Ukrainian
Population and Chornobyl Disaster:
Face-To-Face
Confrontation
By Yuri
Sayenko, Dr. Sc. (Econ.)
For ten years after Chornobyl disaster, all its
after-effects have not been liquidated.
Some of after-effects start only to become apparent,
for example, an increase in sickness rate. Scale and depth of social and
psychological after-effects are only being studied. Genetic and demographic
after-effects still wait to be shown themselves.
But all the Chornobyl after-effects are social
consequences finally. Because all that has been created by man will bring harm
first of all to the nature and people.
There are social after-effects of Chornobyl of two
types: direct and mediate. First six years after the Chornobyl disaster, the
after-effects have been settled by command and administrative methods under the
conditions of full secrecy of Soviet communist authoritarian regime. Decisions
have been made by politicians, but not by professionals. Therefore, last four
years Ukraine lives under conditions of direct after-effects of disaster as well
as under conditions of consequences of wrong political decisions made in first
six years after the Chornobyl disaster.
These years Ukraine has endured three hardest
catastrophes:
·
The first
is the Chornobyl disaster; its consequences burned heavily environment and
people of Ukraine and covered the Earth with radioactive rain;
·
The
second is the breakdown of the USSR, destruction of habitual social and
political picture of world, situation of stable protected prison is changed for
unclear and scaring freedom;
·
The third
is the deepest post-totalitarian political and economic crisis, sharp
impoverishment of the Ukrainian state and population.
These three catastrophes have been superimposed each
on the other and they strengthened each other.
We should recapture the confidence of population to
the state, science, information and own future.
The Chornobyl disaster is the global catastrophe of
XX century. The deep bases of mankind – spiritual, social, material – have
shuddered. Chornobyl has appeared as the result of non-doubtful priority of
engineering and technology and economics thought over ecological and humanistic
expediency. Chornobyl is the planetary multifactor unique hyper-complex event
that should be studied and treated, using not elementary linear or mosaic
measures, but involving non-ordinary, non-traditional, and complex methods.
This Chornobyl “explosion” has taken place long
before 1986, just in the period of planning, designing and adopting the
decisions on the nuclear reactor type and region allotted for the construction
of it. This is the spiritual, moral-ethical tragedy, first of all.
Moscow has taken in arbitrary manner the decision on
the construction of the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station. Moscow has managed
overall work at the Chornobyl construction site. Moscow commanded to start that
sadly known experiment resulted in the explosion. Moreover, even today we do not
know, for sure, of what nature – technical or military – was that experiment
at the 4th block?!
Moscow has said no word, it has taken no step to
remedy post-Chornobyl situation in Ukraine. Quite the contrary. When Russia
fastens the noose of prices on energy carriers, suddenly shot up to the world
level, around Ukraine’s neck and strangles, by doing so, it compels Ukraine to
run even the blocks of the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station.
Chornobyl is the energetic tragedy, no doubt. The
myth of “peaceful atom” is undermined. The safety of atomic power
engineering raised doubts. Likely, searching for alternative kinds of energy is
the only way to salvation.
Chornobyl is also the methodological and
organizational tragedy: neither science nor technology do know and do manage to
cope with it. We do not cure, but do make it worse by unskillful treatment. This
is the tragedy of crisis and begging. From one side, it ought to curtail nuclear
power engineering, but from the other – may we allow this to ourselves under
the power famine situation that is the result, incidentally, of outdated power
consuming technologies.
However, the most striking unexpected thing of
Chornobyl has been its social and psychological strike at the population.
Ecological, economical and medical post-effects could be foreseen, to some
extent. More than convincing experience of Hiroshima, Tchelyabinsk, nuclear test
range of Kazakhstan gave some grounds for it. However, it has been Chornobyl
that has demonstrated tremendous destroying impact on social and psychological
sphere of vast masses of population – up to 6,000,000 of people (including
Kiev habitants, suffered, in fact, but not recognized, officially, as such
ones).
Social and psychological post-effects of Chornobyl
disaster have turned out one of the most non-predicted unexpected things by
scale and extent in the post-catastrophe period.
This phenomenon had to be studied in the monitoring
mode from the very first days. The shortage of funds has led to the situation
when beginning only from 1992 through 1995 there have been carried out in
Ukraine three systematic studies of social and psychological post-effects of the
disaster for all the categories of suffered population by questionnaire. Survey
method is the interview.
