booklet - Chernobyl Children`s Project

Chernobyl Heroes
Personal stories from a few of the thousands of people
involved in the ‘clean-up’ operations.
European Action Weeks
Chernobyl – the Legacy
14–28 April 2013
10 countries across Europe participating in 2013
Children’s
yl
eline
Lif
Chernob
A Series of Presentations in the UK
Registered Charity Nos. 1014274
SC 040136
Under the Patronage
of the European Parliament
Association for International
Education and Exchange
Chernobyl Weeks
14–28 April 2013 are Chernobyl Weeks and are
being marked by two weeks of action across
10 European countries to raise awareness of
the ongoing effects of the Chernobyl disaster of
1986 in Ukraine, which was then part of the USSR.
Several ‘Chernobyl Heroes’, or ‘Liquidators’
as they are known in their countries of origin,
have been invited to the United Kingdom by the
British charity, Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline, and
sponsored by the Association for International
Education and Exchange (IBB) in Dortmund,
Germany, to tell their stories and give witness
presentations of their brave efforts in the clean-up.
This year we are extremely pleased and grateful
to Mr Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, who has taken on the patronage
of the European Parliament for the Action Weeks. In his letter of acceptance Mr Schulz
writes “The European Parliament supports initiatives like yours which bring together people
from different European countries to find answers for the challenges of our time. We
welcome the objective of this year’s Action Weeks which aim to foster a European feeling
of solidarity towards the victims and people affected by nuclear reactor disasters and to
launch a well-founded debate on the topic of ‘Sustainable Energy Policy’. I especially
appreciate the fact that the Action Weeks focus on contemporary witnesses who worked
in the Chernobyl region after the catastrophe. Without the help of the Chernobyl liquidators,
the damages for the environment and for mankind would have been even more disastrous.
They deserve social recognition.
Your activities raise awareness for the consequences of reactor catastrophes and promote a
debate on Sustainable Energy Policy within European societies. Constructive discussions
are today more important than ever in order to learn from mistakes of the past and find
solutions for current challenges.
Heroes/Liquidators
This booklet briefly explains the heroic deeds
performed by the Chernobyl Heroes and
consists of the personal stories of a few of
the hundreds of thousand of people. Many
of them were there as they considered that to
be their duty. Many of them paid the highest
price by losing their lives or getting serious
health conditions.
‘Liquidators’ is the name that has been given
to the brave men and women from the former
Soviet Union who risked their lives to help to
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make safe the stricken reactor No. 4 at Chernobyl
and to ‘clean up’ the highly contaminated areas
in and around the site. In just seven months, a
huge sarcophagus structure was constructed to
entomb the reactor building remains, built in steel
and concrete, in horrifically deadly radioactive
conditions. Without these Liquidators, Europe
could have been a nuclear graveyard. A second
and far more massive explosion was only averted
by the Liquidators who went in to drain off the
water from under the reactor core. Had the molten
core come into contact with the water it could
have created a nuclear explosion of massive
proportions which could have caused a ‘nuclear
winter’ across Europe.
We are fortunate in having 10 Heroes visit the UK to give their first hand account of what took
place in 1986 and how they were involved with the aftermath of the world’s worst nuclear
disaster. This is a unique opportunity to listen to and question witnesses from Chernobyl,
to get to the truth of what really happened and the terrible consequences resulting from it.
More than 1,000,000 men and women had been drafted in as Liquidators immediately after
the explosion and over a three-year period thereafter, although work continues to this date
to keep the wrecked reactor safe (see next page).
Victor Mizzi MBE, Chairman of Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline, writes: ‘Most of these people
came from Ukraine, Belarus and parts of Russia. We call them ‘Chernobyl Heroes’ as they
prevented worldwide nuclear contamination and possible further explosions. They fought
fires, cleared deadly radioactive debris by hand, cleaned and disinfected surrounding
grounds and helped to evacuate thousands of people from the worst hit areas’.
