Ukraine continues to be «tested by Chernobyl”

Baranovska N.P. Testing by Chernobyl. Kyiv: Yustinian, 2016. 293 p.

Abstract

The book touches upon an array of science-technology and socio-political premises of the accident at the forth power unit of Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP), which took place on April 26, 1986, highlights the actions aimed to minimize its effects, the closure of information in the country that undermined the public trust in the soviet power authorities. The author draws attention to engineering, technical, medical and biological dimensions in addressing the challenges caused by the accident. The processes associated with the exclusion zone and “’New Safe Confinement” (Chornobyl Shelter), the problems of environment, living conditions, health and the accident’s effects for the human fates are shown. A separate story is devoted to the public activity provoked by the accident and the fact of CNPP shutdown, which was considered as a political step and a prolonged process. It is argued that this global technological disaster became an anticipated result of the poor performance of the soviet totalitarian state, that the soviet regime was trying to diminish the accident consequences by distorting or hiding information about events on CNPP, that the truth about Chornobyl disaster would not be known in Ukraine and other countries for many years to come. The author believes that the unwillingness of the soviet regime to scrutinize the lessons of CNPP accident was inherited by the new Ukrainian power authorities: in a great many recently created institutions no space was found for a special unit that would be engaged in exploring the consequences of Chornobyl disaster.