Chernobyl and Eastern Europe Blog

Chernobyl Circus

2008-08-17T14:52:59Z

This is my last post before undergoing spinal fusion surgery tomorrow morning. For this occasion, I decided to write about something that surfaced on the internet several years ago. This post is about a circus that supposedly arrived in the town of Chernobyl on April 26, 1986 and spent the next eight months entertaining liquidators and residents.

Here is the basic story (according to the Russian State Circus Company):

The Rostov troupe of the Shapito circus arrived on tour in Chernobyl on April 26, 1986. For eight months, clowns and acrobats were the only entertainment for the liquidators and remaining residents of the Exclusion Zone.

Ten years later, of the troupe’s 54 artists, only eight were still alive. The following are recollections of performer Maria Chernitsyna (summarized):

The troupe arrived in Chernobyl from Dnipropetrovsk. She remembers people in the villages sitting on suitcases, waiting for a train that never came. As they entered the town of Chernobyl, the sky was dark and the performers believed it was from a thunderstorm. There was no checkpoint at the city’s entrance.

They began unloading the wagons. One sensitive elephant came down with a case of diarrhea, something that only happens at times of high stress. The elephant refused to come out of its cage.

Chernobyl’s streets were flooded with a white foam. People in bright green overalls cleaned the asphalt. Many helicopters were seen in the skies.

Each performer received 100 rubles pay for each day - a huge amount of money in the Soviet Union at the time.

Many performers soon experienced symptoms of radiation sickness, but they thought it was just fatigue - headaches, painful joints and nausea. Despite the illnesses, it was decided that the troupe would remain until the liquidators were successful in cleaning up the disaster. At the time, people in town started talking about the evacuation of residents.

As the circus artists began to die, the remaining troupe members attempted to obtain treatment due to radiation exposure from Chernobyl. It was at this time they discovered there were no written records of the the troupe being in Chernobyl, and therefore could not get government-covered treatment.

By 1996, 46 members of the troupe had died. Most had not reached 40 years of age. Some of the female members had children with birth defects. Many of the animals also perished.

That is a brief, translated summary of the original story. There is no solid evidence to support the writer’s claim of a circus in Chernobyl, but there is no evidence to refute it either. There was a discussion on the Pripyat.com forums about this circus, and no one (residents or liquidators) remembered such a troupe in town. Some people remember occasional concerts from pop artists, but that is all.

You should also take into consideration that in the months following the disaster, well over 100,000 people were evacuated from the immediate area surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant, including the town of Chernobyl. Therefore, it is doubtful the authorities would allow a group of circus performers to stay there for eight months.

Is this story real, a piece of historical fiction, or a case of journalistic deception? Fact or fiction, it certainly is an interesting story. Do you think the circus was really in Chernobyl for eight months?

Original Story (in Russian): http://www.circus.ru/history/history_5.html

Lyubov Sirota Recites “Radiophobia”

2008-08-15T23:53:32Z

Below is a video of the poem “Radiophobia” by my friend Lyubov Sirota (it is in Russian). The video contains fragments of Rolland Sergienko’s 1988 film “Threshold.”

Chernobyl Plant Gets License for Decommissioning Activities

2008-08-15T18:01:58Z

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant has been issued a series EO 000859 license to proceed with plans for the SNF-1 spent nuclear fuel facility. The license was issued by a decision of the State Board Committee of Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine.

This decision also makes changes to earlier license EO 000040 regarding the removal of nuclear fuel from the plant’s reactor units. Each stage of decommissioning will require separate authorization from Gosatomregulirovaniya, which will provide the following package of documents:

Rules for the stage of decommissioning for each nuclear installation
Radiation protection program
Program of Radioactive Waste Management
Quality assurance program
Information to ensure physical protection

In addition, the Chernobyl Plant administration should develop and agree with Gosatomregulirovaniya’s schedule for project decommissioning and documents to obtain separate written permission to operate at each stage of final closing and preservation.

