International Sakharov Environmental Institute of Belarusian State University

The Chair of Nuclear and Radiation Safety (until December 1, 2008 – the Department of Radioecology) was established in 1995. It provides training in the specialty 1-100 01 01 “Nuclear and radiation safety”. The Chair participates in teaching a number of disciplines for specialist training in other specialties of Environmental Monitoring Faculty. Since 2018, A.I. Kievitskaya, PhD in Technical Sciences has headed the chair.

At present, 15 lecturers and 3 employees work at the chair.

The need for specialists in nuclear and radiation safety increases due to the commissioning of the first Belarusian nuclear power plant, functioning nuclear and radiation facilities in the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, radiation facilities of other ministries and departments, the long-term and scale of “Chernobyl pollution”, as well as the task to ensure radiation safety of the population in these territories, the expansion of the use of radiation technologies in medicine, industry, agriculture and other sectors of the economy.

The main strategic goals of the Chair are:

• to ensure the quality of educational activities at I and II stages of higher education in the preparation of competitive and in-demand specialists in nuclear and radiation safety including the environment as well as in other areas corresponding to the specialties trained at International Sakharov Environmental Institute of BSU;
• to create an image of International Sakharov Environmental Institute of BSU as the main specialized center for specialist training in nuclear and radiation safety in the Republic of Belarus.

Tasks of the chair:

• to use advanced educational technologies and methods of active learning that stimulates cognitive and creative activity of students in task solving.
• to strengthen the practical orientation of the subjects taught including the creation of the chair branches based on research institutions of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, in particular the State Institution “Belhydromet”, Research Institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, organizations of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Energy.
  • Cooperation and training agreements have been signed with NP CHUP “ADANI” and NP CHUP “ADANI-Technolozhik”, the Institute of Radiobiology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the National Research Institute of Nuclear Physics of Belarusian State University, the National Research Institute “JINR-Sosny” of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the Department of Nuclear and Radiation Safety of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Belarus, etc.
  • ISEI BSU cooperation with the branch of the Department of Nuclear Physics of BSU.
• Curricula development in the specialty “Nuclear and radiation safety”, coordinated with the curricula and programs of the partner institution of the MEPhI of the Russian Federation.
• Advertising activities involving recruitment agencies as well as students of the chair to conduct career-oriented work including outside the Republic of Belarus.
• Expansion of relations with specialized research and technical centers of the IAEA member countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, etc.)
• Formation of the research and methodological base of the training center in nuclear and radiation safety, radiation monitoring of the country
• Student training to solve urgent research and practical tasks that require: 
  • a new branch of the Belarusian economy – nuclear energy,
  • science, industry, agriculture, etc.
• Participation of students, master’s students and employees of the chair in the preparation of projects to participate in competitions held by BRFFR, SCST, the Ministry of Education, etc.
• Creation of a nuclear training center (Dolgobrodskaya 18)
  • Creation of a radioecology laboratory
  • Establishment of the Laboratory for Control and Accounting of Nuclear Materials 
• Preparation of applications and participation in competitions of young scientists
• Preparation of publications.

Main directions of the chair work:

Training and methodical work:

• Goal is to improve academic work:
  • introduction of advanced methods of lecturing and interactive forms of conducting practical classes at the chair;
  • improving the rating system to assess student knowledge;
  • delivering lectures using multimedia equipment;
  • inviting famous scientists for lecturing;
  • updating of material and technical equipment.
• Goal is to improve methodological work:
  • development of the necessary methodological support for the implementation of the educational process at a high advanced level during the transition to new standards and when changing the learning environment;
• Improvement of methodological work:
  • development of multimedia courses of lectures on disciplines taught at the chair;
  • development and implementation of new promising topics for individual work with students in the learning process;
  • publication of new and revised textbooks on the disciplines of the curriculum taught at the chair;
  • effective use of the created ETMC in the educational process and continuation of the development of ETMC in other disciplines of the curriculum taught at the chair.

1. Emergency preparedness and response
2. Human life safety
3. Safety and physical protection of ionizing radiation sources in medicine
4. Biological effects of ionizing radiation and human health
5. Introduction to the specialty
6. Dosimetry
7. Protection of the population and facilities from emergencies. Radiation safety
8. Protection against ionizing radiation
9. Measurement of ionizing radiation characteristics
10. Kinetics and dynamics of nuclear reactors
11. Control and physical protection of nuclear materials and ionizing radiation sources
12. Materials science and technology of structural materials
13. Module “Higher Mathematics-2”. Tensor analysis and computer geometry
14. The Ionizing Radiation module. Dosimetry and radiation metrology
15. The Ionizing Radiation module. Physics of the nucleus and ionizing radiation
16. Module “Radio and Biochemistry” Radiation Chemistry and Radiochemistry
17. Module “Theoretical Physics” Theoretical Mechanics
18. Module “Physics-2”. Measurement of ionizing radiation characteristics
19. Technical system reliability and risk management
20. Earth sciences. Atmospheric dynamics
21. Neutron physics
22. Fundamentals of radiation safety
23. Labor protection
24. Legal regulation of nuclear and radiation safety
25. Radiation safety. Legal regulation of radiation safety
26. Radiation metrology/Applied spectrometry
27. Radiation Chemistry
28. Radiation monitoring
29. Radiochemistry
30. Radioecology and Radiation Monitoring/ Management and Marketing in the Nuclear Power industry
31. Exposure situations and safety analysis
32. Tensor analysis and computer geometry
33. Theoretical mechanics
34. Physics of the nucleus and ionizing radiation
35. Electronics and automation. Automation of measurements
36. Electronics and automation. Electronics and automation
37. Nuclear reactors and nuclear power plants
38. Nuclear fuel cycle and radioactive waste management
39. Introductory (training practice)
40. Radiation monitoring field (production)
41. On measuring the characteristics of ionizing radiation (training practice)
42. Pre-graduate (industrial) program
43. Module “Safety of ionizing radiation sources”. Protection against ionizing radiation.

