Disaster recovery
To eliminate the consequences of the accident was a government commission, chaired by appointed deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Boris Antonovich Shcherbina. From the institute who developed the reactor, the commission entered inorganic chemist Academician VA Legasov. In the end, he worked on the site of the accident 4 months instead of the prescribed two weeks. That he has calculated the possibility of applying the mixture, and developed (borated matter, lead and dolomite), which from the very first day of throwing from helicopters into the zone of the reactor to prevent further heating of the remnants of the reactor and reduce the emissions of radioactive aerosols in the atmosphere. Also, it was he who, having reached an armored personnel carrier directly to the reactor, determined that the testimony about the ongoing probes of neutron nuclear reactions are unreliable, as they react to powerful gamma radiation. The analysis of the ratio of isotopes of iodine showed that in fact the reaction stopped.
To coordinate the work were also a Republican committee in the Belarusian, Ukrainian SSR and the RSFSR, various departmental committee and their staffs. In the 30-kilometer zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant began arriving experts seconded to undertake work on the damaged block and around it, as well as military units, both regular and urgent call up of reservists. They all later became known as "liquidators". The liquidators have worked in the danger zone shifts: those who scored the maximum permissible dose of radiation, left, and in their place came others. Most of the work was carried out in 1986-1987, was attended by approximately 240 000 people. The total number of liquidators (including subsequent years) was about 600 000.
In the early days of the main efforts were aimed at reducing the radioactive emissions from the destroyed reactor and prevent more serious consequences. For example, there were fears that because of the residual heat in the fuel remaining in the reactor will melt. Molten substances could penetrate into the flooded room under the reactor and cause another explosion with a large release of radioactivity. Water from these premises were evacuated. Also, steps were taken to prevent the infiltration of melt into the ground under reactor.
Then work began on the clean-up and disposal of the damaged reactor. Around the 4-th unit was built a concrete "sarcophagus" (so-called. Object "Shelter"). Since it was decided to launch the 1 st, 2 nd and third block of the station, radioactive debris scattered on the territory of nuclear power plants and rooftop machine room have been removed inside the sarcophagus, or concreted. In the premises of the first three units was carried out decontamination. Construction of the sarcophagus was completed in November 1986.
Work on the sarcophagus not without casualties: October 2, 1986 near the 4-th power, caught on the crane crashed Mi-8 helicopter, a crew of 4 people died.
According to the Russian State Medical-Dosimetric Register, over the years among Russian liquidators with radiation doses above 100 mSv (about 60 thousand people), several dozen deaths could be attributed to radiation. A total of 20 years in this group from all causes, not related to radiation, died about 5000 the liquidators.