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Globe 1 nuclear tests. Updates

Globe 1 nuclear tests. Updates

The sleep of reason breeds monsters...
[F.Goya]

Ivanovo region, dense forests of the Volga region. The nearest village is four kilometers away. A wide floodplain meadow opens up on the banks of the forest river Shacha. It has rich forbs, most of all wormwood and tansy, nettle and sedge. The tropic, almost hidden by vegetation, leads to the center of the clearing, where an incomprehensible metal sign rises. Around - some kind of pits, pipes poking out of the ground and rickety remnants of a wooden fence. Turning on the device, slowly go there. We are in place - it was here almost 40 years ago that the earth's firmament was shaking in convulsions ...

In the 1960s-1980s, by order of the Ministry of Geology in the USSR, a program of deep seismic sounding of the earth's crust was implemented - both to clarify its structure and to identify structures in which it is advisable to further search for mineral deposits (mainly oil and gas). A Special Regional Geophysical Expedition was created. The plan developed during the expedition became the basis of the state program code-named "Program-7". It covered the entire country, from Brest to Yakutia.
Seismic exploration is carried out quite simply - at a certain point an explosive charge is blown up, and sensitive instruments, placed at different distances around, record the time of arrival of seismic waves and their parameters. After several "man-made earthquakes", a three-dimensional map of the entire rock mass is created - after all, a seismic wave passes through different rocks in different ways, and the explosion, as it were, "shines through" the earth. Typically, the seismic method is used to survey specific deposits, and the power of the charges is small. But for the project to explore a vast territory, completely different capacities were required.

In the spring of 1971, in a sparsely populated area of the Ivanovo region, not far from the villages of Galkino and Butusikha, first groups of surveyors appeared, and then heavy equipment: tractors, bulldozers, drilling rigs. According to a number of parameters, a point on the left bank of Shachi was chosen as the location of the future well. The object received the code designation "Globus-1", and was the closest to the capital and densely populated center of the country among 22 of its kind.

Work went on for several months. The local population also participated in them - in felling the forest and other auxiliary work. Everyone believed that in the well "a bomb would explode and they would look for oil." In September, everything was completed, the charge was brought up, lowered to a depth of 610 meters, the well above it was plugged and filled with cement.

This was no ordinary charge. For global program seismic sounding, as mentioned above, required very high charge powers. The decision was made to use nuclear devices. Back in 1966, VNIITF began developing non-military charges, including borehole charges. For seismic sounding, charges with a capacity of 2.3 to 22 kilotons of TNT equivalent were chosen (the bomb dropped in 1945 on Hiroshima had a capacity of 13-15 kilotons). For Globus-1, the smallest charge was chosen - 2.3 kt.

On Sunday, September 19, 1971, people from the construction site walked along the only street in the village of Galkino. Knocking on all the houses, they recommended that the windows be sealed with paper crosswise, and that everyone should leave the houses after 19:00. Cars were sent to the village, which were supposed to evacuate people to the Volga in the event of an accident (but this was not announced in advance - in order to prevent panic).

In the evening the earth trembled, windows rattled, cattle roared. The explosion of a camouflage nuclear charge was carried out exactly on schedule. A small earthquake is all that the residents of Galkino and neighboring villages felt. At the facility itself, things were not so rosy: 18 minutes after the explosion, a fountain of water-gas-soil mixture appeared about a meter from the combat well. There was an error in the calculations, the huge pressure destroyed the rocks and the cement layer, and along the wellbore the pressure from the source began to be released into the atmosphere.
Fortunately, mostly inert gases with a short half-life (within a few days and months) turned out to be on the surface. Twenty days later, their output stopped by itself. A relatively small area of about 200x200 meters in size, including the bank of the Shacha River, was polluted with decay products. But even at the moment of the greatest activity of the "geyser", in the first hours after the explosion, two kilometers from the well, the dose rate did not exceed the natural background. Few long-lived isotopes have come to the surface.
Decontamination was carried out, heavily contaminated soil was buried in several trenches. Then the object was mothballed, and soon people left this place, leaving all the equipment. There was still a lot of work waiting for them all over the country: the deep seismic sounding program continued. The generators decommissioned by the "explosives" and the powerful water pump were taken over by the local state farm - such equipment is very useful on the farm. A bulldozer also went there, possibly previously engaged in decontamination work. And for a long time, local residents took out wire, bolts, sheets of metal from the clearing ...

