Speaker
Description
The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 set a number of tasks for Belarus to overcome the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster and predict emergency situations at nuclear and radiation hazardous facilities, including through the creation and development of systems for controlling radioactive contamination and radiation monitoring in the country. A special place is given to monitoring on the territory of the Polessky radiation-ecological reserve - a unique object in terms of the tasks to be solved.
Belarus is the first country in the world that faced the need to overcome the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster in the absence of relevant experience. The country has become a pioneer in the creation of systemic radiation monitoring and control. Its experience and created technologies are used by other states, the work of the Polessky Radiation and Ecological Reserve contributes to the study of the impact of radiation on environmental ecosystems.
Subsequent incidents demonstrated the importance of having systems for controlling radioactive contamination and radiation monitoring: “…a comprehensive and well-coordinated program of long-term environmental monitoring is needed in order to determine the nature and extent of the radiological impact on the environment at the local, regional and global levels” (Director of the IAEA in the report on the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant).
The work carried out by Belarus in the field of radioactive contamination control and radiation monitoring makes a significant contribution to improving emergency preparedness and response, which should be actively used by countries implementing their first nuclear programs.