US and the Russia/Georgia Conflict

2008-08-14T18:56:39Z

This incident has turned into a real mess. Against recommendations from the West, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili took military action in South Ossetia, leading to a quick and powerful response from Russia. As usual, the United States immediately got involved and began telling Russia what to do, threatening sanctions and other actions if Moscow did not comply.

This post may ruffle a few feathers, so before I say anything else, I do not believe that Russia was right in making the response they did. At the very least, it was too heavy-handed and seemed to go too far.

My issue however, is with the United States, not Russia. Why does it seem that the US has to get involved in almost every conflict around the world? At times, it seems as if the US government believes they own the planet and can tell other governments how to behave.

The US has to stop being the world’s dominant bully. Sometimes it seems like their behavior is very similar to the old Soviet Union, with the exception that the US is willing to let countries remain independent, where the Soviet Union wanted to incorporate them into a single, larger entity.

In this particular case, you can draw parallels to the current Russia/Georgia conflict and the Gulf War of the 1990s. In the current conflict, Georgia, without provocation, took military steps in South Ossetia. Russia did not like the move and took military action to push Georgia out of South Ossetia and create a buffer zone. In the 1990s, Iraq took military steps into Kuwait. America did not like what happened and took military action to push Iraq out of Kuwait and create a buffer zone.

So, why was it okay for the US to militarily push Iraq out of Kuwait, but it is not okay for Russia to militarily push Georgia out of South Ossetia? The politics of the situations may be different, but the events are basically the same.

There are many other examples of the US doing whatever they want, including the current war in Iraq, where President Bush conveniently changed the reason for US involvement to justify the military action. Russia was not in favor of invading Iraq, but never threatened the US over it. In general, it seems as if the US is constantly asking other countries to do as they say, not as they do.

The US better be careful with Russia. The Russian Federation is not some little child that can be kicked around. Most likely, Russia’s involvement in the current situation was in part an opportunity to show the world that they are, once again, a force to be reckoned with.

This is not a game. In today’s global economy, the US has no idea how knee-jerk actions taken against Russia could come right back and cause major economic problems at home. Things just aren’t as simple as they used to be.

If a peaceful, global society is ever going to occur, the US needs to stop telling other countries what to do. It is time for the American government to accept the fact that not every country and government is going to conform to their view of the world. Maybe, if the Americans stopped butting in all the time and started accepting cultural and political differences, they would be less hated around the world.

Edit: I guess I am not the only one that feels this way. Check out this opinion piece on Salon.com, "Putin's war enablers: Bush and Cheney." The author, Juan Cole, puts it more in a more detailed and elegant way.

Monopoly World Edition - Results Coming Soon

2008-08-08T15:55:05Z

The final results of voting for Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition are due on Wednesday, August 27, 2008. Stay tuned for the results (and cross your fingers for Kyiv).

The announcement will come 9 days after my spinal fusion surgery, so please be patient for my post. I’ll do the best I can to report the results ASAP, but probably won’t be able to sit for more than a few minutes at a time, so my post may be delayed. Be assured that I will get the results online as soon as my body lets me do so.

Plutonium Leak at Austrian IAEA Facility

2008-08-05T14:17:56Z

Pressure buildup in a sealed sample bottle in a storage safe resulted in plutonium contamination that was limited to a storage room. The lab was empty at the time of the incident, which occurred early Sunday morning (August 3).

The leak happened in a high security area of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Safeguards Analytical Laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria, 35 kilometers south of Vienna.

The IAEA says the lab is equipped with an air filtering system to prevent the release of radioactivity into the environment. The incident area will remain restricted until decontamination can be completed.

The Seibersdorf laboratory was built in the 1970’s and is considered outdated. An IAEA spokesperson said this incident was a one-time event that had nothing to do with the lab being outdated and that this could have happened in the most up-to-date lab. The agency also excluded the possibility that a person caused this incident.

Why am I not comforted by the IAEA’s explanation? I am especially dismayed that the IAEA has continued to operate a laboratory they admit is outdated and does not meet United Nations safety standards. How are we supposed to feel safe about nuclear energy when the organization that is supposed to pursue “safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear sciences and technology” apparently has no problem operating outdated facilities?

