Interview With A Chernobyl Liquidator: Sergei B - Part II

The following is Part 2 of my interview with former Chernobyl liquidator, Sergei B:

15. What did you do after leaving the Zone? I had some health issues (heart, kidneys, etc.), which were somewhat contained not because of the government help, but because of my connections/networking - I have several friends among prominent doctors back home, something which came out of my sports connection early on, I played a lot of semi-pro b-ball back in my 20’s...

So I was more or less fortunate to get straightened out without spending time in the hospital, and then continued to work at my Institute as Associate Professor. After USSR collapse, things went bad for my Institute, so I looked for a chance to get a post doc position in the US, which I've got in 1992.

16. What type of medical issues have you dealt with since that time? Did you have to spend anytime in a hospital after leaving Chernobyl?

See above (p. 15). I also was very careful and did not do stupid things like eating contaminated fruits and vegetables, as many of my fellow liquidators did in the Zone (see above about "shortage"... Many times have I tried to warn them, some listened, some did not). But I still remember one of the physicians in my Brigade, who said - "You guys (those who work on the Station) have to measure about 20 years from now for your dear life... that's all you've got!"

17. How many of your friends that served as liquidators with you have become sick due to radiation exposure?

At least three of my fellow liquidators got health problems right there, while being involved at the Station. I know of several deaths among liquidators whom I served with, but this is very sad and emotional part for me, so forgive me if I choose not to go into details.

18. While working as a liquidator, did you visit or work in Pripyat? If so, what were your impressions of this modern Soviet city?

Yes, I had a chance to go to Pripyat'. It was an eerie experience - a true ghost city. Abandoned dogs (I haven't seen cats - I think they were eventually exterminated by stronger animals...) were quite dangerous back then. I also had a chance to meet a few former station workers on the roads - they were scavenging their belongings from the city despite government's ban. This was really heart-breaking.

My cousin worked on ChAES as an electrician; his younger son, my nephew, became very sick (they were staying home on that weekend... in Pripyat') and up until now he still can not recover.

19. If you did spend time in Pripyat, since the city was evacuated, what kind of activities occurred in the city? Did some liquidators live in the apartments or hostels? What facilities were still usable (cultural center, pool, stadium, etc.)?

At the time I had visited Pripyat', there was no people allowed to live there, there was barb wire all around, and MPs were patrolling the empty roads on BTRs; if I remember correctly, it was around mid-August, but I might be wrong. (See also p.18).

20. Did you have many (or any) interactions with people who lived in the town of Chernobyl or one of the villages in the area? If so, what were their concerns? Were they scared?

Many still did not believe that radiation is an imminent threat. I saw people fishing in contaminated river, gathering and eating potatoes, mushrooms, etc. Whoever was scared, fled the area way too fast. Who's left, were just sad and very upset with the absence of help - on any level.

Locals called the accident "the war"...

21. Do you remember anything about the village Kopachi? Was there any reason to believe the military would eventually bulldoze all the wooden buildings and bury them ... did the area seem to be that contaminated?

I am not really aware of this story. But once again I will ask about definition of "being that contaminated". The whole Zone - and far beyond it - resembled a cheetah skin, where dark spots were small contamination areas. One of them was probably in Kopachi village.

I remember a place in remote railway station, where an abandoned rail car, which stood on the backtrack for several weeks, had a single spot on the wooden side blazing about 15-20 Roentgen consistently. My friends, dosimetrists had to check their dosimeters on it...

22. How do you feel about the looters and marauders that have caused damage in Pripyat and some of the villages? What about their removing items from the Exclusion Zone and selling them to unsuspecting people?

This is, sadly, one of the expected outcomes of the whole isolation process. Again think of the word "shortage" - if not that, people probably would think twice before buying anything second-hand at such time as nuclear accident, even far away from that place...

Before going there, I remember we were carefully checking license plates of trucks selling potatoes on local veggie markets - if they were from Kiev District, we were avoiding them.

23. During the time you worked as a liquidator, what were your feelings toward the Soviet government? What are your feelings toward the Soviet government today?

I still think that the cover-up was absolutely uncalled for. But again, Chernobyl together with some other events brought the country down. So the government was afraid for a reason, although I totally hated it then and still do hate it. Propaganda was a lifestyle in that country.

24. When did you move to the United States and why?

I moved to the US in late 1992. I realized that there is no life for me in the new country which did not care about education and/or science - it was purely survival mode for "new Ukraine". I did not want to end up on the street, as some of my friends-teachers did.

I had a good chance to get in the US as researcher. I used it. I hope I served my new country well ever since.

25. Can you compare living in the US to living in the Soviet Union?

I do not want to rant about that, really. Of course it is different; however, it is hard to compare. Can you compare, for example, living of a farmer in North Dakota to a living of a computer guru in Silicon Valley? Each is happy in his own way... I wasn't living bad, it was just a very hopeless feeling with new country (Ukraine) being violated and robbed blind by nouveau riches of new era... Ukraine's first prime minister stole 42 B dollars from state budget and now lives in the US... First Ukrainian president was before a Communist Party leader... besides, "ukrainism" was stomping its way everywhere. I am Russian ethnically, so it was hard to pretend that I am capable of being refurbished easily. So I chose to live here in the US, where I do not need to pretend, - as I had to in my old country (USSR), and then I was forced to do in my "new" state (Ukraine).

26. Since you now live in the US, do you receive a liquidator's pension?

No.

27. Have you been back to Chernobyl since your tour of duty? If so, how many times, and when?

No, I did not. I actually do not want to. I think people back home made it a Barnum circus; I do not like that. I know that many guys tried to make a living out of their Chernobyl times, either career in the governmental organizations or in various Unions, Assemblies, etc. I know that the guy who came to substitute me now became a District Chairman for Chernobyl Veteran Organization. He claimed to do things in the Zone which I know for sure he never did... he's got medals, honorary addresses, high pension, etc. ... That's pretty pitiful.

28. Considering your experiences at Chernobyl, are you for or against nuclear power? What are your feelings regarding nuclear power?

As a scientist, I know for sure that mankind has no alternative for nuclear power. It's clean, very efficient, and safe (well, except cases when people just violate rules and common sense...).

29. What do you currently do for a living?

Currently I am unemployed, but I am looking for a job. My main concern is the absence of medical insurance, it costs a lot here, but I can't live without it for obvious reasons.

I am a well-trained medicinal chemist with 10 years of industrial experience in the US, I hope I will be just fine.


Interview - Part I

Photo: (c) Corbis/Verlag Antje Kunstmann - Liquidators preparing to go on roof of Reactor 3