To date many thousands of them have passed away; others are suffering from serious
health conditions, often unable to work, relying on limited benefits, which are now being
reduced, delayed or even stopped altogether.
AN APPEAL
Victor asks that people consider sponsoring a
family of a Chernobyl Hero in Belarus or Ukraine.
Each sponsor will be given their Chernobyl Hero’s
address to communicate with them should they
wish to do so.
For more details please contact The Family
Support Project at Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline
on 01428 664213, email: [email protected] or
go to www.ccll.org.uk.
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Ongoing Maintenance: 12.02.2013. Due to heavy snowfall there was a partial failure of the
wall slabs and light roof of the Unit 4 Turbine Hall (next to the exploded reactor) totalling
approximately 600m2.
The New Shelter
The milestone first stage of the new sarcophagus
for Chernobyl’s nuclear power station has been
completed (28 November 2012). The unique
construction to safely contain the radioactive
emissions of Chernobyl for the next 100 years
will be ready by October 2015.
The new shelter, constructed by French consortium
Novarka, will be 108m high (equivalent to a 30-story
apartment building), 257m wide, and 150m long
(almost two football fields). The approximate
weight of the structure will be 29,000 tons.
Image from the report Chernobyl 25 Years
on: European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development. April 2011
The original confinement was designed to serve
for 20 years, till 2006. The shelter fund established to construct a new sarcophagus for
Chernobyl has been sponsored by 28 countries and managed by the European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The estimated cost is well over 1.6 million
euro (circa £1,375m).
Profiles of the Chernobyl Heroes
The profiles of the visting Chernobyl Heroes are shown on the following pages. Each
gives brief personal details and a short description of their involvement in the clean-up
operations. (These are original texts provided by the liquidators through their interpreters).
Chernobyl Heroes are supported by the following interpreters:
Irina Ilchenko, Juliya Kutchinskaya (x2), Lidia Blinkova, Masha Levishchenko, Mike
Gridnev, Olga Ukrayinska, Serhii Geraimovych, Tatiana Vaskovskaia and Vira Gys.
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Mr Anatolii Gubariev
Mr Gubariev, 53, graduated from high school in 1977. From 1980 to
1982 he served in the Soviet Army. From 1982 to 1989 he worked
at Kharkov machine-tool factory, Ukraine and, in 1987, graduated
from Kharkov Polytechnic Institute, ranked Major, “Technology of
machine building, metal-cutting lathes and tools”.
In May - June 1986 he took part in the liquidation of consequences
of the Chernobyl accident as a plant engineer of the fire battalion
vehicle fleet. He put out fires in cable shafts between the third and
fourth units of the power station, pumped out “heavy” (contaminated)
water from under the reactor, put out fires in the 30km zone, and took part in the deactivation
of villages in the contaminated area. Mr Gubariev received a first-class Government medal –
“For Distinction in Military Service”, the highest award for a peacetime soldier in the USSR.
In 1988, the world’s first public Chernobyl organisation was founded, with his participation.
In 1990, he was diagnosed with angio-sarkomatosis and because of this had to resign from
his job in 1992. However, in 1995 he went back to work and was elected as the vice-chairman
of the Kharkov City “Chernobyl Union”, Ukraine. In 2010 he became the chairperson of the
organisation. Between 1998 and 2010 he was elected a deputy of Kharkov City Council
three times. He has also received various state awards. Mr Gubariev is doing a lot to support
other liquidators, to improve their life and help their children, and to organise local public
activities, including the opening of the Chernobyl Historical Workshop in Kharkov, Ukraine.
Mr Alexander Zalevsky
Alexander Valerievich Zalevsky was born on 3 October 1966 in Brest.