Iraqi Scientists Trained in Pripyat

2008-07-23T11:37:57Z

In June 2008, three Texas Tech professors and their graduate students trained 27 Iraqi scientists about processes needed to clean up radioactive debris. The training took place in the abandoned city of Pripyat, Ukraine.

The Iraqis need to learn cleaning techniques to deal with the decontamination of their country’s repeatedly bombed Al Tuwaitha nuclear complex and at least nine other nuclear sites.

Well, that’s an interesting use of Pripyat - train Iraqis on radiation clean up techniques in a city that officials have failed to completely decontaminate over the last 23 years. If nothing else, the Iraqis learned what some of their cities may look like in the near future.

New Chernobyl Video Report - June 2008

2008-07-21T11:16:08Z

I found an interesting new report about Chernobyl, this one is from AlJazeera News. The report is titled "It happened in ... Chernobyl - 23 Jun 08" and covers the events and aftermath of the 1986 nuclear disaster.

This report is unique because it contains new interviews with new insights. I think it is definitely worth a look.

Part 1 (10:41)

Part 2 (11:32)

New Monetary Contributions for Chernobyl Clean-Up

2008-07-19T19:15:23Z

Earlier this week, the G8 nations pledged to provide an extra €62 million for the continued clean-up at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The money is specifically earmarked for construction of the spent nuclear fuel storage facility, known as SNF SF-2.

Design of the $275 million facility is currently being handled by Holtec International, which was awarded the contract in 2007.

The funds will be controlled by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). To date, nations around the world have donated €300 million to the Nuclear Safety Fund, which is financing the store. Another €770 million ($1.2 billion) has accumulated in the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, which will be used for construction of the New Safe Confinement structure.

No-Confidence Motion Against Tymoshenko Government Fails

2008-07-16T17:46:56Z

On July 11, 2008, only 174 deputies of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada voted in favor of holding a no-confidence vote against the government of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, far short of the required 226 needed. Tymoshenko’s government has been highly criticized about the country’s record high inflation rate.

The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT) actually blocked the parliamentary rostrum from July 8-10, most likely to prevent this vote from taking place. However, on July 10, after Party of Regions (PRU) leader Viktor Yanukovich had predicted that the no-confidence motion would carry, the Lytvyn Bloc suggested postponing the vote until September or October. The Communist Party also hesitated, prompting BTuT to cease its blockade of the rostrum, thereby allowing the vote.

Parliament is not scheduled to reconvene until September, so Tymoshenko’s government is safe until then. Raisa Bohatyryova, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council predicts another attempt to oust Tymoshenko’s government in the fall.

This failure indicates that coalition problems not only exist between the democratic alliance of Our Ukraine People’s Self Defense Bloc and BYuT, but also between opposition factions as well. Leonid Hrach from the Communist Party said his party refused to support the PRU motion because PRU does not support the anti-NATO protests organized by the Communists in southern Ukraine several weeks ago.

In an interesting twist, it has been proposed that Tymoshenko reached some type of agreement with businessman Konstantin Grigorishin, who is thought to be amongst the main Communist sponsors. This is most fascinating because President Viktor Yushchenko is supposedly talking with oligarch Rinat Akhmetov about support for his upcoming presidential campaign. Perhaps Tymoshenko and Yushchenko are not as different as they would have us believe.

France’s Tricastin Nuclear Facility Experiences Uranium Leak

2008-07-11T17:06:39Z

If you are one of the many people who believe that accidents at nuclear facilities are a thing of the past, think again. A friend passed along some information that France’s Tricastin nuclear facility has been temporarily closed after approximately 30 cubic meters (75 kilograms) of liquid containing unenriched uranium spilled from an overflowing reservoir. The liquid seeped into the ground and also reached the Gaffiere and Lauzon rivers.

The Tricastin facility, which is operated by Areva/Socatri, is located at Bollene in the south of France, 40 km from the tourist city Avignon. Tricastin has both nuclear reactors and a radioactive waste treatment plant.

The leak occurred Monday night, but people in the affected areas were not told about the problem until 10:00 AM Tuesday. Sounds eerily like Chernobyl, doesn’t it?