Further events gave rise to a lot of rumors and legends. Teenagers from the surrounding villages, tormented by curiosity, came to the clearing more than once that autumn. In winter, two fell ill - suffered from headaches. They were hospitalized - first to the regional center, then to Ivanovo. There they soon died - according to the official diagnosis, from meningitis.
According to the stories of local residents, the picture is twofold. Most say that nothing special happened, the death rate after the explosion did not increase and the consequences are not felt. Others talk about two-headed calves and relatives who died of cancer. But one way or another, the Ivanovo region has been holding one of the first places in Russia for oncological diseases for many years. True, cases of the disease do not concentrate in the ill-fated Kineshma district.
Scientists visit the object almost every year, measure the background in different points studying groundwater. Several years ago, after long ordeals, the Shacha River, which threatened to wash away the site where the well was drilled, was diverted into a new channel. However, the area was not re-decontaminated.

Now these places are a real "bear corner". The village of Butusikha did not survive the period of consolidation of collective farms, which also led to the depopulation of Galkino. Several fires led to the fact that the Galkinites dispersed to other places, and only two residential buildings remained there. The place of the emergency explosion is distinguished only by a rusty “forbidden zone” sign, and heads sticking out in some places above the research wells drilled later. In most of the glade, the radiation background is normal - 10 μR / hour. You can find several spots where this value reaches hundreds of microR/hour (we measured a value of 672 microR/hour, which is a rather modest result).

"Globe-1"

4.16 µSv/hour (416 µR/hour) - background near the research well.

The village of Galkino is one of its two residential courtyards.

A local resident shows the way.

The road to the explosion site after a month of rains is such that

Single raid on the site of a nuclear explosion of the Globus-1 project.

On September 19, 1971, a nuclear explosion occurred in the north of the Ivanovo region. There were no mass casualties and destruction - the explosion was underground, this secret project was called Globus-1 - one of the many underground nuclear explosions carried out in the USSR. Due to the poor-quality arrangement of the well, after the explosion, contaminated water, dirt and gases escaped to the surface. Now in this place is the ZONE, which for 40 years has been harvesting fruits in the form of the lives of too curious people. In some parts of the Zone, the radiation background exceeds the norm hundreds of times and being there is dangerous in itself, and to get there, you need to go through the forests, fields and abandoned villages full of beasts and other dangers. I had to do this way in December, so the weather got in the way!

December 2014, temperature +2, it's raining. I stand on the banks of the Volga and look into the distance. To get to the place, you need to cross the Volga, bound by loose unreliable ice. Already near the shore lanes are visible, and in the middle there are more of them and they are larger there. Do not add optimism and conversations with local residents, who completely dissuade you from sticking on the ice, scaring you with stories about a recently drowned fisherman. If the ice cracks, it will be very difficult to get out, there are no strong edges now and the edges are very slippery, and there will be only 7-10 minutes before hypothermia. In addition, I have a 30-kilogram backpack with me. After a short struggle between indecision and the desire to complete the task, the latter wins!

Having foreseen such a situation, I took with me an inflatable kayak "Taiga 280" of the Free Wind company. Lightweight (5 kg) and compact, it inflates in 5 minutes. Together with an inflatable life jacket and a pump, it stows in a bag a little larger than a sleeping bag. I rock the kayak, tie my backpack on and briskly move across the Volga. The idea is this: if I fail, then the life jacket will not let me drown, and the boat will not let the cargo sink, besides, it is more convenient to get out of the water by clinging to the sides than on slippery and loose ice. I walk about 30 meters, when the ice begins to break and crackle, I turn to a new tactic: resting my hands on the sides, I push the boat in front of me, ready to jump into it at any moment if the ice starts to leave from under my feet. Since the bulk of the body rests on the boat, the load on the ice is significantly removed. But walking in such a position is not very easy, every 20-30 meters you have to make a stop, unbend, rest. Water splattered the load, I'm all damp too. The distance of 1300 meters was covered in 40 minutes.