In 1983, after finishing secondary school, he entered the Lvov fire
technical school of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. He graduated
from this school in 1986 and was given a rank of lieutenant of internal
service. In August 1987, on health reasons he was recalled for further
service to the Brest area. In 1988, he entered the higher fire technical
school in Moscow and completed his training in 1992. Between
1992 and 2008 he occupied different positions in the Brest regional
department of the Ministry of Emergency of Belarus and since 2008
he has worked as the deputy chief of that department on personnel and vocational training.
During service Mr Zalevsky was given a number of state and departmental awards. He is
married and has a daughter. His wife works as a school teacher.
After leaving the fire technical school, Mr Zalevsky was assigned to the militarised fire
brigade in the Gomel area. This unit was used with many others for the liquidation of the
aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear power station disaster, and was deployed 35 kilometres
from the plant. The unit was assigned the mission to maintain round-the-clock watch of
the perimeter. Mr Zalevsky supervised and participated in extinguishing peat fires in the
exclusion zone, carried out security actions to prevent unauthorised persons getting into
the zone, and actions for the prevention of looting in the zone. His unit also helped with
the resettlement and evacuation of people from the exclusion zone and, together with the
police, protected public order.
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Col Andrew Mizko
Andrew Mizko, a reserve colonel, was born in Fergana, Uzbekistan
in 1960. In 1984 he graduated from aviation college. He is married
and has a son.
Col Mizko took part in elimination of the disaster effects at Chernobyl
from 5 to 27 May in 1986 as an Mi-6 helicopter flight navigator. His
regiment was alerted on 30 April, then on 2 May was instructed to
detach eight crews and helicopters with outside load carriers. In
Chernobyl they relieved staff who had flown to the reactor from 27
April to 5 May. The work was very difficult, transporting different cargos and delivering to
the 30-kilometer zone. Col Mizko’s helicopter did 11 flights to the fourth section of the
reactor for cargo dropping. The flight base was just 12 kilometers away from the reactor.
By the time of Col Mizko’s first flight to the reactor, people had already been evacuated
from Prypyat, and his crew saw abandoned vehicles and clothes left drying on balconies.
The only voice sounding was the the flight supervisor in their headphones. When reaching
their destination they saw the “unwrapped” reactor with light smoke above it. They were
dropping cargo over the reactor at minimum speed at only 200 meters. Off duty, local people
treated them with respect but also with caution – when they entered the shop people left
it at once in fear of getting contamination. After being relieved on 27 May, Col Mizko and
his crew were were examined by specialists of the Leningrad Institute of Nuclear Physics,
given 10 days’ rest in Leningrad health resort, then in September were sent to Afghanistan.
Col Igor Pismenskij
Igor Pismenskij was born in 1961 in Lugansk. Between 1978-1997
he served in the Soviet Army and the Army of Ukraine, reaching
the rank of colonel. In 1982 he completed his training at the Higher
Military School of the Air Force. His awards are: “For Bravery”, “Red
Star”, “Vladimir order Fuert”, and “For Services to the Fatherland”.
Since 1999 he has been Chairman of the Advocacy of the liquidators’
Nabat (“bell tower”). He lives in Kiev.
Col Pismenskij was an Mi-6 helicopter navigator whose regiment
was sent to Chernobyl. Reactor 4 was on fire and they had to fly over it to assess the
situation. Straight away they saw that the reactor was destroyed and open. They knew
this was serious.
It was decided that the reactor should be filled with sand, lead and dolomite. The helicopters
flew over the reactor at 200 metres, the chimney next to the reactor serving as a landmark for
them. As they hovered over the the reactor, Col Pismenskij gave the command to drop the
load. Flights were conducted from early morning until sunset. The loading of the helicopters
was carried out by reservists, working under harsh conditions and with only bandages on
their faces to protect them from the radioactive dust from the helicopters and the reactor.
Col Pismenskij’s crew carried out 29 flights to the reactor. He and his colleagues received
a high radiation dose and he has multiple health problems and has lost many friends. But
he is consoled that those who did their duty to protect civilians and the entire community
of the world are honoured.