People in nearby towns have been warned not to drink water or eat fish caught in the rivers since Monday. The have also been told not to swim in the rivers or use their water to irrigate crops.

On Wednesday, Socatri carried out tests on the groundwater, three local wells and the rivers and found “no abnormal elements.” French Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo has said there is no imminent danger to the local population.

Tricastin has been temporarily shut down because the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) inspected the facility on Thursday and found that existing prevention measures were deficient. The inspection found that “security steps aimed at preventing any further pollution were not completely satisfactory. Further, inspectors found “irregularities” at the site’s operations at the time of the accident.

This uranium leak may not pose a great risk to the public, but is a strong reminder that nuclear power is not as safe as people think. The scariest thing may be the inspectors finding deficiencies in plant safety three days after the accident. You’d think that plant administrators would have scrambled to make sure safety measures were in place immediately after the accident, if for no other reason than to cover their own butts.

Chernobyl Plant Administrators Visit Sarcophagus

2008-07-01T10:35:28Z

On June 27, 2008, Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant leadership including General Director Igor Gramotkin, Technical Director Andriy Bilyk, Chief Engineer of the project management group for the planning of Shelter (Sarcophagus) activities Andrei Savin, and Deputy Technical Director for the Sarcophagus Vladimir Kashtanov took a tour of the structure.

During the tour they examined industrial and local zones of the Sarcophagus, the platform under construction for the base of the New Safe Confinement (NSC), light roofing, and workplaces of project personnel.

Gramotkin noted the order and cleanliness at the Sarcophagus site and the cleared platform for the southern base of the NSC.

The leadership discussed current problems and immediate plans for the future, particularly work on the installation of new ventilation stacks (VT) and the dismantling of the current VT of the second turn (reactors 3 and 4). The dismantling of the ventilation stack is stipulated as part of the preliminary work of the NSC construction.

Due to high levels of radiation, the visit to the Sarcophagus roof was short, but the leadership did examine the quality of repair work. Roof workers typically work in pairs for 8-20 minutes at a time. New light roofing sheets are fastened with screws, using stand-alone devices that increase efficiency and reduce personal radiation doses.

Photos: ChAES

Sarcophagus Roof Stabilization Update

2008-06-30T12:10:13Z

The “stabilization” consortium led by joint-stock company Atomstroyexport has completed work on the transfer of load from the roof the Sarcophagus to external support structures.

The transfer of 80% of the roof load above Reactor 4’s destroyed central hall from beams B1 and B2 to the external supports has increased the safety of the Sarcophagus. The work was completed in complex radiation conditions at appropriate levels of safety for the construction personnel, as established by the project contract.

Additional work is expected to begin in the near future.

Tons of Scrap Metal Removed from Chernobyl Zone Daily

2008-06-27T12:46:40Z

New reports indicate that up to 100 tons of scrap metal are removed from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone every day. Approximately half this amount is legally removed by the government, but the other half is smuggled out to the rest of the world.

Thieves who were caught by the Ukrainian Security Service in May apparently had been operating under the guise of being Security Service personnel. This allowed them to operate undetected for such a long time.

According to the Union of Liquidators of the Accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, over the past two years criminal groups have removed nearly 80,000 tons of ferrous and nonferrous metal from the Zone. Estimates place the remaining amount of scrap metal in the Zone at approximately 1.5 million tons with an estimated value of one billion Ukrainian Hryvnia, or roughly $222,000,000 US.

Well, if you ever wondered why criminals would risk their health to steal scrap metal from the Zone, now you know why.

Bison Coming to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

2008-06-20T11:46:57Z

Ukraine's Ministry of Emergency Measures plans to carry out an experiment by bringing bison into the 30 km Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Minister Volodomyr Shandra stated at a recent press conference that there is a clean region in the Zone in which they can create wilderness areas. The government will build enclosures in one of these areas to contain the bison population.

I don't understand what is to be gained by this action. We already know from the Zone's multitude of existing wildlife that animals can survive there. What kind of meaningful information can we possibly learn from importing bison into the Zone?

Photo: Henryk Kotowski