The nuclear accident in Chornobyl released so much radiation it degraded the film instantly
The 1986 disaster at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine is considered the worst nuclear accident in history, given how many lives were lost and how much it cost in damages. The radiation released by the melted-down core was so great that access to the site is still restricted today.
This photo was taken by Igor Kostin a day after the disaster and shows the highly toxic levels of radiation that were still being released. The excessive amount of grain is due to the fact that the film began to degrade as soon as it was exposed to the air when the shutter clicked.