In the early days
In the mid-80s on the FCT it was functioned radiochemistry laboratory headed by prof. Yu.Ya.Fialkov with modern equipment and a cohort of young scientists, who have had experience with open sources of ionizing radiation "hot" radionuclides. In the laboratory, a theoretical study of non-aqueous and aqueous solutions, as well as practical developments were carried out, for example, methods of industrial wastewater of various contaminants including radioactivity.
29-30 April 1986 we recorded a sharp increase in radioactivity in the park KPI. Contamination was recorded not only in the air but also on the surface of the soil, grass, tree leaves, the outer surface of the walls and windows of houses. The samples from different districts of Kiev testified exceeded background values and allowances tenfold. Assembled from glass windows dust in a glass of water was more radioactive than the samples of drugs that have been used for research and kept in a special lead containers.
The end of April and the first half of May were held under the slogan of curbing the burning reactor, although it was already clear that this is not the end of the matter. Tangle of problems dramatically increased. Ahead was a long hard work of thousands and thousands of people who would later be called "the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident", and performers of this work - the liquidators.
After the evacuation of people and all that had to be taken out of the exclusion zone, thousands of columns of vehicles returned to their transport companies, carrying radioactive dust on the wheels. To protect the capital, the special sites with cleaning equipment and reservoirs for contaminated water were created on the eight entrances to the city. These were the so-called points of transport sanitization transport. There was also started the construction of the classical stationary water treatment plants. A few days passed. Tanks were quickly filled with contaminated water and what to do with them was not clear. A transport stream from the zone of contamination was not reduced. There was a critical situation. Some quick decisions were needed. Leaders of the city and the headquarters of the civil defense were ready to consider any offers. We had at that time not only ideas but also concrete proposals that Kiev Polytechnic Institute submitted to the city powers.
After one month
Head of the Laboratory of new reagents for wastewater treatment O.P.Shutko was working on his doctoral dissertation. Information about critical condition with radioactive water at the Kiev region sanitation stations was a great opportunity to test and, if successful, to implement his projects. Alexander Petrovich appealed to the author of these memoirs and received consent.
The first model sample of radioactive water to test new reagents has been mentioned above dust from the window panes. Results of the deactivation were more reassuring. But to enter the practical level it is necessary to have a real, rather than a model waste water, and we brought it from sanitation point of 30-kilometer zone. We went there illegally. The entry to the zone was prohibited. All the information about the state of the destroyed 4th power unit was classified. Get into a zone officially was only possible by special permit, which we, of course, had not. We drove into the zone on the institute's machine under the guise of the monitoring service, finding a gap in the fence. Of course, we risked a lot of trouble. But the prospect to get practical results for possible discussions with scientific opponents - the developers of stationary treatment facilities construction was more important than the possible administrative penalty.
Near the Rassokha village there was a sanitation station, located in an area in the middle of the field where the military worked with the transport. The show was downright awful. Radionuclide contaminated water poured on the ground and by small streams run in hastily dug pit-lake, which is certainly threatened contamination of underground aquifers. We made the pictures of what we have seen and stocked samples of radioactive waste. The hard work was started.
To our scientific community "unlimited liability" we invited Associate Professor of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Senior Scientist Vitaly Pavlovich Basov - Head of the candidate's thesis O.P.Shutka. In their joint assets there was more than a dozen scientific papers, certificates of authorship and a monograph on recycling of aluminum waste. In the shortest possible time (2 weeks), our group has developed a simple to implement, but in fact an effective technology for cleaning sewage water from radioactive contamination.
Development of KPI
The special features of the Chernobyl situation should include a wide and unstable time range of radionuclides, poorly understood and highly varied nature of contamination themselves, depending on the location of contamination, and most importantly, very large volumes (hundreds of m3) of water to be cleaned on sanitation stations. There was no such examples in the classical science. Therefore, institutions, who were instructed to urgently design a stationary treatment facilities, not having analogues and research time, failed to predict the characteristics of the problems and found themselves in a difficult situation. Our technology was different from the classic one. It changed the strategy of cleaning the contaminated wastewater.
According to this technology the process of cleaning should be done directly in reservoirs with a specially prepared solution effective reagent. The work was done with the help of special mobile units MIDW (mobile installation for decontamination of water), mounted on platforms KrAZ trucks (Kamaz). After 1-1.5 of processing radioactive substances together with sludge deposited on the bottom of the container, and the supernatant water conforms MPC pumped for re-use maintenance.