Research and innovation work

Due to the commissioning of the first Belarusian nuclear power plant, functioning nuclear facilities at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the use of nuclear technologies in science, medicine (PET CENTER, electron accelerators, X-ray facilities, etc.), industry and other sectors of the national economy of the country, conducting research and innovation activities on the basis of the department is an extremely urgent task.

SNRB projects:

1. Comprehensive environmental monitoring of the Belarusian NPP for the construction period (determination of tritium content in surface water samples). (performance of works under the contract with RU Belgidromet). Supervisor: Hermenchukm.G.
2. Neutron-physical characteristics of a large uranium target with different contents ²³⁵U/²³⁸U and inserts of Li, Be, and C during irradiation with a beam of high-energy charged particles (BUM-2021) according to the coordination plan of research with JINR (Dubna, Russia). Head: Kyivitskayaa.And.
3. “GPNI «Physical materials science, new materials and technologies» subprogram ” Materials Science and Technology “(Mattech): “Investigation of the physical properties and performance characteristics of fast-solidified silumins doped with transition metals, subjected to pressure treatment under the influence of ultrasound”. Supervisor: GusakovaO.V.
4. GPNI 10, subprogram 10.3, task 3.05 “Development of information and methodological support for monitoring, auditing, certification and rehabilitation of natural and territorial complexes”. RESEARCH project 1 ” Assessment and forecast of radioactive contamination of the environment around radiation-hazardous objects based on experimental and computational methods (modeling)”. Supervisor: Hermenchukm.G.
5. Project commissioned by the National Academy of Sciences ” Basic conditions, criteria and goals for ensuring safety during the transition from an emergency exposure situation to an existing exposure situation. Information materials to the plan of protective measures in the event of a radiation accident at the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (external emergency plan), approved by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 211 dated 22.03.2018″. Supervisor: M. G. Hermenchuk
6. BRFFI B19M-121 project “The role of strontium-90 in the formation of biological effects in Lymnaea stagnalis as a biomarker of radiation contamination” Supervisor: Dashkevicht.V.
7. Grant of the Ministry of Education for Research and Development 09/19 “Development of a draft methodology for determining the specific activity of organically bound tritium in water “Supervisor: SkibinskaiA.N.

The scientific activity of the department’s staff is aimed at providing scientific and methodological support for the formation of professional competencies in the field of nuclear and radiation safety and the development of educational and methodological materials in the field of probabilistic analysis of NPP safety and the formation of a safety culture among NPP personnel.

Research areas:

• Probabilistic security analysis
• Radiation safety
• Safe use of ionizing radiation sources
• Modeling and forecasting of the radiation situation
• Processes of radionuclide transport in the environment.

As promising areas of scientific research, it is assumed that::

• Development of modern mathematical models of nuclear power plants and methods for assessing the reliability and safety of the use of nuclear power plants and research institutes together with the National Research University “JINR-Sosny” of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the National Research University “Research Institute of Nuclear Power Engineering” of BSU, STC NRS, MEPhI, etc.
• Research of advanced nuclear power systems (4th and 5th generation reactors) jointly with JINR, Dubna, Russia; ITEF, Moscow, Russia, etc.
• Creation of certified diagnostic tools and development of methods for measuring the characteristics of radiation-matter interaction processes in cooperation with BSU, Department of Nuclear Physics; UE Atomtech, NP CHUP ADANI, JINR, Dubna, Russia; ITEF, Moscow, Russia, etc.

In order to ensure safety in the operation of radiation installations, the management of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, it is necessary to develop new methods, technological solutions and technologies:

• for processing and disposal of radioactive waste and safe storage and / or disposal; methods and technologies for rehabilitation of radiation-contaminated facilities;
• to study the mechanisms and patterns of radionuclide behavior in the biosphere,
• for predicting the impact of radiation-hazardous objects on the environment and humans;
• for research of physical and chemical behavior of radionuclides in liquid and solid radioactive environments of nuclear power plants, for development of technological solutions for their combined processing.

The Department participates in the implementation of the State Program of Personnel Training for Nuclear Energy and cooperates with the IAEA in the field of personnel training and retraining.

For scientific work of students organized by SNIL ” Radiation Research» It is also possible to participate in research work in the following areas:

• Methods for determining the content of natural radionuclides, Cs-137, Sr-90, and tritium in environmental samples and food.
• Determination of the content of beta – and gamma – emitting radionuclides in the human body by an instrumental method.

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