Visit of American Science Journalist Dr. Richard Stone to the Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants of the NAS of Ukraine
From the 1st to the 10th of October 2022, Dr. Richard Stone, an American journalist who works for many scientific publications such as Science, National Geographic, Discover and others, visited Ukraine to get acquainted with the work of scientists and scientific institutions during the war, as well as plans for rebuilding scientific institutions after the war.
During the visit, Richard Stone visited a number of scientific institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, in particular the Institute for Nuclear Research, Institute for Superhard Materials, National Science Centre “Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology”, the Institute of Single Crystals and the Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants (ISP NPP).
The President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Academician Zagorodny Anatoly, held a meeting with Dr. Richard Stone. During the meeting, he told about the current state of science in Ukraine, damaged scientific institutions and difficulties in the work of scientists during the war.
The American journalist was accompanied by Serhii Kupriianchuk and Maryna Berezhok on behalf of the ISP NPP. As part of the visit, the journalist had a meeting with the Acting Chornobyl NPP Director General Valeriy Seyda and the Mayor of Slavutych Yuri Fomichev. The issues of ensuring safe operation of the Chornobyl NPP during the occupation and plans for the development of science in Slavutych after the war were discussed.
During the visit to Slavutych, Dr. Stone talked with the ISP NPP scientists, who after damage of the research laboratory in Chornobyl with assistance of the city authorities, created temporary workplaces in Slavutych. The scientific assistance in decommissioning of Chornobyl NPP nuclear units and transformation of the Shelter object into an environmentally safe system was discussed during the meeting.
On 9th of October, Dr. Richard Stone had a meeting with the leadership of the ISP NPP at the Institute’s office in Kyiv. The Director of the Institute, Academician Anatolii Nosovskyi told about the history of the establishment and development of the institution, research activities and the most important results obtained in the Institute, as well as about the destruction and damage of the Institute’s research laboratories during the Russian occupation of Chornobyl and Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Dr. Volodymyr Borysenko, Head of the Division for Nuclear Power Engineering, presented a report on the current state of nuclear power in Ukraine and the risks of radiation accidents during the Russian military occupation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP and bombing of the nuclear facilities. Dr. Mykola Talerko, Head of the Department for Radiation Ecology, presented the developed calculation models and the results of the assessment of radioactive air pollution in the areas of forest fires in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone during the occupation by Russian troops.
The next day, Academician Anatolii Nosovskyi together with Dr. Richard Stone visited the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, got acquainted with the works on its decommissioning, as well as visited the inner parts of the New Safe Confinement of the Shelter object. At the end of his visit to the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, Richard Stone visited the scientific buildings of the ISP NPP in Chornobyl and saw with his own eyes all the destruction caused by the Russian occupants to the scientific institution.
This post is also available in: Ukrainian