The first social and psychological studies have fixed
symptoms of different aspects. Break-down, asthenia, headache, memory weakening,
sharp health worsening. Alarm and fear for children’s and own adult’s health
and fate. Fear of uncertain future. Feeling the total menace and absence of
common sense. Feeling keenly the dissonance of the authorities statements:
‘Everything is okay, there is nothing terrible in the Chornobyl disaster”
and great mass resettlement actually and the other large-scale acts of the
Chornobyl disaster liquidation. There is no confidence to the authorities. Acute
problems of resettled population. The syndrome of doomed.
The first sociologic study of social and
psychological post-effects of the Chornobyl disaster has been carried out by the
Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in 1992.
Beginning from that time, these studies have assumed the more systematic
character.
There have been interviewed more than 10,000 of
suffered people, re-settlers, in particular. 60% of the suffered have testified
the dread of foodstuffs, feeling of fear and helplessness, sleeplessness and
shortness of temper; 20% noted that they have no appetite. Almost 30%, in
general, lost their interest to life. 45%, answering the question “What do you
intend to do for finding a way out from this hard situation?!”, said
“Nothing”! The suffered
people fall in the state of to be infatile socially. There is formed “the
community of doomed”, who rely, mainly, upon God, sometimes on themselves, the
near relations, the state aid for life. 90% of these people are concentrated
only on their own health, and health of their children and near people. The
re-settlers possess of the crippled socio-cultural and landscape space, they are
hardly adapted to new conditions. A half of them wants to come back to native
places, even radioactively contaminated.
Moreover, “the Soviet model of life” –
irresponsibility, helplessness, absence of initiative – has been implemented
firmly in quite a great number of people. So, for example, only 7% want to have
their own property, and it does not matter for 40% who will possess of the
property; 30% are for the state or collective (kolkhoz) property, and more than
20% have not formed their own opinion of it.
Self-appraisals
of social and psychological state and orientations
(in % to the
interviewed people) of
residents of
the II and III radioactively contaminated zones, re-settlers and residents of
comparatively clean zone.
June 1992. The
Institute of Sociology of
the National
Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
|
Disaster
Zones |
Re-settlers |
Clean
Zones |
Chornobyl
Disaster Post-Effects of Worsening: |
|
|
|
- health |
81 |
85 |
20 |
- material
conditions |
45 |
65 |
35 |
- attitude
to the authorities |
43 |
45 |
32 |
- standing
at the work |
38 |
40 |
6 |
- relations
at the family |
42 |
30 |
6 |
- attitude
to religion |
4 |
3 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Forecast of the future: |
|
|
|
-
all things will settle one way or another, it is not terrible |
5 |
9 |
17 |
-
we must seek the way out from this situation |
11 |
20 |
28 |
-
it is better not to think of it |
18 |
28 |
18 |
-
the worst is still ahead |
38 |
26 |
21 |
-
we are doomed |
22 |
15 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
What
do they hope for? |
|
|
|
-
for themselves |
38 |
45 |
57 |
-
for the authorities |
10 |
13 |
5 |
-
for science |
6 |
4 |
10 |
-
for foreign aid |
2 |
1 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
Paradoxes
of social and psychological state of suffered people.
The suffered people is unsatisfied with authorities
but show complete personal passivity, they are oriented to life pensions and
government securities both for yourselves and for their children (that is even
more dangerous by its consequences).
The post-communist Ukraine does not have yet at its
disposal the mechanisms which would allow the majority of people to support
themselves and their families without government assistance. And when all the
hopes are in vain, the only thing is left to rely upon themselves or God.
The people are inclined to hyperbolize the Chornobyl
disaster post-effects: whatever happens with them they put down to “the
Chornobyl factor”.
Carrying out the resettlement too chaotically has
shown what the irreversible influence on the state of mind, social and
socio-cultural status of the resettled population, especially, of elder age is
made by such unreasoned actions.
Due to prolonged hushing up by the USSR government
the Chornobyl disaster scales and post-effects, the suffered population as well
as population of Ukraine, in general, has experienced hardly the double stress,
“two Chornobyls”. The first is objective, the second is of informational
nature when mass media has received, at last, an opportunity to open the truth
about the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station Disaster.
The suffered population has endured, in general,
three social and psychological strikes:
GROWING TORPID, FREEZING WITH THE FEAR IN INFORMATION
VACUUM — on the background of
absolute silence and authorities’ positive statements the huge colossal scale
events happened: never-ending flow of people, equipment, machines, specialists
and materials to Chornobyl and total eviction of people from Chornobyl and
surrounding settlements.
The
2nd strike (1989-1992) -- THE SHOCK DUE TO THE TRUTH—an informative tornado
of truthful information on magnitude and depth of Chornobyl disaster and its
influence on nature, economy and man.
