The Emergency Ministry radiation monitor operator

The Emergency Ministry radiation monitor operator measures the level of radiation on the dump of the Pridneprovskyi Chemical Plant in Dneprodzerzhinsk, on Saturday, November 18, 2000. On the background the bulldozer, which covers up the dump. Since 1948 till the beginning of the 90ies all the necessary components for the founding of the Soviet Nuclear complex were put out here. The radio-active wastes were buried in 9 storehouses on the plant's territory. Within the half of a century some 36 billion of tons of wastes have had gathered here. Lately the outskirts storehouses were cluttered up. The threat of raise of subterranean waters and washing up of the radio-active substances and Dnipro pollution appeared. The Emergency Ministry collaborators fulfilled some changes. As a result on November 18 the radiation level on the surface of the dump makes up some 1000 Microroentgens per hour (the allowed sanitary standard level for human dwelling is 50 microroentgens per hour). A week ago the Ukrainian MEA subdivisions started to liquidate the existing situation. They clear up the rivers and streams around the plant from garbage. Photo by Anatolyi Lysenko/ UIAN