Approaching the other bank, I saw two people looking at me with great attention. It turned out to be a family living on the shore, in the village of Buzinikha. Seeing me through the window, they went out to look at the suicide crawling along the Volga, and even standing in the rain and wind for 20 minutes did not become an obstacle for two women. After talking a little, scouting out the necessary information and hiding the boat in the bushes, I hit the road. There was already plenty of time. Suddenly, a fellow traveler came across, going to Norskoye. Before reaching it, I turned into the forest, where I began to settle down for the night. It was already dark, I wanted to eat and dry. Bonfire, dinner and a short rest restored strength. Until nightfall, I walked through the surrounding forest, looking out for beautiful spruces and boar beds. In the evening, crossing the fields, he even tried to hunt. A piglet on a spit would be very helpful! But, not fate, returned with nothing.

The alarm clock rang at 6 am, I really did not want to get up. Incredible dampness, cold and darkness forced me to stay in a sleeping bag. The second time I woke up at 9, a lot of time was spent on shooting, photographing, breakfast, and preparations. Passing through Norskoye, I talked with the local population. I found out a lot of new things for myself. Interestingly, there are many disabled dogs in Norsky, they do not have half of the front paw. I saw 3 of these dogs. The first thing that flashed through my head was lost in a fight with wolves.

By evening, the weather deteriorated badly. It got colder, a strong wind blew, it started to snow and rain. Visibility dropped a lot, everything around became dull gray, it became very difficult to navigate. The path to the village of Galkino led through already overgrown or still overgrown fields. Galkino itself was a sad sight. The ruined, rickety houses looked like something out of a horror movie or a computer game. Togo and look from the nearest wreck a toothy monster will jump out at you. The picture of the post-apocalypse was completed by rapidly rushing lower clouds and blizzards walking across the field.

Spent the night near Galkino. He arranged a bed on a tree, kindled a hot fire, completely dried out. The forest is very dense and there is no wind in it, but from the sounds from the direction of the field and from the bending tops of the fir trees, it was clear that the weather was raging there. Snow was falling from above. Somewhere in the distance you can hear the mooing of an elk, some small birds fly around, apparently trying to profit from something from the provisions. All these difficulties and wonderful weather significantly adjusted my schedule. I sat by the fire looking at the map and making plans for tomorrow. IRP calculated for a day, which I took with me for 3 days, inexorably ended. Tomorrow it was necessary to make a march-throw and very difficult.

On the third day I went to the Zone. I left my backpack in the forest where I spent the night and went light. During the night a lot of snow piled up - about 15 cm and it became very difficult to go. The snow was wet, heavy, stuck to the boots. The path to the Zone ran through the forest, even in the fresh snow there were many footprints: hares, a fox, a couple of perennials. The landscape is uneven, then the descent, then the ascent, the road twisted. In the end, he reached the place where the shift camp of workers who were decontaminating the Zone stood. At home, I noted in advance the point where, according to the description, the Zone is located, and I was not at all surprised when it was not at this place. It took another two hours to find her.

The Zone itself is a platform on the river bank, overgrown with shrubs and rare trees. Traces of work are visible at the site, signs and small buildings are all around. At the very entrance to the Zone, there is an iron pillar made of pipe fittings that looks like an idol. The radiation around him is normal, but he makes an impressive view. In the middle of the zone there is an old, old pillar with a sign that says "Forbidden Zone ..." and another text that is no longer so easy to make out. Around it are several concrete pedestals with signs. Somewhere nearby there should be a "burial ground", but because of the snow it cannot be found. There is a large pile (presumably soil) not far from the sign, there is no desire to climb on it, especially remembering that it is the soil here that is radioactive, and the deeper, the higher the level of radiation.

During the very short time that I spent in the Zone, I managed to find a place where the radiation level is 1.8 μSv, which is about 10-15 times higher than the norm and is dangerous. And it's on the surface! There was no time to conduct experiments, digging up the soil, it was necessary to go back in order to return before dark to the place where he left the backpack with equipment. At parting, I took a few photos, put an end to know exactly where this place is and began to move away. For 10-15 minutes a flock of small birds flew behind me, but then they fell behind. And although he tried to return in his footsteps, it became even more difficult to go. After Galkino noticed that quite recently a wolf had followed in my footsteps. He came out from somewhere west of the village and followed my footsteps for a little over a kilometer when I passed here about 3 hours ago. My footprints were already heavily powdered with snow, the wolf tracks were absolutely clear.

