On the 26th of April, 1986, a tragic accident happened at the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl Power Plant, which is related to a category of the largest technogenic catastrophes of the XXth century. This largest reactive accident at a nuclear reactor has generated serious economical, socio-political and humanitarian consequences. At the same time this accident appeared to be the push to the re-evaluation of the existing and to the search for new approaches to the analysis of the safety at radiation-nuclear facilities, to the limiting of radiation action on the public and environment based on the principle of radiation protection optimization and the concept of unconditionally acceptable risk. This includes (a) the implementation of safety culture and, also, (b) gaining new knowledge in radiation-ecological aspects of production activities and in matters of radiation control methodology, (c) studying the biomedical consequences of small dose irradiation and the related to this rationing of irradiation of personnel and public.

At the NSC KIPT, they came to the re-evaluation of existing approaches and the search for new ones in the system of radiation safety some time earlier. On the 14th of November, 1983, Order № 2409/лс was prepared “on creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Department and Radiation Research and Environmental Protection target laboratory”. There are several reasons to put the solution of dosimetry control problems, radiation safety and radiation-ecological monitoring at the NSC KIPT not just on a regular radiation safety service, but on the scientific subdivision that has good material and technical infrastructure and high staff capacity which is necessary for serious radiation research organization. Moreover, this radiation research must be in line with scientific research direction as it has been the case at the largest scientific centers, for instance, at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna) and Institute for High Energy Physics (Protvino). The main of these reasons are the following:

• Firstly, radiation hazardous equipment, especially charged particles accelerators, is a source of several kinds of ionizing ration.
• Secondly, photon (Bremsstrahlung) and neutron radiation define radiation levels at the inner side of the shielding and its thickness, correspondingly. These kinds of radiation have a very broad dose rate range: from values not exceeding the dose rate from the natural radiation background (at the personnel work places) to several thousand Mrad/h (1 Mrad/h=10⁴ Sv/h) directly at the accelerator site at the moment of target irradiation.
• Thirdly, radiation generated by the equipment has a sufficiently broad energy range: from several keV to tenth of MeV according to photon radiation, and from thermal energy (several eV) to approximately 100 MeV according to neutron radiation.
• Fourthly and finally, to effectively implement radiation monitoring (it is the monitoring because it provides not just radiation control, but also radiation environment management and decision making on its normalization, if necessary) one needs to have reliable and grounded information:
  • on the kinds of radiation defining the radiation environment;
  • on the energy range of radiation defining the radiation environment;
  • on the nuclear physical processes leading to this radiation.

Hence, (a) the implementation of radiation safety at such equipment sites, in accordance with the modern requirements, (b) the limitation of radiation exposure to the public and environment, (c) the implementation of the principle of radiation shielding optimization and (d) the concept of unconditionally acceptable risk іs a complex scientific and technical problem. The solution to this problem depends on the degree of consideration of all radiation sources present at the equipment site and correct understanding of the specificities and tendencies of the radiation environment formation at the inner and outer sides of the shielding. It is absolutely clear that the implementation of radiation monitoring and solution of related tasks of radiation shielding optimization in such conditions requires, firstly, corresponding education, special training and quite a lot of experience of employees, secondly, the scientific approach to the choice and justification of the techniques and the means of their implementation, and, also, to the interpretation of the results obtained.

From the 14th of November, 1983, up to the current time it is the Radiation Research and Environmental Protection Laboratory, metrologically certified by the State Enterprise “Kharkov Regional Scientific-Production Center of Standardization, Metrology and Certification”, which has been carried out research work in the given areas at the NSC KIPT.

As the first head of the newly created RREPL, Kovalenko Grygoriy Dmitrievich was appointed. Currently he is a Doctor of Physics and Mathematics, Professor, Laureate of the State prize of Ukraine in the field of science and technology, Director of the Institute of High-Energy and Nuclear Physics (IHENP) at the NSC KIPT.

In the formative years of the laboratory, a massive amount of work was done, first of all, to develop and introduce the techniques of radiation measurement and monitoring. The radionuclides and their activity were defined, and, so was the spectrum of gamma- and neutron-radiation behind the shielding of electron accelerators. According to this, the regulations of radiation control and individual dosimetry were set at the NSC KIPT.

An automated system of dosimetry control for LEA-2 GeV was developed and put into operation.

Special attention was paid to environmental protection. The system of radioecological monitoring with regular collection and analysis of air samples, precipitations and sediments was reorganized and revised. New wastewater composition analysis techniques were introduced.

The hardware, methodological and scientific base, produced in the laboratory, allowed controlling radiation environment around the area of the institute location and, also, estimating radiation conditions around Kharkov region.

Since 1993, MAZILOV Alexander Valentinovich, PhD in Physics and Mathematics, Senior Researcher, well known scientist in the field of radiation physics and dosimetry with experience in radiation control at ship nuclear reactors (at the “Arctica” nuclear icebreaker and nuclear submarines), the author of more than 150 scientific papers (including two monographs) in nuclear and radiation physics, radiation protection physics, radioecology, supervised RREPL for 26 whole years.

Under the leadership of Alexander Valentinovich, the laboratory has acquired the status of a weighty research and expert subdivision.

During those years, a lot of research work was carried out. It was, primarily, research on the calculation of radiation shielding of high current linear electron accelerators and other hazardous equipment located at the NSC KIPT.

A comprehensive study of radioecological conditions at the NSC KIPT and around “Pyatihatki” housing estate was carried out. The emission of pollutants from the NSC KIPT and the state of the surface layer of the atmospheric air were analyzed. Based on these data, the analysis of the carcinogenic effect of the institute technological processes on the environment was performed.

The information and analytical system of individual dosimetric control at the NSC KIPT was developed. Data analysis of professional radiation of the NSC KIPT personnel and the assessment of personnel individual radiation risks were carried out.

The radiation control regulations for the unique nuclear subcritical setup “Neutron Source” were developed.

In 2020, MAZILOV Aleksey Aleksandrovich, PhD in Physics and Mathematics, a specialist in simulation of passage of charged particles and photons through matter, the author of more than 100 scientific papers (including two patents) was appointed head of RREPL.

At present, a comprehensive approach to the environmental monitoring problem including not only the assessment of the radiation environment and other chemical pollutants in the soil, water, air, but, also, the assessment of the accumulation and absorption of the pollutants by bio-objects, is being developed. As a consequence, further analysis of the impact of these pollutants on the model organism-bioindicator should be performed. For this purpose, a radiobiology group based on the individual dosimetric control group was created.

RREPL employs a friendly and selfless team of scientists (among them there is 1 PhD in Physics and Mathematics and 2 PhD’s in Biological Sciences) who are helped in their research work by qualified engineers, technicians, laboratory assistants and dosimetrists. At the beginning of 2021, there are 31 employees working in the lab.

Due to the specifics of the activity of RREPL, many of our employees have taken part in the elimination of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl PP. Unfortunately, not all of them are alive now and, to pay tribute, we should list the names of these people:

• MAZILOV Alexander Valentinovich (24.05.1954 - 18.12.2019);
• TUPITSA Vasiliy Mikhailovich (08.01.1942 - 13.12.2018);
• YERMAK Nikolai Matveevich (21.01.1942 - 14.10.1993);
• DONETS Anatoliy Ivanovich (born 05.04.1944), currently is retired;
• ANDREEV Dmitriy Georgievich (born 09.06.1959 ), an engineer of I category;
• KANTEMIROV Vladymir Vladymirovich (born 24.11.1953), Lead Engineer Researcher.