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Mr Petr Makarenko
Petr Makarenko was born in November 1960 in the village of Kirov,
Norovliansky region, Gomel area which is 50 kilometres from
the Chernobyl nuclear power station. His mother worked in the
kindergarten and his father was a forester. His wife Nina was born
in 1962 in the same village, and is a medical nurse by profession,
now working in the infectious hospital for children. Their son, Vitally,
was born in 1984 in the Chernobyl area. He graduated from Moscow
international law school, and now works on the railway station
at the scientific-technical center. Petr is a working pensioner. He
retired as a major, the head of fire station no. 18 in Minsk in 1999.
At present he works at the railway station as senior instructor on fire-prevention measures.
At the time of the Chernobyl disaster he lived in Pripiat, 2.5 kilometres from the power
station, and worked as a fireman at the nuclear plant. The fire unit on the Chernobyl station
was divided into three fire brigades of 18 people who worked in shifts – 24 hours working
day and two days off. He worked on a second shift and on the day of the explosion had a
day off. The next morning he was at the station, worked for five days, got an overdose of
radiation and was sent to the hospital. At the moment he has got a lot of health problems
including stenocardia (angina), diabetes, psoriasis, hypertension (high blood pressure),
gastritis, cholecystitis (inflammation of gallbladder).
Mr Sergiy Vygivskyy
Sergiy Vygivskyy was born in 1962, and is married with two adult
children. Since 1999 he has been the director of the Korosten,
Zhytomyr region Social Psychological Rehabilitation Centre, one
of five in Ukraine, helping people in the contaminated area.
In April 1986 he was 24, working in the Korosten locomotive depot
as an engine driver’s assistant, and studying at Kharkhiv Institute
of Engineers of Railway Transport. On 26 April he was on holiday
with his family when they learned that an accident had occurred
to Chernobyl nuclear plant.
Mr Vygivskyy left on 28 May for the plant as part of the train crew taking cargo for the
liquidation. At the 30-kilometer zone, everything looked like movies about World War II:
columns of vehicles, military and civilian people in masks or simply in gauze bandages,
the roar of helicopters in the sky. They returned by empty train to the depot and throughout
June ‘86 made constant further trips, taking materials and equipment.
They couldn’t see, feel or taste the radiation threat, with no protection other than gauze
dressings. Unknowingly they exposed themselves to contamination – e.g. by sitting on
contaminated grass – not understanding that later it would influence their health.
Mr Vygivskyy returned to his native town, 110 km from the plant and covered by radioactive
cloud during the first days of the accident. Only in the early 1990s did they learn about the
real level of contamination. After the liquidation, he felt his health was becoming worse. But
during that period of time he didn’t think about it, just did his job like many other liquidators.
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Mr Valerii Rysovanyi
Valerii Rysovanyi was born in 1955 in Lubotin, Kharkiv region, Ukraine.
After leaving school he served in the armed forces of the USSR in
the communication unit. He graduated from Kharkiv Polytechnical
Institute with a degree in electronic engineering. He worked in
Kharkiv Polytechnical Institute, at the baking plant, as an engineer
at a large-scale enterprise of the military-industrial establishment.
From 1986-1991 he worked as an instructor of the district committee
of the party, after which he occupied executive positions in private
industrial enterprises. He is married with three children.
In January- March 1987 he took part in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl
accident as a deputy commander officer of the decontamination company as a part of
the chemical brigade. He worked on the decontamination of premises and also of the
so-called “red forest”. For this he received state awards and certificates of appreciation.
He takes an active part in public life. Currently he is a vice-chairman of the Kharkiv nongovernmental organisation “Souz Chernobyl”, founded in August 1988 and the first one
of its type in the world. The organisation currently unites 24,929 victims of the Chernobyl
accident and victims of other nuclear accidents. Since its foundation the organisation
has defended the interests of various categories of citizens who suffered from ionising
radiation and has also dealt with issues concerning social, medical and legal assistance.
