Only Belarusians eat products from Chernobyl zone
200 tons of grain was produced in contaminated territories last year. 33 thousand tons of sugar was produced in Hoiniki District and sold in Belarus. Products from contaminated territories are not exported. Ecological tourism in contaminated territories is only a plan for the future, but agriculture and cattle breeding became reality long ago.
The deputy director of a Homel scientific research unitary enterprise “Institute of Radiology” Alyaksandr Padalyak told ERB that grain was usually grown in contaminated territories, however, they had started experimenting with sugar-beet because the climate was improving.
Alyaksandr Padalyak: “There is a respecialisation programme. The main tendency is cattle breeding, that is about a tenth of all those farms. Second, we are aiming at optimization of the sown area structure including crops accumulating the least amount of radioactive nuclides. At the moment they are winter triticale (hybrid of rye and wheat - author), spring triticale and grain corn… And millet. Taking the warming of our climate into account, we are going to conduct a research of such specimens as sugar-beets and sweet sorghum... We are observing the way the specimens can accumulate radioactive nuclides”.
The products are used depending on their radiological characteristics. Grain is used as fodder or food. And sugar-beet is used to make sugar.
Alyaksandr Padalyak: “Speaking about the products, part of the grain satisfies the norms (that is about 200 thousand tons now) and the rest is used as fodder. Speaking about sugar-beets, they are used to make sugar. 33 thousand tons of sugar was produced on 840 hectares of land in Hoiniki District last year”.
According to Alyaksandr Padalyak, the products are not exported - they are distributed all over the country.
Alyaksandr Padalyak: “Products produced in the contaminated territories are consumed here. They are not exported”.
Alyaksandr Padalyak also said that infant food could be produced from products from “the zone” but assured that it would satisfy the existing norms.
Alyaksandr Padalyak: “Of course, norms for infant food are stricter today. For example, the grain should not contain more that 11 becquerels per kilo. At the same time, grain used to make infant food cannot contain more than 3.7 becquerels per kilo. Speaking about milk, namely dried milk, it is 3.7 becquerels. The norm for butter is 18 becquerels”.
Vasil Netsyarenka from Radioactive Security Institute explained the norms to the European Radio for Belarus. According to him, our norms are comparable with Russian, Ukrainian and European standards but in practice products in the countries are almost clean.
Vasіl Nestsyarenka: “Foreign norms are less strict in comparison with Belarusian ones. However, it is all about theory because they exist to be applied in case of an accident. At the moment French and German milk does not contain more than 0.1 becquerels per litre. And we have more than 100 villages where milk contains more than 100 becquerels per litre”.
Іvan Nіkіtchanka, the head of a social and economic association “Support centre for Chernobyl initiatives” is worried about the consumption of contaminated products even if they satisfy the norms because radiation is getting accumulated.
Іvan Nіkіtchanka: “Any amount of radiation can do harm to humans! Everything seems to satisfy norms here but people are accumulating a tenfold critical radioactivity”.
Іvan Nіkіtchanka reminds that every single radioactive isotope destroys important organs:
Іvan Nіkіtchanka: “Radioactive isotopes are always radiating energy. They get to soft tissues as soon as they are consumed by people and they get to the heart and the cardiac muscle first of all. They are hitting the muscle all the time. As a result, the muscle gets worn out, loses its defense and gets torn. Infarction. If it gets to a vessel it also gets torn”.
According to Mr. Nikitchanka, it takes at least 40 days or even up to 75 days to get rid of all radioactive isotopes found in a person assuming that they consume only “clean” products. If they keep eating contaminated products, radioactive elements accumulate in their bodies.
Nikitchanka says that the whole Belarus is contaminated with radioactive nuclides at the moment:
Іvan Nіkіtchanka: “We checked a village in Valozhyn District. There is not a single person that has not accumulated radiation out of its 44 inhabitants. One person had 77 becquerels per kilo which is 1.5 higher than the critical index”.
The deputy director of a Homel scientific research unitary enterprise “Institute of Radiology” Alyaksandr Padalyak told ERB that grain was usually grown in contaminated territories, however, they had started experimenting with sugar-beet because the climate was improving.
Alyaksandr Padalyak: “There is a respecialisation programme. The main tendency is cattle breeding, that is about a tenth of all those farms. Second, we are aiming at optimization of the sown area structure including crops accumulating the least amount of radioactive nuclides. At the moment they are winter triticale (hybrid of rye and wheat - author), spring triticale and grain corn… And millet. Taking the warming of our climate into account, we are going to conduct a research of such specimens as sugar-beets and sweet sorghum... We are observing the way the specimens can accumulate radioactive nuclides”.
The products are used depending on their radiological characteristics. Grain is used as fodder or food. And sugar-beet is used to make sugar.
Alyaksandr Padalyak: “Speaking about the products, part of the grain satisfies the norms (that is about 200 thousand tons now) and the rest is used as fodder. Speaking about sugar-beets, they are used to make sugar. 33 thousand tons of sugar was produced on 840 hectares of land in Hoiniki District last year”.
According to Alyaksandr Padalyak, the products are not exported - they are distributed all over the country.
Alyaksandr Padalyak: “Products produced in the contaminated territories are consumed here. They are not exported”.
Alyaksandr Padalyak also said that infant food could be produced from products from “the zone” but assured that it would satisfy the existing norms.
Alyaksandr Padalyak: “Of course, norms for infant food are stricter today. For example, the grain should not contain more that 11 becquerels per kilo. At the same time, grain used to make infant food cannot contain more than 3.7 becquerels per kilo. Speaking about milk, namely dried milk, it is 3.7 becquerels. The norm for butter is 18 becquerels”.
Vasil Netsyarenka from Radioactive Security Institute explained the norms to the European Radio for Belarus. According to him, our norms are comparable with Russian, Ukrainian and European standards but in practice products in the countries are almost clean.
Vasіl Nestsyarenka: “Foreign norms are less strict in comparison with Belarusian ones. However, it is all about theory because they exist to be applied in case of an accident. At the moment French and German milk does not contain more than 0.1 becquerels per litre. And we have more than 100 villages where milk contains more than 100 becquerels per litre”.
Іvan Nіkіtchanka, the head of a social and economic association “Support centre for Chernobyl initiatives” is worried about the consumption of contaminated products even if they satisfy the norms because radiation is getting accumulated.
Іvan Nіkіtchanka: “Any amount of radiation can do harm to humans! Everything seems to satisfy norms here but people are accumulating a tenfold critical radioactivity”.
Іvan Nіkіtchanka reminds that every single radioactive isotope destroys important organs:
Іvan Nіkіtchanka: “Radioactive isotopes are always radiating energy. They get to soft tissues as soon as they are consumed by people and they get to the heart and the cardiac muscle first of all. They are hitting the muscle all the time. As a result, the muscle gets worn out, loses its defense and gets torn. Infarction. If it gets to a vessel it also gets torn”.
According to Mr. Nikitchanka, it takes at least 40 days or even up to 75 days to get rid of all radioactive isotopes found in a person assuming that they consume only “clean” products. If they keep eating contaminated products, radioactive elements accumulate in their bodies.
Nikitchanka says that the whole Belarus is contaminated with radioactive nuclides at the moment:
Іvan Nіkіtchanka: “We checked a village in Valozhyn District. There is not a single person that has not accumulated radiation out of its 44 inhabitants. One person had 77 becquerels per kilo which is 1.5 higher than the critical index”.
