DOI: 10.4324/9781003246893-4
3 Radiation Expertise in
the Nuclear Landscapes
of the Southern Urals in
the 1950s and 1960s
Laura Sembritzki
Introduction
Until Chernobyl’, the knowledge of radiation in the Soviet Union was
restricted to the past achievements in nuclear physics and the promotion
of future benefits of nuclear power. Besides nuclear energy, the application
in agriculture and medicine promised to fight world hunger and diseases.
Accordingly, nuclear physicists were declared heroic in their contribution
to the country’s defense and progress. 1 Nuclear physicists became a scientific elite with access to the Soviet political elite and were often honored
by the Soviet government. 2 The scientific director for Arzamas-16, Iulii B.
Khariton, for example, held several honors including three times the Stalin
Prize, as well as the Lenin Prize. Furthermore, he received – among other
honors – three times Hero of Socialist Labor and received the Order of Lenin
six times. Even though, as David Holloway pointed out, he was a “surprising
choice” since he spent two years in the West, was Jewish, and his parents
lived abroad. 3
At the same time, parts of the Soviet atomic program were, to a great
extent, kept top secret. Physicians, radiologists, and radiobiologists among
others handling the radiant legacy of the Soviet nuclear program could hardly
be included in the celebration of the Soviet atom. Its promises outshined
its perils. 4 However, radiation dangers moved into the light of an assumed
nuclear attack in the Cold War context and the received growing significance in the securing of national security. Within the nuclear test ban debate,
the Soviet Union stressed the dangers of even small doses of radiation and
launched a campaign to disseminate the knowledge about health and genetic
effects thereof. 5
The origins of radiation safety in the Soviet Union can be traced back to
the late 1940s and the context of the Soviet nuclear program. In 1946, leading
scientists and managers of the atomic program reported to Beria on the progress of radiation safety in the Soviet Union. They outlined what was being
done in this field abroad, primarily in the United States, and stressed the
importance of radiation-related research in the Soviet Union. They specifically named the founding of the Institute of Biophysics in 1945 in the United
3 Radiation Expertise in
the Nuclear Landscapes
of the Southern Urals in
the 1950s and 1960s
Laura Sembritzki
Introduction
Until Chernobyl’, the knowledge of radiation in the Soviet Union was
restricted to the past achievements in nuclear physics and the promotion
of future benefits of nuclear power. Besides nuclear energy, the application
in agriculture and medicine promised to fight world hunger and diseases.
Accordingly, nuclear physicists were declared heroic in their contribution
to the country’s defense and progress. 1 Nuclear physicists became a scientific elite with access to the Soviet political elite and were often honored
by the Soviet government. 2 The scientific director for Arzamas-16, Iulii B.
Khariton, for example, held several honors including three times the Stalin
Prize, as well as the Lenin Prize. Furthermore, he received – among other
honors – three times Hero of Socialist Labor and received the Order of Lenin
six times. Even though, as David Holloway pointed out, he was a “surprising
choice” since he spent two years in the West, was Jewish, and his parents
lived abroad. 3
At the same time, parts of the Soviet atomic program were, to a great
extent, kept top secret. Physicians, radiologists, and radiobiologists among
others handling the radiant legacy of the Soviet nuclear program could hardly
be included in the celebration of the Soviet atom. Its promises outshined
its perils. 4 However, radiation dangers moved into the light of an assumed
nuclear attack in the Cold War context and the received growing significance in the securing of national security. Within the nuclear test ban debate,
the Soviet Union stressed the dangers of even small doses of radiation and
launched a campaign to disseminate the knowledge about health and genetic
effects thereof. 5
The origins of radiation safety in the Soviet Union can be traced back to
the late 1940s and the context of the Soviet nuclear program. In 1946, leading
scientists and managers of the atomic program reported to Beria on the progress of radiation safety in the Soviet Union. They outlined what was being
done in this field abroad, primarily in the United States, and stressed the
importance of radiation-related research in the Soviet Union. They specifically named the founding of the Institute of Biophysics in 1945 in the United