The
3rd strike (1992- up to now) -- THE INFLATION BLOW—absolute impoverishment of all sections of population
in the result of dramatic post-totalitarian crisis, devaluation of incomes,
savings and various privileges for suffered from the Chornobyl disaster
The Chernobyl has marked the beginning of searching
for the new post-Chernobyl models of survival for the whole mankind, not only
for Ukraine itself. It has dictated the requirement to change cardinally
value-normative space of life and complex analysis and synthesis of all factors
of the survival.
The interviewing in December 1994 has covered 1 200
respondents, who belonged to such categories of Zhytomyr region population: II
zone, obligatory settling out - 300 persons; III zone, free-will settling out -
300 persons; IV zone, high radiation - 300 persons; “clean zone”, control
zone - 300 persons. The sample is representative by age, sex, education, place
of residence (city, village) and family structure.
Due to the lack of funds, researchers selected, as a
“clean” zone, the Zhytomyr region areas, not listed in the register of
radioactively contaminated zones, where the people from the II and III zones
have been resettled to. Unexpectedly, we registered such a fact. The residents
of “clean” areas do not differ in the least, in their socio-psychological
self-appraisals, from the residents of radioactively contaminated territories.
This fact indicates that the radius of socio-psychologic impact is vastly larger
than the radius of radioactively suffered territory.
For example, the life plans of residents of
territories under comparison are practically the same:
|
Clean
Areas |
Disaster
Zones |
Life
Plans: |
|
|
|
|
|
- To
search for additional earnings |
55 |
42 |
- To
do nothing, only to survive |
28 |
24 |
- To
rent or buy a plot |
8 |
14 |
- To
be retrained |
6
|
11 |
- To
be engaged in making business |
11 |
21 |
|
|
|
Perception
of the Chernobyl disaster: |
|
|
|
|
|
- We
are living as before |
14 |
19 |
- We
are overcoming everything |
36 |
47 |
- Irreparable
fatal thing came about |
15 |
10 |
- We
have no future |
4 |
6 |
- Children
have no future |
22 |
14 |
The population, irrespective of residence area and
degree of its radioactive contamination, is fully concentrated on the problems
of elementary survival. The most pressing needs are money aid, medicines, food
products, clothes. In the interim, such active orientations of activity as a
retraining, setting up a business or acquiring a plot for farming remain in the
background. In settling the problems of survival, the people rely, mainly, upon
themselves, their families and near persons. They rely a little in this matter
on public oraganizations and do not trust the authorities’ structures. It is
the Ministry of Affairs on Protection of the Population from Chernobyl Disaster
Post-effects with which the suffered people connect bigger hopes, comparatively
to the other organizations, to
improve the situation that has arisen after the disaster. 30% of the suffered
people and 46% of “clean” area residents did know practically nothing of the
Law On Status and Social Protection of Citizens Suffered from the Chernobyl
Disaster, or could say nothing of it. And only 1% of both the suffered people
and “control” respondents consider this Law as the just, complete and
effective law.
This is too alarming symptom. It testifies the
apathy, distrust, utmostly lowest level of legal consciousness of the
population, and spiritual emptiness, information deafness, law-making and
organizational insolvency from the side of the state and civil society. It may
search for explanations in paternalistic stereotypes of the population that has
been weaned from independent thinking and initiative actions by centuries, in
the youth and poverty of the state and immaturity of civil society, in absence
of experience from the side of world community for large-scale actions of
support that Chernobyl needs, though they themselves only will not mend matters.
It is seen from the above that the population of
disaster zones, in absence of the proper support and advice, has accustomed to
all of this for long ten years after the disaster, and directed thoughts and
efforts to getting the living and daily bread, safeguarding children, and then
-- higgledy-piggledy.
The studies of December 1995. There have been
interviewed 700 persons, including the II zone residents -- obligatory settling
out, the III zone residents -- free-will settling out,
as well as the resettlers and the “clean” zone residents from the
Poltava region territories. It is the results of studying “samosels” -- the
residents of the dead 30 km alienation and astrangement zone, the persons who
took their old residence again (or new ones) independently, without authorities
permission, the number of which exceeds 1 000 persons that deserve a special
attention. This is the particular phenomen of post-Chernobyl situation. The
results of the study given below are so significant that they require no
comments, taking into account the limited size of this paper.
