On the situation in Ivankov district in connection with the Chernobyl accident

On April 27, 1986, about 8 thousand residents of Pripyat were evacuated to Ivankovo district in connection with the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. About 5 thousand people were settled in private houses in 12 village councils. More than 2.5 thousand residents of Pripyat categorically refused to settle in the proposed villages and left for other settlements of the region on the same day. Departure from the area of evacuated citizens subsequently continued due to the desire to live with relatives and loved ones, the loss of hope for an early liquidation of the consequences of the accident, and the inability to find a job in the specialty.

Later, exit was organized for those who wished to leave the region for help with absenteeism and targeted business trips to specific enterprises of the country, as well as the removal of children to rest camps. By mid-June, there had been approximately 500 evacuated, after which the process of increasing the number due to the return to receive housing and material benefits previously departed from the district in a hasty manner was recorded.

At present, 939 people, evacuated from the city of Pripyat and the Chernobyl region, live in the district, 472 families are among them. There are 615 able-bodied people, 150 children, 150 pensioners and 174 disabled people. 539 people were employed, including 66 in agriculture, 118 in industry, 104 in construction, 170 in other industries, and 81 people were involved in work in the 30-km zone.

The situation among evacuated citizens is generally normal. Their concern remains the issue of housing. The vast majority of Pripyat residents and part of the residents of Chernobyl express a desire to obtain apartments in Kiev, regional centers and large cities.

The unwillingness to live in villages is motivated by the lack of the opportunity to get a job in a specialty, low salaries, and poor living conditions. A small part of those evacuated from among the residents of the Chernobyl region is ready to live in the district center, and only a few in villages.

The trend towards normalization is the fight against rumors

The workers at the nuclear power plant hope to get apartments in Kiev, but among the rest, primarily pensioners, various rumors are widespread due to the lack of specific information about the place and the procedure for providing them with housing. There is a tendency to normalize the situation among local residents.

The number of persons participating in the spread of false fabrications of a panic character about the events at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is decreasing. The main sources of their occurrence are individuals from among the drivers and the military, working in the 30-km zone and living in the area.

Calmness is recorded everywhere, including residents of settlements adjacent to the zone who neglect elementary precautionary measures. Collective discontent of certain categories of workers, seeking salary allowances for work near the zone have slightly decreased. The main reason for the occurrence of these undesirable processes was that each agency resolved this issue in different ways, some — along the path of “the least resistance”.

Dissatisfaction of people is objective

As before, people are dissatisfied with the radioactive pollution carried by vehicles moving through the Ivankov town, the facts of the lack of objectiveness of the media, they express concern for the health of their children, and discuss with some undesirable positions the incidents of using respirators by individuals while driving around the district.

Monitoring of the radiation situation in the area is assigned to the Ivankovo sanitary and epidemiological station. According to operational and official sources, food and drinking water in general are not a concern. The exception is blackcurrant, selectively absorbing strontium, its level of infection is 200-300 times higher than permissible norms. Drinking water is controlled in 30 points of the district. Food products are measured in public institutions and the population at its request.

However, a number of shortcomings were identified. According to experts of the sanitary and epidemiological station, food and water are examined using old devices, which do not allow to accurately determine the level of radioactive contamination due to the error of the readings. According to the agent “Vodianova”, it is more expedient to conduct a biophysical study of products for radionuclides.

There are a number of shortcomings in the organization of catering and service for workers in the 30-km zone. So, not one of the catering establishments of the Ivankovo district has dishwashers, which, under the conditions of a significantly increased load (approximately 10-15 times) and the lack of the ability to maintain proper hygiene, can lead to intestinal diseases.

Members of shift catering brigades arriving in the region from other regions of the republic before leaving do not undergo examinations on carriers of intestinal diseases at the place of residence. Analyzes of their examinations in the Ivankovo district become known only after 3-5 days, which can also lead to massive diseases. It is advisable to provide arriving catering workers with a pre-departure examination and provide medical books with notes on their inspection for the intestinal group.

The main thing is to report on time

The task force of the KGB of the Ukrainian SSR in Chernobyl and the 6th department of the KGB were previously informed for this drawback, but there were no changes. Drinking water tanks do not have fittings for flushing and removing precipitation on the territory of the construction of residential buildings for evacuated in the Sukachi village of Ivankovo district, as a result of which the water contains a significant amount of colloidal suspensions, primarily iron. This shortcoming is planned to be eliminated over time after laying the water supply.

There are 12382 tons of grain on the collective farms of the district, which is not subject to public procurement by the decision, but will be used for on-farm needs. The 1986 crop survey work on collective farms and a feed mill is in its initial stage due to the lack of trained specialists.

A selective check of the bunker weight for a number of collective farms in the district revealed that almost all the rye, as well as wheat and barley from individual fields exceed the permissible level of infection. No cattle were brought into the area from the 30-km zone. There is one sanitation facility for the decontamination of military and civilian equipment used in the 30-km zone on the territory of the district near the village of Starye Sokoly, as well as a landfill for waste – soil, water, clothing and other things. The local residents are worried about the proximity of these facilities to the village (about 200 m).

No serious breaches of the secrecy regime on matters related to the liquidation of the consequences of the accident have been identified, but this work has not been completed yet.