Due to the lack of authority, no order was given to evacuate the workers and employees of the combine. The order came directly from Moscow after 24 hours. Most people were evacuated, but a sizable number stayed to ensure that the reactor's work was not interrupted.
Workers who stayed in Mayak were told they had to shower and change into clean clothes to counteract the radiation. Reports on the workers who remained in Mayak have not survived, and may not even have been written. Most likely, the hot showers accelerated the absorption of radioactive isotopes, which could have translated into the occurrence of radiation sickness, disability or even ended in death.