Self-appraisals
of socio-psychological state and orientations (in % to the interviewed people)
of residents of the I, II and III radioactively contaminated zones, resettlers
and residents of comparatively clean zone. December 1995. The Institute of
Sociology of
the
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The number of interviewed persons is
700.
|
|
Clean
Areas |
Resettlers |
II
and III Zones Residents |
30
km Zone Residents |
1. |
The
Chernobyl disaster is perceived as follows: |
|
|
|
|
|
-
Irreparable fatal thing came about, we have no future |
9 |
37 |
48 |
70 |
|
-
We live, as if nothing came about |
37 |
0.5 |
6 |
3 |
2. |
Residing
in radioactively contaminated environment (air, earth, water, plants) |
52 |
54 |
90 |
98 |
3. |
Wishing
to resettle to the other territory of Ukraine |
1 |
2 |
36 |
5 |
4.
|
Having
the bad or terrible state: |
|
|
|
|
|
-
Material conditions |
57 |
51 |
50 |
99 |
|
-
Adults’ health |
33 |
42 |
53 |
91 |
|
-
Children’s health |
15 |
13 |
41 |
- |
|
-
Psychologically feeling themselves |
27 |
25 |
26 |
70 |
|
-
Housing conditions |
7 |
8 |
12 |
21 |
|
-
Food |
19 |
7 |
11 |
91 |
|
-
Relations in family |
1 |
2 |
3 |
8 |
|
-
Relations with other people |
2 |
2 |
5 |
8 |
|
-
Conditions for treatment |
44 |
21 |
66 |
99 |
5. |
Lack
of incomes for a living |
40 |
77 |
65 |
95 |
6.
|
It
does not matter what food to eat, if only to have something |
56 |
60 |
60 |
98 |
7.
|
Adults
have chronic diseases |
26 |
55 |
52 |
100 |
8. |
Success
factors in life: |
|
|
|
|
|
-
Of will origin: initiative, dodgeness |
38 |
48 |
16 |
8 |
|
-
Intellect: education and qualification |
27 |
54 |
12 |
8 |
|
-
Efficiency: persistent work |
34 |
26 |
45 |
4 |
|
-
Of myth nature: lucky chance, lucky way of life |
27 |
16 |
32 |
10 |
Self-appraisals
of socio-psychological state and orientations of “samosels” -- the residents
of the dead 30 km alienation and astrangement zone (in % to the interviewed
people), December 1995. The Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of
Sciences of Ukraine. The number of
interviewed persons is 100.
1. |
Residing
in the zone more than 5 years |
93 |
2. |
Out
of them those who has resettled never from the zone |
52 |
3. |
Residing
here, because here everything is native |
98 |
4. |
As
far as possible from the society, politics and authorities |
80 |
5. |
Residing
here, because we want to be independent people |
72 |
6. |
We
want to remain in the zone for ever |
99 |
7. |
We
have suffered strongly and seriously from the disaster |
100 |
8. |
The
disaster has broken our life, we do not have the future |
70 |
9. |
Residing
there where all is radioactively contaminated -- air, earth, water, plants |
97 |
10. |
Having
the bad housing conditions |
20 |
11. |
Having
the bad material conditions |
99 |
12. |
Having
the chronic diseases |
90 |
13. |
We
feel ourselves psychologically bad |
70 |
14. |
Do
not have medical servicing |
99 |
15. |
Observing
the strange changes in the people, animals and plants |
98 |
General
Results and Conclusions:
The disaster has made a tremendous destructive impact
upon social and psychological state and social and cultural orientations of the
population: apathy, passivity, paternalism, lack of initiative, loss of future,
fear of suffered environment, loss of belief in support from the side of
authorities, syndrome of doomed, fear for health and future of children.
Re-settlers are adapted very hardly to nature and climate as well as to social
and cultural conditions of new places of residence, and have nostalgic feelings
of quite a high level, almost all the adults want to return to old places of
residence. There has been fixed a number of paradoxes in orientations of the
suffered people. There has been established that the radius of
socio-psychological impact of Chornobyl disaster is much larger than the radius
of radioactive impact. In Zhytomyr Oblast (Region) there have been found
radioactively clean areas, the habitants of which are not told practically, by
the level of socio-psychological impact of the disaster, from the habitants of
radioactively contaminated territories. In some cases the level of their fear is
even higher than the suffered people level of fear. There have been fixed in the
1994-1995 studies that general and political crisis in Ukraine has “covered”
the Chornobyl factor, the people have reconciled themselves to their destiny,
and their low living standard and absence of clear perspective to pass through
the crisis frighten them out of existence more than the Chornobyl. There has
been fixed the “psychological
tiredness” due to permanent stress situation. In my view, methods of mass and
socio-psychological rehabilitation are of limited effectiveness, without
improving political and economical situation in the country.
