBU. For the vast majority, these events happened completely independently of each other, but now we can finally reveal what actually happened between the lines.   

Journalist: Li Li Than Winn
Photographer: Nicolai Terland
Translator: Hanna Pilskog


A major investment that would save NMBU. In a secret place at Samfunnet, in a dark and damp room, we meet the professor who will reveal it all. Everyone knows him as Dino, but his real name is Fritz Josef Haber Borsh Mecklenburg Von Braun. It is not an easy topic for him to talk about, but Dino is determined that more students need to be enlightened about what went on beneath the dance floor. 

When the pandemic broke out in 2020, NMBU decided to invest in a solution to secure the power supply. This initiated the construction of an experimental small modular reactor (SMR), which was completed in 2022. The project was groundbreaking and eventually led to international collaboration with several nations. This fairly simple reactor quickly managed to supply both the university and Samfunnet with cheap electricity.  

Built on ancient knowledge. The reactor was not just any reactor. It was powered by plutonium-239, and inside the reactor core, by-products such as caesium-137, cobalt-60 and uranium two-step were formed. All of these are radioactive and can lead to serious side effects. Before we go into this in more detail, Dino would like to start by telling the story of how the technology came to be.  

The nuclear reactor was built on ancient knowledge. It was all based on a method from the ancient Egyptians who used laser technology to move stones. According to the ancient hieroglyphs, a large block of stone could be moved if enough energy was applied to it. This knowledge, which was given to the Egyptians by aliens, laid the foundation for the technology we have today.  

Professor Dino further explains that in recent times, this technology is being purchased from the Russians rather than the Americans. This is because it is unacceptable to negotiate with a people who both play and call baseball a sport. However, this is a strictly confidential topic, and he cannot elaborate further.  

Where it went wrong. Dino talks about the serious incident as if it was yesterday. On Tuesday, April 26, 2022, something happened that was never supposed to happen. The day started out perfectly normal for Dino and his colleague. They ran a standard safety test, but the reactor did not stop. The incident escalated quickly, and the professor finally had to press the AZ-5 button (“the Swedish button”) which was supposed stop the nuclear reaction, “But we were so wrong”. Unfortunately, it was not possible to save his good Irish colleague McDonald, who was working inside the reactor, “He will never see his farm again”, the professor says with a 100-meter gaze.  

Even though the extent of the damage was not known, the professor had to immediately start the clean-up process. According to national regulations, such emissions are handled by storing the waste in milk cartons. Professor Dino explains that they took this seriously and followed the ALARA-principle by sending the milk cartons to Vestby. After the incident, NMBU’s radiation protection committee (where Dino is the director and manager) advised everyone against buying milk products from Holdbart. Even after this, there are still residues of uranium two-step in the building, but the professor cannot comment on where it comes from. Nevertheless, he says that exposure to the substance will lead to Tcha-Tcha disease and does not rule out that exposure can occur during party nights. 

The tracks that were covered. NMBU quickly realized after the incident that something had to happen. They had to hide what had gone wrong: Rector at the time, Curt Rice, had to take the fall. Why he had to step down was widely discussed. Many thought it was due to a power dispute, but everyone was wrong about which one. After the reactor exploded, they shifted the focus to Curt Rice to keep the incident out of the spotlight. NMBU had big plans for the nuclear reactor, it was eventually meant to supply their partners with electricity, but gradually after the incident the entire project has collapsed. The decline in the number of exchange students at NMBU may be an indirect effect of this, says Dino. 

Clean-up with the help of Norway’s piggybanks. Professor Dino says he is working hard to limit the emissions. Among other things, he has negotiated extensively with the Swedes to find a solution. Together with the Swedish physicist, Dr. Tage Sprengqvist, he has discussed a possible exchange of the municipality of Ås for Jämtland. If the negotiations go according to plan, the emissions will become a Swedish problem.  

For now, Professor Dino himself must take responsibility for the clean-up, “Many of Norway’s piggybanks are being used to fix the problem”. He cannot confirm the number of pigs, but it cannot be ruled out that an “x-amount” has been wasted. 

Dino urges everyone to stay updated by reading Hippi-Tidene, which is his main information channel. They are supposed to have a good layout and write about relevant matters. Finally, he urges everyone who takes the trip down to the basement to tread with caution, “With high exposure, you risk getting Halling-fever and can, in worst case scenario, end up joining Leikarringen Frøy”. This is something the professor would not even wish on his worst enemy.