I returned to the place where I left the backpack quite tired. In total for this day I had to walk more than 35 km. difficult terrain and difficult weather conditions, half of this distance had to be dragged by a 30-kilogram load. The thermos of hot sweet tea, prudently poured in the morning, and a piece of salted lard, half-eaten from yesterday evening and already having time to freeze, turned out to be saving. I ate, put my backpack on and went back. The road back was not easy, in the dark and with strong winds. I had no food left, I was running out of water. But the main thing is that the task set (to find out where the Zone actually is) was completed! It invigorated the spirit, gave strength and confidence that it is necessary to return there for more detailed research.

Visit to the Globus-1 object a year later

Meals during the raid

Used during the raid:

IRP (B-4)
Buckwheat 1 package (100 gr)
Rice 1 package (60 gr)
Water 4.5 l + 0.8

equipment

Inflatable kayak "Taiga 280" (Free wind)
Inflatable Life Jacket (Free Wind)
Backpack "Defender 95" (Alloy)
Sleeping bag "Siberia" (Novatur)
Watch "Phoenix 2" (Garmin)
Troop bowler
Thermos 0.5 l
Shoe covers OZK
Anti-slip shoe pads
Tent 3*3
first aid kit
Hunter signal
Axe, knife
PNV 1PN74
Dosimeter "Quantum" (Soeks)
Binoculars
RPS system "Nemesis"
knee pads
raincoat tent
Rug shortened
Military flask

Fin. channel help

Photos

GLOBE - 1.

On September 9, 1971, the inhabitants of some villages in the Ivanovo region suddenly felt the ground slipping from under their feet. The windows rattled in the houses, the cows mooed in the barn. However, no one really got scared. The ground shaking lasted only a few seconds and ended as suddenly as it began.

A few days later, from rumors that were passed from mouth to mouth, the old-timers learned the reason for this unusual “natural phenomenon”. It was rumored that somewhere near Kineshma the military had detonated some kind of "terrible" bomb. And, allegedly, something did not work out for them, since the area of the explosion was cordoned off by soldiers and no one was allowed to enter there. The cordon was soon lifted, but the ban on visiting berry places remained for a long time. What really happened on that September day, the locals, and with them the rest of the population of Russia, found out 20 years later, when the secrecy stamp was removed from many events of the Soviet era. 57°30"59.6"N 42°36"41.1"E

As is often the case, the word-of-mouth reports of the time were largely true. It turned out that on that day, 4 kilometers from the village of Galkino, Kineshma district (Ilyinsky rural administration), Ivanovo region, on the left bank of the Shacha River, an underground explosion of a nuclear device with a capacity of 2.3 kilotons was carried out. It was one of a series of "peaceful" nuclear explosions carried out for industrial purposes. The experiment was commissioned by the USSR Ministry of Geology and was codenamed Globus-1. The depth of the GB-1 well, in which the nuclear charge was laid, was 610 meters. The purpose of the explosion was deep seismic sounding along the Vorkuta-Kineshma profile.

The experiment itself went “without a hitch”: the charge detonated at the right time, the equipment, located in the immediate vicinity of the test point, and thousands of kilometers away, regularly registered vibrations of the earth’s crust. Based on these data, it was planned to identify oil reserves in the northern regions of the European part of the country. Running a little ahead, I will say that the task was successfully solved - new oil fields were discovered in the Vologda and Kostroma regions.

In general, everything went fine until, at the 18th minute after the explosion, a gas-water fountain appeared one meter northwest of the charging well with the removal of radioactive sand and water. The release lasted almost 20 days. Subsequently, it was found out that the cause of the accident was poor-quality cementing of the annular space of the charge well.

It is also good that as a result of the accident, only inert radioactive gases with a short half-life came out into the atmosphere. And due to dilution in the atmosphere, there was a rapid decrease in radioactivity in the surface air layer. Therefore, already a few hours after the explosion, at a distance of 2 kilometers from the epicenter, the dose rate did not exceed the natural radiation background. Water pollution in the Shacha River above the permissible standards was observed at a distance of only a few tens of meters. And even then only in the first days after the accident.

