The radiation background at the clay ore deposit in Kropyvnytsky is three times higher than natural one
Measurements of the radiation background at the Veselivske clay ore deposit in Kropyvnytsky showed 84 μR / hour, although the normal value in this area is 30 μR / h.
The measurements were conducted by Oleksiy Gnennyi, Deputy Head of the Emergency Department of the Kropyvnytsky City Council. “The reason for the increased radiation background,” says Gnenny, “is the subsidence of the soil under the containers and the digging of this place by diggers looking for scrap metal here.”
Metal containers with radioactive waste contaminated with cesium-137 are buried in an area of 1,000 square meters.
Photo: Suspilne. Kropyvnytsky
“This is a place of radioactive contamination, it is not allowed to graze cattle and engage in agricultural work,” said the head of the radiology laboratory Ivan Babirad.
Waste reburial and reclamation of the Veselivske deposit can solve the problem. According to Sergiy Kovalenko, Head of the Emergency Department of the Kropyvnytsky City Council, AFRY Group specialists from Sweden and Norway will help Ukraine in this matter: “We have joined an international Norwegian-Swedish consortium. Included in the plan of this international organization for the rehabilitation of this disposal. Completed the first tasks, those that were scheduled for the 20th year. For the 22nd year, we plan to move to the practical phase of reclamation of this area”.
This week, the field will be inspected by a commission that includes representatives from the emergency department, the laboratory center and an international company. They will decide where to rebury the containers with the remains of radioactive metal.
The area for radioactive waste disposal was set up at the Veselivske clay ore deposit on November 22, 1988, after the liquidation of the accident on the territory of the Kirovogradbud Trust. Since then, 224 containers with waste contaminated with the radionuclide cesium-137 have been stored there, giving a radioactive background of up to 300 μR / h. In 2017, unknown individuals tried to excavate the burial site with the help of an excavator, but the city authorities stopped illegal excavations and conducted a radiation survey of the area with the help of SSTC NRS specialists. The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine has classified the event as having all the hallmarks of a radiation accident.