Socio-psychological studies should be carried out in
complex with the other studies in the monitoring mode. Involved Western funds
for conducting socio-psychological
studies of Chornobyl disaster post-effects should be co-ordinated with the
Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. These
studies must be continued, because the “memory of trauma” remains at the
suffered population, and while improving an economic situation, the “Chornobyl
factor” again will be valid. Especially as, it is not known, how the small
radiation dozes will influence upon
socio-psychological state and physical health of 130000 suffered people who
remained to reside in radioactively contaminated zones.
About the
closure of the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station
On
November 25-28, 1996 there has been take place in City of Slavutych, Ukraine the
2nd International Conference devoted to the 10th anniversary of
building the Cover (Sarcophagus) object above the 4th destroyed block
of the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station. Here are some opinions of Conference
participants on the state of the 4th block:
Victor
Bariachtar, Academician, Ukraine:
“Nuclear
explosion will not occur... However, I cannot guarantee that it will not take
place.”
Valentyn
Krupny, the Head of the Cover object, Ukraine:
“Sarcophagus
remains to be dangerous object... Nuclear explosion is dangerous, first of all,
for the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station personnel... There will not be brought
harm to the population.”
Nikolay
Gurin, physicist from Obninsk, Russia:
“Nuclear
explosion in Sarcophagus is excluded.”
Edward
Pazuchin, physicist from Sankt-Petersbourg, Russia:
“Nuclear
danger does exist, no doubt... but it is not more dreadful than what has
happened in 1986.”
But in May 1986 the 4th block had been
destroyed not by atomic explosion... Now there are about 2000 tons of water,
2000 combustibles and plenty of radioactive dust in the Sarcophagus. Nobody in
the world does know how the ingredients of this huge hellish pile will behave
themselves. The processes that take place there are very hard of access to
observe, because sensing elements have no access to them. Soviet system did not
liquidate the consequences of its crimes, and, like the villains, concealed them
and covered tracks. So that, erection of the Sarcophagus has been accomplished
hastily and secretly. Nobody did not think that sensing elements should have an
access to the 4th block hell. They made haste to bury it and report
of the victory of Soviet system over the atom.
On October 30, 1996 at 22.00 PM Kyiv Time the 1st
block of the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station has been stopped. The energetic
system of Ukraine has lost 3% of its power. These losses can be compensated by
tens hundreds of trains with the other fuel. But there is no such fuel. In hard
Winter the consumption of electrical energy increases by 10%. And the frequency
in energetic system can fall lower than 49.2 hertz. All the atomic power stations of Ukraine will be cut off and
dead. Consequences can be of monstrous size.
The stoppage of the 1st block will
increase the number of jobless persons in the City of Slavutych by 1.5-2
thousand specialists of higher qualification.
Therefore, the stoppage of the 1st block
of the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station as well as the stoppage of all its working
blocks is merely the simple political decision.
The thing is that mankind believes fanatically in the
myth that the closure of working blocks of the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station
will secure the world against the possible catastrophe.
It is a child’s naivety.
First, the similar blocks continue to be operated at
Leningrad, Ignalina, Kursk and Smolensk Atomic Power Stations. They are better
in nothing than The Chornobyl working blocks.
Second, nobody in the world has settled yet the
problem of security of stopped blocks of atomic stations.
Third, the stopped blocks do not settle the problem
of the danger of the Sarcophagus. There is a main risk from the side the
Sarcophagus. It is left for hundreds years. Until we hide all its content into
the reliable burial ground. There are already 2500 projects how to do it. And
there is no real among them.
Because it is impossible to secure the Sarcophagus in
the nearest years, the psyche looks for something that could substitute it. And
finds what is in the light – to close the working Chornobyl blocks. But the
closure of Chornobyl Atomic Power Station is social and psychological problem of
thousands of its workers, this is the fortune of 25 thousand of population of
City of Slavutych. But emotions do not want to see these consequences,
unfortunately. Such are the paradoxes of human psyche. They are often stronger
than common sense.
This is also one of the social and psychological
phenomena of Chornobyl. Chornobyl bred these socio-psychological phenomena not
only in the milieu of suffered people, but in the whole human community.
Yuri
Sayenko, Dr. Sc. (Econ.)
Institute
of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
12,
Shovkovychna Street, Kiev 252021, Ukraine,
Tel.:
0038 044 291 55 51, Fax: 0038 044 291 56 96, 0038 044 291 54 83