The dry figures of the documents say that on the third day the maximum dose rate was 50 milliroentgen per hour, and on the 22nd day - 1 milliroentgen per hour. 8 months after the explosion, the dose rate at the site did not exceed 150 microroentgens per hour at the wellhead, and outside it - 50 microroentgens per hour, with a natural radiation background of 5-15 microroentgens per hour.

As it was written in the report on the experiment, "thanks to the well-coordinated work of the radiation safety service, none of the population and participants in the explosion was injured." In general, this is true. Nobody got hurt. But only on that ill-fated day. For some reason, doctors from the nuclear industry do not like to talk about long-term and indirect consequences.

And they - the consequences - it seems, after all, were. “After this Globus, calves with two heads were born,” recalled Nadezhda Surikova, a paramedic from the village of Ilinskoye. - Premature babies were born. Miscarriages are now a common thing, and when I started working, all the women nursed normally for the full term. ” This testimony was published in 2002 by the Gazeta newspaper.

Nadezhda Petrovna is sure that two local children died from radiation sickness. The teenagers visited the site of the explosion two months later, and in winter both fell ill - they suffered from headaches. They were taken to Ivanovo, where they were diagnosed with meningitis. Soon the guys were gone. The villagers don't believe in meningitis.

According to local authorities, teenagers themselves are to blame for their death. Despite the ban, they made their way into the closed area and moved the concrete slabs that closed the mine. Although, it is difficult to imagine how they could cope with multi-ton blocks. Unless they were preparing over the years to turn into “Ilya Muromets” and “Alyosha Popovich”.

In addition, the number of deaths from cancer has risen sharply in the settlements located near the site of the explosion. And not just in the 1970s. According to the chief doctor of the regional oncology dispensary Emma Ryabova, the Ivanovo region still holds the first place in Russia in terms of the number of cancers.

The unfavorable ecological situation in the area of the explosion still persists. In some ways, it has even worsened over the years. According to Olga Dracheva, head of the radiation safety department of the Ivanovo regional SES, in 1997 gamma radiation with a capacity of 1.5 thousand microroentgens per hour was recorded at some points of the site, in 1999 - 3.5 thousand, and in 2000 - already 8 thousand ! “Now the radiation power has fallen and is about 3 thousand microroentgens,” says Olga Alekseevna. “But everything indicates that isotopes continue to come to the surface.” This usually happens during floods - melt waters wash out contaminated soil and carry it around.

The “dead place” near the village of Galkino has never gone unnoticed by the authorities. Back in 1976, two wells were drilled into the explosion zone to study the causes of the accident and the consequences of the impact of the explosion on the subsoil. Before drilling, three trenches were dug on the site. In the process of well drilling and exploration, drilling fluid and pumped water containing radioactivity (caesium-137 and strontium-90) were collected in these trenches. Upon completion of the studies, the trenches and the entire contaminated area were covered with clean soil. Atmospheric pollution at the drilling site remained at the level of background values.

And in subsequent years, experts studied the area of the Globus-1 explosion. In the 1990s, these expeditions became annual. According to the data at the beginning of the 21st century, the situation in the area of the explosion was as follows. Radioactive soil is located at a depth of 10 centimeters to one and a half meters, and in places filled with soil trenches - up to 2.5 meters. On the territory of the facility, the dose rate of gamma radiation at a height of 1 meter from the surface varies from 8 to 380 microroentgen per hour. The highest readings are observed in limited areas and are due to opening to control the trench.

In 2002, the administration of the region took care of the situation in the Kineshma district. A number of meetings were held at which a decision was made to conserve the site of the explosion. It is planned to straighten the channel of the Shacha River, fill up clean soil at the site of the explosion, lay new reinforced concrete slabs, which, in turn, should once again be filled with soil.

Work at the Globus-1 facility was included in the Radiation Safety of Russia Program and began in 2003. Whether they are completed or still ongoing, no one can say for sure.