However, our scientific opponents (developers and designers of stationary treatment facilities (there was no need for them anymore), defending the "esprit de corps" were very critical of the results of our work and insisted on a comprehensive quality control of purified water on our technology. Additional studies were conducted by laboratory of Radiation Hygiene KSRI of lasers under the supervision of prof., Ph.D. I.P.Los. The result was positive. Then the opponents wanted to check the effectiveness of the technology on the waters of the reservoir-cooler unit destroyed.
In those days of May, when the exposure dose of the damaged reactor reaches hundreds of roentgens , take samples of water from the reactor without special protection and equipment could be done only by volunteer-madman. As Einstein said, "The only one who does acts of absurd can achieve the impossible." For the sake of truth O.P.Shutko had made such an absurd thing to do. No one with the knowledge and using the passing transport, with the assistance of one of the employees of Staff GO field, he got to the 4th power reactor. He planned for a few seconds to step down to the pond, take a bottle of radioactive water and quickly go back to the car. But concrete descent was covered with slime. In a harry Alexander P. slipped and found himself up to his neck in the radioactive water. However, all samples were collected and the next day after the treatment reagent delivered to the Institute of Nuclear Research, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, where they were analyzed under the leadership of V.I.Gavrilyuk.
I remember an another case. In approving the regulations of the process according our technology members of the State Commission expressed doubts about the reliability of the development of the KPI. Some of the committee members said that their conscience will be clear if the authors will be able to drink the water. I got a glass of purified water and drank. The document was signed immediately.
Road to Life
Finally start in life technology KPI received from academic V.P.Kuhar - Chairman of the State Committee on Chernobyl. The technology has been approved and submitted for the introduction of CD services.
After getting acquainted with the basics of the technology and the practical results of purification CD headquarters Kiev invited our group to cooperate in every way and helped its fruitful work. Within days, all organizational issues have been resolved with sanitation stations. At the Demidov station we cleaned about 500 m3 of radioactive water (so to speak - industrial tests). The three of us were withdrawn from the Institute and sent to the headquarters of Defense for the process of water purification at all points of the radiation monitoring around the capital. At the beginning of June 1986 at the headquarters of CD city Kiev it was formed a unit of 11 people in a so called decontamination water group, led by O.P.Shutko. They have two MIDW, mounted at the factory "Arsenal" and "Dormash" and the car-special laboratory analyst radiologist. The reagent in the form of a paste was made urgently on Rubezhny chemical plant. A solution was prepared in the factory University (now - "Farmak").
For 1986-87 our unit was operated at a rapid response and planned watch at sanitation stations of Kiev region, a 30-kilometer zone, in Belarus and South Western Railway. It has been cleaned up to 50 thousand M3 of water. Implementation of design and hard work of units allowed to save the state more than 18000000 rubles (in prices of 1986.). In addition, there was no longer a need for a stationary treatment facilities, who, by the way, some time should become a lifelong radioactive burial grounds. Construction of these facilities was stopped and inhibited. The decision of the government commission the elements of the proposed technology and progressive experience of scientists KPI has been used in the 30-kilometer zone of Chernobyl, and mobile installations put into regiments and divisions of CD of USSR.
Analyzing today the results of the group work in those heady days, it should again be emphasized: it made possible not just to close one of the ways of contamination of the city, but to change the strategy of protection. In addition to significant savings in material and financial resources, it has been preserved (and this is - most importantly!) the health and lives of hundreds of people who were planning to send into the core of the construction, commissioning and maintenance of sewage treatment plants. Effective work of units would not be possible without the hard, dedicated work of many people who helped urgently addressed and participated in the above-mentioned work. They were city leaders V.A.Zgursky and M.V.Lavruhin, academics V.P.Kuhar and V.I.Gavrilyuk, prof. I.P.Los, Heads of Civil Defense General M.S.Bondarchuk, colonels A.V.Fedorenko, G.A.Kulaev, V.F.Zinkin, O.A.Burovenko, Colonel B.P.Petrasyuk, Radiology .K.Kovtunenko and Yu.O.Tatsy. On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, namely 6 April 1996, the head of our unit Professor Alexander P. Shutko passed away in the prime of his life and creative ideas. Honor and eternal memory of him.