As a witness of historical events he participates in the mobile exhibition “Chernobyl:
People – Places – Solidarity – Future”, which travels in Western Europe and Ukraine. This
was launched in 2011 for the 25th anniversary of the disaster.
Mr Vitali Baranovski
Vitali Baranovski, 55, is a retired firefighter. He was awarded a
diploma for courage and selflessness during the liquidation; a
diploma for high moral consciousness, selflessness, professional
mastership during service in the regions close to the plant; a medal
“for irreproachable service”; and a medal “for courage displayed at
extinguishing fire”.
In August 1986, as a member of an interservice detachment, he was
commissioned to take part in the cleaning up of the consequences
of the accident. During the next 15 days they were constantly involved in peat-bog and
residential area fire extinction within the 30-km exclusion zone – the so-called “Death Valley”.
At times it was very hard, even unbearable. But nobody complained, as everybody knew
it was their duty and nobody could do it instead. There were burning fields of wheat and
rye. At some places peat-bogs were burnt as deep as several meters, but because of a
thin layer of soil above them there was a danger of falling into the burning peat.
Three days later, some people’s digital watches were out of order. There were cases of
equipment failure, as it got more than 50 Roentgen of radiation, while the people using
the equipment had only respirators as protection, which were of little use.
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Mr Volodymyr Tiutiunnyk
Volodymyr Ivanovych Tiutiunnyk was born on 26 April, 1959 in
Shevchenko village, in the north of Ukraine. He is married, has a
son and a small grandson.
From 1979 he worked as a mechanic in the heating, cooling and
ventilation laboratory at Chernobyl nuclear power plant. From
1980, when two power units were at work full time, responsibility
for protecting the plant was delegated to internal security troops.
Under a special order from the USSR Secretary of State for Home
Affairs, directions were given to create a special detachment of
105 soldiers, with special military and safeguarding training, divided into 19 posts. Major
Viktor Lischuk was the Major-General Commandant of the headquarters. This was the
beginning of the 1st special kommandatura’s history and, in 1981, Mr Tiutiunnyk became
a member of it.
At 00.00 on the night of 25/26 April, 1986, Mr Tiutiunnyk was one of those who went on
sentry duty. Nothing was unusual, and there was no information being given out. But
in the morning, special KGB agents arrived and arrested all the guards on suspicion
of a sabotage attack. They let them go only on 28 April, which was the day of the total
evacuation of the newly built town of Pripyat. Mr Tiutiunnyk and his friends stayed till late
on 4 May when they were taken to hospital.
Dr Yuri Ivanov
Yuri Ivanov was born in March 1951 in Kishinev, Moldavia. He is a chief
scientific officer at the Ukrainian Research Institute for Agricultural
Radiology of the National University of Life and Environmental
Sciences of Ukraine. He is married and lives in Kiev.
Dr Ivanov has a master’s degree in chemistry from Moscow State
University, and became a doctor of biological science (Dr Sc) in 1997
at the Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Radiology. He has 37 years
of research experience in radiobiology and radioecology. Since 1986
he has been working on the practical and theoretical problems involved in the elimination
of the consequences of the Chernobyl accidental release in agriculture on contaminated
areas, and the practical and theoretical problems of remediation of contaminated territories.
He has experience of the organisation and practical realisation of large-scale monitoring
of agricultural lands in contaminated territories, and the preparation of recommendations
on usage of contaminated lands, and he has participated in international projects.
He is a member of a number of scientific societies, including the National Comission for
Radiation Protection of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Nuclear Society, and is a member of
the editorial boards of two journals. He has been awarded the USSR medal “For labour
valour” (1987); the honourable diploma of the Ukrainian Ministry of Chernobyl (1996); the
honourable breastplate of the Ministry of Ukraine of Emergencies and Affairs of Population
Protection from the Consequences of Chernobyl Catastrophe (2001) – for his participation
in the liquidation of Chernobyl accident consequences. Between 1973 and 2013 he has
authored some 290 books and papers, and is the co-author of nine books.