Just like no one can say anything definite about the bright yellow tank trucks with badges announcing the radioactive threat, which drove towards the object all the summer months of 2005. This was reported by the newspaper "Ivanovo-Voznesensk". The cars had numbers of Tver, Murmansk and Voronezh region where nuclear power plants are known to be located. Journalists admit the possibility that some hazardous waste from the nuclear power plant was brought to the Ivanovo region. The regional authorities categorically deny this. However, it was not possible to find out what kind of cargo was carried by tankers in any of the “interested” departments.

Nuclear explosion in the center of Russia

During the 50 years of “nuclear madness” (from 1945 to 1996), almost 2,500 atomic charges were detonated in different parts of our planet. For the most part, these were devices created for “defense needs.” But “peaceful” explosions were also carried out. they can be counted with a big stretch. One of the explosions "thundered" just 300 kilometers from Moscow. Fortunately, this is the only nuclear test conducted in the Central part of Russia. But it was an accident.

"GLOBUS-1"…

On September 19, 1971, the inhabitants of some villages in the Ivanovo region suddenly felt the ground slipping from under their feet. The windows rattled in the houses, the cows mooed in the barn. However, no one really got scared. The ground shaking lasted only a few seconds and ended as suddenly as it began.

A few days later, from rumors that were passed from mouth to mouth, the old-timers learned the reason for this unusual “natural phenomenon”. It was rumored that somewhere near Kineshma the military had detonated some kind of "terrible" bomb. And, allegedly, something did not work out for them, since the area of the explosion was cordoned off by soldiers and no one was allowed to enter there. The cordon was soon lifted, but the ban on visiting berry places remained for a long time. What actually happened on that September day, the locals, and with them the rest of the population of Russia, found out 20 years later, when the secrecy stamp was removed from many events of the Soviet era.

AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

WHAT WAS DONE AND WHAT IS DONE

The work at the Globus-1 facility was included in the Radiation Safety of Russia Program and began in 2003. Whether they are completed or still ongoing, no one can say for sure.

Just like no one can say anything definite about the bright yellow tank trucks with badges announcing the radioactive threat, which drove towards the object all the summer months of 2005. This was reported by the Ivanovo-Voznesensk newspaper. The cars had numbers of the Tver, Murmansk and Voronezh regions, where, as you know, nuclear power plants are located. Journalists admit the possibility that some hazardous waste from nuclear power plants was brought to the Ivanovo region. They categorically deny it.

OTHER "GLOBES"

Although the explosion in the Ivanovo region took place under the designation "Globus-1", it was not the first one carried out within the framework of the project for seismic sounding of the Vorkuta-Kineshma profile.

The first experiment, codenamed Globus-4, was carried out on July 2, 1971 in the Komi ASSR. After 8 days, the second test was also carried out there, which is designated in official documents as "Globus-3". Then there was an explosion in the Ivanovo region, which was described above. And, finally, on October 4, 1971, "Globus-2" was held in the Arkhangelsk region.

Of the four experiments, only one had sad consequences. Explosions in the Komi ASSR and in the Arkhangelsk region took place as expected.

"PEACEFUL" NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS

According to official data, in the Soviet Union between January 1965 and September 1988, 124 nuclear explosions were carried out for peaceful purposes, including 119 explosions outside the territory of nuclear test sites. All of them were carried out underground.

The first such experiment took place on January 15, 1965 in Kazakhstan, on the territory of the Semipalatinsk test site. The test had the code designation "Chagan" and its purpose was to develop a new type of charge, which was supposed to be used in the future for industrial nuclear explosions. It was a success, demonstrating both the reliability of the device and the relative ease of its use.

In the same year, on March 30, in Bashkiria, under the code name "Bhutan", the first explosion "thundered", which had a "practical purpose" - its purpose was to intensify oil production in this region. In addition, it was the first so-called “group nuclear explosion” in our country - two charges were laid close to each other in wells 617 and 618, and exploded simultaneously.

In subsequent years, "explosive work" using nuclear charges was carried out quite intensively. The customers of the experiments were various ministries and departments: geology (51 explosions), gas industry, oil and oil refining industry, medium machine building.

