Chernobyl liquidators told about stopping the disaster

April 26 marks the anniversary of the largest man-made disaster of the twentieth century. The explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant 40 years ago led to the release of radioactive substances. Izvestia correspondent Alexander Nadsadny met with those who participated in the liquidation of the accident.

Not everyone was able to attend the meeting 40 years after the tragedy at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, out of hundreds of thousands of liquidators, only a few thousand remained in the ranks. The humble heroes recall how they went to the reactor, which was torn apart by the explosion, as if to an embrasure, they all received the strongest dose of radiation. Vyacheslav Vasilyevich, a physics engineer, was engaged in the development of dosimeters before the accident. I arrived in the emergency zone on the second shift and was one of the leaders at the headquarters.

"As the shells explode, so does the radiation, all the dosimeters are beeping, buzzing," said Vyacheslav Mazaev, Director of Technical Development at NPO Mikromir, liquidator of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster.

In the first echelon, chemical soldiers were also heading for Chernobyl. Vladlen Platonovich Malyshev is 90 years old, he is a doctor of chemical sciences, a professor, and 40 years ago he was deputy head of the Institute of the Red Army, which was alerted immediately after the emergency.

"There were tasks for decontamination of the area, radiation reconnaissance and dosimetric control, there was a 30-kilometer zone," said Vladlen Malyshev, Chief Researcher at the All—Russian Research Institute of the State Emergency Committee, Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Professor.

Before cleaning the land around the station, it was necessary to extinguish the fire and stop radiation emissions into the atmosphere.

"Mostly the sand was poured by the pilots. They suggested using helicopters," Malyshev said.

It was from above that one could see what was happening inside the emergency unit of the NPP.

"After the accident, radiation measurements were carried out from helicopters carrying people. They were the ones who received heavy doses of radiation along with the information," the correspondent said.

No one counted how many hours Nikolai Khomyakov spent in the radiation zone. He flew over the epicenter several times a day to measure the radiation level.

"Basically, everyone worked at headquarters based on photographs taken with helicopters," explained Nikolai Khomyakov, colonel, helicopter pilot, and liquidator of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster.

A handmade gauze bandage in two layers saved from alpha and beta radiation, Vyacheslav Tulsky keeps it to this day. An engineer in the energy repair system, at Chernobyl he was responsible for the work of robots that were engaged in complex welding instead of people in the hearth.

"Chernobyl victims still do not have Victory Day, that is, the day when this sarcophagus was built," admitted Vyacheslav Tulskikh, a liquidator of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident.

Nuclear scientist Vladimir Asmolov is the man who led the Sarcophagus scientific project. In the 1980s, he was the head of the Nuclear Safety Department at the Kurchatov Institute. He believes that it was possible to eliminate the consequences thanks to a feat, both scientific and human.

"What was unique about the Sarcophagus? We built it on the remains of destroyed buildings, we had to check what was holding it," he explained.

Alexey Likhachev, Director General of the Rosatom State Corporation, couldn't help but ask how Soviet scientists and engineers managed to quickly create a unique design.

"People came, different jobs on the block made them equal. We all came out the same," Asmolov said.

The main lesson of the Chernobyl accident is the improvement of safety systems at nuclear power plants, which are being improved to this day.

"Nothing can be achieved, no goal, if it contradicts or runs counter to the principle of security. This is the basic postulate, the basic withdrawal from Chernobyl," said Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom State Corporation.

In honor of the 40th anniversary, distinguished liquidators of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident were awarded awards. However, not everyone was able to get on stage due to their age and state of health, but they would really like to be remembered more often about their feat.

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On April 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated the courage of the heroes who dealt with the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. According to the head of state, Russia has taken social protection and rehabilitation measures for victims of the disaster, and the president also expressed gratitude to representatives of the Chernobyl Union and other public organizations for their assistance in implementing these programs.