Liquidator (Chernobyl)

Soviet badge awarded to liquidators

The central detail of the Liquidators' badge, with traces of alpha (α), beta (β) and gamma (γ) particles over a drop of blood

Liquidators (Russian: ликвида́торы), or "clean-up workers", is the name given in the former USSR to people who were called upon to work in efforts to deal with consequences of the April 26, 1986, Chernobyl disaster on the site of the event. According to the WHO, 240,000 recovery workers were called upon in 1986 and 1987 and special certificates were given to 600,000, recognizing them as liquidators.^[1]

Scope of the appellation

• Personnel of the reactors
  • Yuri Korneev, Boris Stolyarchuk and Alexander Yuvchenko are the last surviving members of the Reactor No. 4 shift that was on duty at the moment of the catastrophe. Anatoly Dyatlov, who was in charge of the safety experiment at Reactor No. 4, died in 1995 of a heart attack.
• The approximately 40 firefighters who were among the first to deal with the catastrophe
• A 300-person brigade of Civil Defense from Kiev who buried the contaminated soil
• Medical personnel
• Various workers and military who performed deactivation and clean-up of the area
• Construction workers who constructed the sarcophagus over the exploded reactor No. 4
• Internal Troops who ensured secure access to the complex
• Transport workers
• A team of coal miners, who used their expertise to pump out the contaminated water to prevent its entrance into groundwater
• Nikolai Melnik, Hero of the Soviet Union, a helicopter pilot who placed radiation sensors on the reactor^[2]

Between 1986 and 1992, it is thought between 600,000 and one million people participated in works around Chernobyl and were exposed to some level of radiation. Because of the dissolution of the USSR in the 1990s, evaluations about liquidators' health are difficult, since they come from various countries (mostly Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, but also other former Soviet republics). Furthermore, the government of Russia has never been keen on giving the true figures for the disaster, or even on making serious estimates.^{[citation needed]} However, according to a study by Belarusian physicians, rate of cancers among this population is about four times greater than the rest of the population. All the figures quoted by various agencies are controversial — see the main article, Chernobyl disaster for more on this.

Note that the World Health Organization states that "poverty, 'lifestyle' diseases now rampant in the former Soviet Union and mental health problems pose a far greater threat to local communities than does radiation exposure." ^[3]

• In April 1994, a commemoration text from the Ukrainian embassy in Belgium counted 25,000 dead among the liquidators since 1986.
• According to Georgy Lepnin, a Belarusian physician who worked on reactor #4, "approximately 100,000 liquidators are now dead", of a total number of one million workers.^{[citation needed]}
• According to Vyacheslav Grishin of the Chernobyl Union, the main organization of liquidators, "25,000 of the Russian liquidators are dead and 70,000 disabled, about the same in Ukraine, and 10,000 dead in Belarus and 25,000 disabled", which makes a total of 60,000 dead (10% of the 600 000, liquidators) and 165,000 disabled.^[4]
• A UNSCEAR report places the total confirmed deaths from radiation at 64 as of 2008.
• Estimates of the number of deaths potentially resulting from the accident vary enormously: the World Health Organization (WHO) suggest it could reach 4,000:

A total of up to 4000 people could eventually die of radiation exposure from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) accident nearly 20 years ago, an international team of more than 100 scientists has concluded.

As of mid-2005, however, fewer than 50 deaths had been directly attributed to radiation from the disaster, almost all being highly exposed rescue workers, many who died within months of the accident but others who died as late as 2004. ^[5]

20 years after

The 20th anniversary of the catastrophe was marked by a series of events and developments.

The liquidators held a rally in Kiev to complain about deteriorated compensation and medical support.^[6] Similar rallies were held in many other cities of the former Soviet Union. ^[7]

On April 25, 2006, a monument to Hero of the Soviet Union Leonid Telyatnikov, who was among the very first liquidators, was inaugurated in the Baikove Cemetery in Kiev.

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary the charity Children of Chernobyl delivered their 32nd delivery of $1.7 million worth of medical supplies to Kiev.^{[citation needed]}

The liquidators who reside in Estonia (some 4,200 as reported in 2006 ref name= EstPres/>, 3,140 as of 2011^[8]) may hope for the introduction of an Estonian law for their relief after the meeting of their representatives with President of Estonia on April 26, 2006. It turns out that by the Estonian laws, the state may provide help and relief only to citizens, who are "legal descendants" of the citizens of 1918–1940 Republic of Estonia. At the same time, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine do not provide any relief to the liquidators residing abroad.^[9] The problem is tied to the fact that Chernobyl veterans are classified under the Estonian Persons Repressed by Occupying Powers Act. As of 2011 the issue was not resolved yet.^[8]

A number of liquidators residing in Khabarovsk who were in military service were denied a certain compensation for loss of health on grounds that they were not salaried workers, but rather under military order. They have to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.^[10]

See also

• List of Chernobyl-related articles
• Fukushima 50 a similar group of workers in Japan in 2011

References

1. ^ "WHO: Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident and Special Health Care Programs, 2006". World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/chernobyl/who_chernobyl_report_2006.pdf. Retrieved 25 March 2000. 
2. ^ "Former Chernobyl Pilot Soars Above His Obstacles". The St. Petersburg Times. May 31, 2005.
3. ^ "Chernobyl: the true scale of the accident". Chernobyl’s Legacy: Health, Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2005/pr38/en/index.html. Retrieved 4/15/11. 
4. ^ "Selon un rapport indépendant, les chiffres de l'ONU sur les victimes de Tchernobyl ont été sous-estimés (According to an independent report, UN numbers on Chernobyl's victims has been underestimated"". Le Monde. April 7, 2006. http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2006/04/07/les-chiffres-de-l-onu-sur-les-victimes-de-tchernobyl-auraient-ete-sous-estimes_759215_3244.html.  (French)
5. ^ "Chernobyl: the true scale of the accident". Chernobyl’s Legacy: Health, Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2005/pr38/en/index.html. Retrieved 4/15/11. 
6. ^ April 2006 liquidators' rally in Kiev (Russian)
7. ^ Ashes of Chernobyl (Russian)
8. ^ ^{a b} "Chernobyl Veterans Disturbed by Unequal Treatment"
9. ^ Estonian President promises rights for liquidators (Russian)
10. ^ Liquidators seek help from the European "Themis" (Russian)