The "geography" of the use of nuclear charges for peaceful purposes was also wide (explosions carried out at nuclear test sites are not considered in this case). On the territory of the RSFSR (Bashkir, Komi, Kalmyk and Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics, Tyumen, Perm, Orenburg, Ivanovo, Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Murmansk and Chita regions, Stavropol and Krasnoyarsk territories) 81 charges were detonated, in Ukraine - 2, in Kazakhstan - 33, in Uzbekistan - 2, in Turkmenistan - 1. The rest of the "fraternal republics" have passed this share.

The last industrial nuclear explosion in the USSR was carried out on September 6, 1988. A charge with a capacity of 8.5 kilotons was blown up in the Arkhangelsk region. The experiment was codenamed Rubin-1.

TEST INCIDENTS

The explosion in the Ivanovo region is not the only Soviet nuclear test in the framework of the program for the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, which is classified as emergency. There were a number of other incidents as well. Moreover, the consequences of "Globus-1", in comparison with others, can be considered not so "serious". According to Vyacheslav Ilyichev, a leading researcher at the Moscow Institute of Industrial Technologies, who spoke on March 11, 2002 at a meeting in the Administration of the Ivanovo Region, which considered a project to eliminate the consequences of a thirty-year-old nuclear explosion, out of 81 "peaceful" nuclear explosions produced on the territory Russian Federation, four were emergency.

Unfortunately, there is not so much information about these incidents - the nuclear department is still in no hurry to report what actually happened in past years in various parts of our vast country. But some information still seeped through the "high fences."

So, it is known that on August 24, 1978 in Yakutia, by order of the USSR Ministry of Geology, the experiment "Kraton-3" was carried out. Due to the negligence of the workers, a concrete plug was knocked out of the mine, in which the nuclear charge was laid, which prevented the release of radionuclides to the surface. The participants in the work themselves suffered the most from this, since it was in the direction of their camp that the infected cloud moved.

Experts also call the explosion on the Obusa River in the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug an emergency. Although official data on this subject are not completely available. This experiment, codenamed Rift-3, took place on July 31, 1982. The fact that during the tests there were some problems is evidenced by the fact of a sharp increase in the number of oncological diseases among local residents. Children were especially affected. Maybe it's just a coincidence. Or maybe not.

An increase in the radiation background after "peaceful" nuclear explosions was recorded in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in Yakutia, in the Murmansk Region. Fortunately, the “indicators” only slightly exceeded the natural background, so it is impossible to talk about any serious consequences for the population and nature. Although, "nothing goes unnoticed."

But the unfavorable radiation situation in the Astrakhan and Orenburg regions, where underground storage tanks for oil and gas condensate were created by nuclear explosions, still persists. These structures were operated in violation of technology: instead of pumping dehydrated products into them, solutions capable of accumulating radiation were poured inside. Now, decades later, underground cavities began to decrease in volume and the “radioactive brine” began to appear on the surface.

And one more fact. There is a rather curious, although not widely known document. If desired, its text can be found on the Internet. If you search well. It is entitled "Analysis of the environmental situation in Russia" and was prepared specifically for the meeting of the Presidium of the State Council of the Russian Federation in June 2003. It says in particular: “ Negative consequences underground nuclear explosions carried out for peaceful purposes are noted in Yakutia, the Arkhangelsk, Perm and Ivanovo regions. But does this not indicate that we know only a small fraction about emergency "peaceful" nuclear explosions?

After the Rubin-1 experiment, there were no "peaceful" nuclear explosions in the USSR. And soon a moratorium was imposed on the testing of combat charges, which lasts to the present day.

*****************

The picture in front of you is not a treasure map of the CPSU party treasury. And not the burial grounds.
Red dots indicate the sites of nuclear explosions for deep seismic sounding of the earth's crust in the search for minerals. Yes, this is how in Soviet times they searched for gas and oil and explored the underground structure. Moreover, the danger of such explosions turned out to be minimal, at least no one has found anything harmful so far. Because they acted according to a program containing very strict points:

1) Measurable quantities of radioactive products should not fall into areas accessible to humans
2) Nuclear explosions should not be used, as a result of which radioactive products, although they do not enter directly into the human environment, will be in contact with products used by humans
3) Any nuclear camouflage explosions must be “frozen”, unless they are the only - quick and effective - solution commensurate with the scale of the problem

In principle, everything is reasonable, as in the rules of robotics. And thanks to the possibility of such explosions, a fire was stopped in 25 seconds at the Urta-Bulak gas fields of Uzbekistan in 1966. And then they also helped fix problems at four more emergency gas fountains.
Yes, and it turns out to destroy chemical weapon much more efficient and convenient with the help of nuclear explosive technologies.

