Radiation Survey by Towns of Ukraine Lasts. Day 3: Manevychi

Day 3 of the information tour “Radiation Survey by Towns of Ukraine” has passed quietly since dosimetrists did not reveal any radiation anomalies in the village. We checked several local facilities: timber mill and peat briquetting plant. “The radiation background of these enterprises is within the normal limits”, Oleksandra Slepchenko, SSTC NRS technical expert, said.

During the meeting with the heads of local authorities in the village, Oksana Kucheryava, representative of SSTC NRS Press Service, who arranged this event, spoke about the Center’s current activity and unique equipment thanks to which dosimetrists conducted survey within the information tour. “Residents of the village brought milk, blackberries, mountain ash, apples and pears, water from both the water supply system and from wells. No exceeding content of radionuclides was revealed in these products”, she added.

Iryna Polyakova, SSTC NRS expert added that people also brought for survey dried mushrooms gathered during this season. “We did not find any man-made radionuclides in mushrooms, yet concentrated degrees of some natural radionuclides were recorded whose level did not exceed the norm established for this type of foodstuff”, the expert said.

Oleksandr Havryliuk, chairman of Manevychi village council, thanked dosimetrists for the measurement and asked to check also water from Okonsk springs. “We consider this water to be the cleanest in the region, we would like to make sure that it is really so”, he said. SSTC NRS experts took a water sample for a more detailed analysis in Kyiv. The results will be reported to the villagers at the end of the information tour.

Interested people asked many questions. Igor Shevchenko SSTC NRS Director who attended the meeting in Manevychi also joined the discussion. “The village was chosen as a location of the information tour not in vain: like other places that we have visited, Manevychi suffered as a result of the Chernobyl disaster. First, the event was arranged for the public so that the public be more aware of the radiation hazard of household items or food products and, if necessary, could contact competent authorities that provide assistance or consultation. Mr. Shevchenko said. “We want to make sure that there are no radiation anomalies along the route of the information tour”.

However, as we reported earlier, thanks to the unique equipment of RANIDSONNI mobile laboratory, SSTC NRS experts revealed in Novohrad-Volynskyi a building around which an increased gamma- and alpha radiation was recorded. A children’s playground is located not far from the building. “Necessary measures have been taken and you can see that the information tour already gives results”, the director of the Center summed up.

Uatom.org editorial board