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European Chernobyl Network
Mission Statement
The European Chernobyl Network is a platform of cooperation
for like-minded organisations working on the Chernobyl issue.
We welcome all organisations working to improve the lives of
those living in the Chernobyl-affected regions to join us. Working
together,organisations can be stronger, more effective and can achieve real, sustainable,
long-term change.
Our objectives are to:
• Keep the Chernobyl Disaster alive in the public consciousness, and to raise awareness
about its ongoing health, social and environmental impact.
• Provide a forum for organisations to share information, ideas and resources.
• Encourage organisations to work together where this is appropriate to maximise the
effectiveness of their initiatives.
• On occasion to enable organisations to come together and speak with one voice on
issues of great importance to our work.
For more information visit: www.ecnchernobyl.eu
IBB, Association for International Education and Exchange, is the initiator of Action
Weeks across Europe carrying out an active role in raising awareness about the Chernobyl
and Fukushima disasters across Europe. For the second year running Mr Peter JungeWentrup, CEO of IBB has kindly offered financial support to the organisations across
Europe taking part in European Action Weeks. For more information visit: www.ibb-d.de
27th Anniversary
Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline has organised a special series of events throughout the
two-week period, including: school presentations, church services, specialist interest
groups, candle vigils (25-26 April), lunches and dinners for details of events please visit
our website: www.ccll.org.uk Candle Vigils are also being held simultaneously all across
Europe on the same evenings.
Photo Gallery from previous years’ events
Kiev, Ukraine
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Southwell Minster Nottinghamshire
Greatstone-on-Sea Kent
Matlock Fire Station Derbyshire
City of Bristol College
Ashford & Romney Marsh
Mayfield School, Portsmouth
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Welcome to our charity –
Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline
I wish to introduce you to Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline, a
children’s charity which was founded in 1991.
Belarus, where most of our work is focused, received over 70%
of the radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear explosion
in April 1986 and as a result, thousands are born every year with,
or go on to develop, thyroid cancer, bone cancer and leukaemia.
Victor Mizzi MBE
We have formed more than 140 ‘Links’ across the country,
each with its own committee whose objective is to increase funds, find and vet host
families and to bring 10/20 children, with an English-speaking adult, to their area.
Our main aims are:
• To bring child victims of the Chernobyl disaster to the UK for recuperative breaks
of four weeks – over 50,000 have been brought over to stay with host families
since we started in 1992.
• When needed, bring children to the UK for long term medical care and education.
• Set up direct sponsorship to needy families in Belarus or Ukraine by UK donor
families.
• Support children in foster homes.
• Support children’s cancer hospital in Minsk, Belarus.
Full details of the charity, location of Links across the country, various projects and
how you can possibly help can be found on our website: www.ccll.org.uk
Appeal to donors
From April 2013 the UK government withdrew gratis visas to Chernobyl children
thus becoming the only country in Europe to do so. This puts an additional cost of
£86 per child making us raise an extra £1,000 per group under the current financial
climate. The problem of Chernobyl has not gone. It is there for hundreds of years
affecting millions of people, especially children. Our Charity is funded predominantly
by donations from the generous public. We are a grass roots organisation with
only four employees in the UK and three in Belarus. Everyone else is involved on
a purely voluntary basis. Our overheads are very small thus maximising benefit of
every pound donated.
Children’s
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Lif
Chernob
Please consider selecting CCLL to be supported by your Charitable
Committee, Club, Society, Company or Trust. These children need your
help!
Head Office: Courts, 61Petworth Road, Haslemere, Surrey GU27 3AX
Tel: 01428 642523
Fax: 01428 651642
Email: [email protected]