: 57°31′00″ s. sh. 42°36′43″ E d. / 57.516667° N sh. 42.611944° E d.(G)(O) 57.516667 , 42.611944 Globus-1- one of a series of peaceful underground nuclear explosions that occurred on the territory of the USSR from 1965 to 1988. It was held on September 19, 1971 on the banks of the Shachi River, 4 km from the village of Galkino, Kineshma district, Ivanovo region. During the explosion, there was an emergency release of radioactive substances to the surface. There is focal radioactive contamination in the area.

background

Since the 1960s, the USSR began to actively develop a program of peaceful nuclear explosions in the interests of National economy. A total of 124 explosions were carried out on the territory of the former Soviet Union, which pursued a wide variety of goals - from the study of the earth's crust to the activation of oil and gas production. For the purpose of deep sounding of the earth's crust, by order of the Ministry of Geology, it was decided to conduct an underground nuclear explosion in September 1971. Dozens of sensors were supposed to record the movement of geological layers throughout the USSR.

Chronology of events

For the explosion, due to the large consumption of water for drilling mines, a site was chosen, which was located on the banks of the Shacha River (a tributary of the Volga), four kilometers from the village of Galkino. A group of geologists in the amount of two dozen people arrived to prepare and conduct the experiment at the end of August 1971. Two shafts were drilled, the depth of which was 610 meters. At the bottom of one of them was laid a nuclear charge with a capacity of 2.3 kt (about 9 times weaker than the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima). Many different instruments were lowered to the bottom of another shaft. On the eve of the explosion, police officers warned local residents that there would be a small earthquake, and also gave advice to seal the windows crosswise with paper, leave the house, and take out the cattle, if any. On September 19, 1971, an explosion took place in the evening. At first, everything went according to plan. But at 18 minutes after the explosion, a fountain formed a meter from the well with the charge. Basically, on the surface, along with water and dirt, were inert gases with a short half-life. Approximately twenty days later, their output stopped, but even at the moment of the greatest activity of the "geyser", in the first hours after the explosion, two kilometers from the well, the radiation background did not exceed the natural one. The organizers of the explosion soon left the site.

Consequences and current situation

There was a risk of changing the channel of the Shacha River with the flooding of the well, which could lead to radioactive contamination of the Volga. In 2004, a bypass channel was built.

The "dirty" zone is a platform 100 by 150 meters. Radiation sources are small areas of soil, spots, where the maximum specific activity of the soil reaches 100 thousand becquerels per kilogram, which is tens of thousands of times higher than the norm.

In 1971, when work was being completed, the dose rate at the well was 150 microroentgens per hour (the maximum threshold for the "background" value is 50 microroentgens). In 1997, during measurements at some points of the site, gamma radiation with a capacity of 1.5 thousand micro-roentgens per hour was recorded, in 1999 - 3.5 thousand, in 2000 - 8 thousand micro-roentgens per hour.

Now the situation has stabilized. The radiation power has fallen and is about 3 thousand microroentgens per hour, but everything indicates that the isotopes cesium-137 and strontium-90 continue to come to the surface.

Globus-1 was the closest nuclear explosion to Moscow. The distance in a straight line from Red Square to the test site is 363 kilometers.

Links

Categories:

Peaceful nuclear explosions on the territory of the USSR
History of the Ivanovo region
Kineshma district
1971 in Science
1971 in the USSR
September 1971

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See what "Globus-1" is in other dictionaries:

- (Latin globus). A ball that visually depicted the earth's surface or the vault of heaven tutorial. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. GLOBE image of the earth's surface or the vault of heaven on ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

On suspenders (with glasses). 1. Jarg. school Shuttle. iron. Geography teacher. Bytic, 1991 2000. 2. Jarg. they say Shuttle. Bald man. Maksimov, 85. Give the globe to someone. Jarg. they say Shuttle. Hit someone. over the head. Maksimov, 85. Walking globe. Jarg. school Shuttle… … Big dictionary of Russian sayings