Our history
Ukrainian branch of All-Union Institute of Agricultural Radiology was founded by order of the Head of Gosagroprom of the USSR of 3 June 1986, because of the Chernobyl NPP accident and because of absence in Ukraine of a scientific institution that would work on the problems of agricultural radiology. In 1991, on petition of the Council of Ministers of Ukraine, the branch was transformed into Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Radiology (UIAR).
To organize the branch of All-Union Institute, Doctor of technical science Loshchilov N.A., Candidate of Physics and Mathematics Kuriny V.D., Candidates of Biology Krivtzov I.L. and Bondar’ P.F. were invited for the permanent job in Kiev. Then the following scientists were invited too: Candidates of Biology Astasheva N.P., Ivanov Yu.A., Khramtzova L.K. and Ampleev I.A. (Obninsk), Candidate of Biology Perepelyatnikov G.P. (Krasnodar), Candidate of Physics and Mathematics Kashparov V.A. (Moscow), Candidate of Biology Lazarev N.M. (Pokrov) and Candidate of Biology Buntova E.G. (Leningrad). In 1989, the scientists of the Radiology Department of the Southern branch of VAASL, including Doctor of Biology, Professor Prister B.S., joined the team of the branch, too.
Doctor Loshchilov has been appointed first director of the Institute. After a tragic death of N.A.Loshchilov in 1994, Doctor of Biology, Academician of UAAS B.S.Prister was appointed director of the Institute. In that time B.S.Prister was the First Deputy Minister of Ministry of Chernobyl of Ukraine. Since 1998, V.A.Kashparov has been appointed director of UIAR.
In the very beginning the branch consisted of three laboratories: plant studies, animal studies and physics and chemistry lab. At the end of 1986 the branch staff included 32 persons, and then it increased to 251 persons at the moment of the branch transformation into the institute. On 1 Feb 2004 the staff of the institute was 85 persons including 60 scientists. The institute consists of 3 departments or 8 laboratories. UIAR employs 1 Academician of UAAS, 2 Doctors and 10 Candidates of Science.
UIAR is a leading institute in the agricultural radiology in Ukraine. The institute works on the problems of agriculture in the territories contaminated with radionuclides. Status of the leading institution has determined the coordinating role of our scientists in organization of the joint researches with the scientists of other research institutes of Ukraine and, since 1991, with scientists from Europe, Asia and America.
In the first years after the accident, a significant part of our efforts was devoted to the practical works, which were directly related to the elimination of the accident consequences and fulfilling of the on-line tasks of the Government. UIAR staff in collaboration with other institutions carried out the great practical works on evaluation of the radiological situation in various branches of agriculture, including missions to the contaminated territories, sampling and analysis of tens of thousands of soil, vegetation and animal production samples, and generalization of the obtained results. In that period, we elaborated
· the express-method for estimation of the radioactive contamination of the agricultural areas that enabled to survey in the short terms the whole territory of Ukraine, to map the contamination of the agricultural lands and to abandon agriculture in the most contaminated places;
· program of the farms re-profiling in the contaminated territory;
· method of deactivation of the homestead lands;
· radiological passport of the agricultural enterprise.
Also we carried out the radiation expertise of forage and exported agricultural production. Due to the valuable input of our scientists, radiological situation in agriculture in Ukraine in 1990 was stabilized.
The researches of the Institute are well-known worldwide, our scientists regularly present the reports at the International and National scientific meetings, carry out the projects within the frameworks of the collaboration programs CEC-CIS, FGI, the STCU and the projects with the leading European institutes.
The scientists of UIAR have published since the accident more than 650 scientific works including about 100 methods, recommendations, and proposals for organization of agriculture in the radioactive contaminated territories. These proposals have been implemented in the practical work of the divisions of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine and of the radiological services at the levels of regions, districts and farms. The concept of the agricultural production in the contaminated territory of Ukraine has been developed for the period till 2010, as well as the programs of rehabilitation of the abandoned territories etc. For the most critical settlements, the technical projects were proposed, which would guarantee the manufacture of the production satisfying the acting standards.