Radium Institute named after V. G. Khlopin

The Radium Institute originates during the First World War when in 1915 the Radium Department of the Commission for the Study of Natural Productive Forces of Russia (KEPS) was created in Petrograd ^[1] . In January 1922, on the initiative and under the leadership of the chairman of KEPS, academician V.I. Vernadsky with the active assistance of his associates and assistants V.G. Khlopin, A.E. Fersman and I. Ya. Bashilov by combining three organizations that study from different sides of the phenomenon of radioactivity:

• Radium Department of the State Radiological and Radiological Institute (now the Russian Science and Technology Center named after ac. A. Granov );
• Radium laboratory of the Academy of Sciences, into which the Commission for the organization and operation of the trial Radium Plant was transformed ^[2] ;
• radiochemical laboratory at the Geological and Mineralogical Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The GRI was introduced by the Petrograd Office of Scientific Institutions on January 1, 1922 into the list of institutions with their own estimates and corresponding loans are issued to him. ^[3] Officially, the founding date of the 'new' State Radium Institute is January 23, 1922, when the Statute of the State Radium Institute (GRI) was approved by the State Academic Council in Moscow ^[4] .

V.I. Vernadsky, speaking at a meeting of the GRI Academic Council on 02/11/1922, defined the goals of the institute: “The radium institute must now be organized so that it can direct work on the mastery of atomic energy - the most powerful source of force that has come to humanity in its history ” ^[5] .

The GRI was formed of three departments: V. G. Khlopin was appointed the head of the radiochemical department, L. V. Mysovsky , the physical department, and V. I. Vernadsky reserved the geochemical department. First of all, the institute took over the scientific work of the pilot Radium Plant, which had been created earlier in Bondyug (Tatarstan), where in December 1921 V. G. Khlopin, I. Ya. Bashilov and M. A. Pasvik allocated the first in Russia from Ferghana ore highly enriched radium preparations. In the early years, GRI developed methods for chemical and physical control, production of natural radioactive elements, and improved methods for their isolation and use. Khlopin and his students established the basic radiochemical laws: the rules of coprecipitation, sorption, complexation, liquid extraction of radioelements that laid the foundation for all subsequent industrial radiochemical technologies (B.A. Nikitin, I.E. Starik, A.A. Grinberg, etc. )

In the Physical Department, under the leadership of L.V. Mysovsky, the properties of all types of radioactive and cosmic radiation were studied and registered (A. B. Verigo, S. N. Vernov , A. I. Leipunsky , A. P. Zhdanov and N. A Perfilov ), investigated nuclear transformations under the influence of neutrons (from radium- beryllium sources). Several discoveries were made: nuclear isomerism (L. V. Mysovsky, I. V. Kurchatov , B. V. Kurchatov , K. A. Petrzhak ) and the effects of secondary radiation, a gamma-ray detector method was created ( I. I. Gurevich ), was written by L. V. Mysovsky in 1929. Russia's first monograph, Cosmic Rays. G. A. Gamov formulated the theory of alpha decay of the atomic nucleus. In 1932, the Academic Council of the Institute, at the proposal of L. V. Mysovsky and G. A. Gamov, decided to build a cyclotron . In 1933, the Bolshevik Leningrad plant smelted high-quality mild steel and forged beds and pole pieces. At the Electrosila plant , forgings were processed and an excitation winding was made. In 1934, the cyclotron was installed at the LFTI site. After creating a high-frequency generator, manufacturing a vacuum channel and commissioning in 1937 at the Radium Institute, located under the Damocles sword of closure ^[6] , L. V. Mysovsky and I. V. Kurchatov launched the first cyclotron in Eurasia. This cyclotron was a large school for conducting experiments: I.V. Kurchatov, B.V. Kurchatov, A.I. Alikhanov , A.I. Leipunsky, V.P. Dzhelepov , M.G. Meshcheryakov, and others worked on it. From 1937 to 1940 the head of the cyclotron laboratory was I.V. Kurchatov. In 1939, K. A. Petrzhak and G. N. Flerov discovered the spontaneous fission of uranium.

In the Geochemical Department, argon and xenon methods were developed for determining the absolute age of geological formations (V. I. Vernadsky, I. E. Starik , E. G. Gerling ), the migration of elements in the earth's crust , water and air, and the problems of the prevalence of helium and argon were studied , searches were made for new deposits of rare elements, radioactive ores and uranium ( A. E. Fersman , K. A. Nenadkevich , D. I. Shcherbakov ), sources of ionizing radiation were developed.

Thanks to the repeated appeals of V.I. Vernadsky, A.E. Fersman and V.G. Khlopin to the leadership of the Academy of Sciences and the government of the USSR, in which they pointed out the need for work on the practical use of atomic energy , a Commission was created in 1940 the uranium problem, chaired by V. G. Khlopin. In 1940-1941, the Commission carried out a large organizational work, engaged in the consideration and coordination of the work plans of the scientific institutions included in it.

With the outbreak of war, the majority of GRI was evacuated to Kazan , where work continued on technology for processing Taboshar ore, on uranium chemistry, and the processes of uranium fission under the influence of neutrons were studied. War time put forward new challenges for GRI in the production of continuous light compositions, phosphors for X-ray amplifying screens, and others. Already in 1944, GRI returned to Leningrad. The Radium Institute began practical work on the atomic project after the war. V.G. Khlopin calls the start date of the work December 5, 1945 . The Radium Institute was entrusted with:

1. the study of the chemistry of plutonium;
2. development and testing of plutonium separation methods by coprecipitation with carriers;
3. development of a technological scheme for the separation of plutonium from irradiated uranium;
4. issue of technological data by July 1, 1946 [3,4]

The Radium Institute team completed this task by May 20, 1946. The first domestic, non-American, industrial acetate-fluoride technology for plutonium separation was created. Unlike the United States, the USSR did not have the huge quantities of bismuth necessary for plutonium production, and the acetate technology was based on the co-crystallization law discovered by V.G. Khlopin and used affordable and cheap acetic acid . After the construction of the plant was completed, a start-up team was sent to it: B. A. Nikitin - manager, A. P. Ratner and B. P. Nikolsky - deputy managers, V. M. Vdovenko , G. V. Gorshkov and other employees of the institute. The plant was put into operation on March 1, 1949.

Subsequently, scientists at the Radium Institute continued to improve the technology for the separation of plutonium and created an original extraction technology on a heavy diluent, which subsequently allowed to process not only standard uranium blocks, but also nuclear fuel (V.M. Vdovenko, M.F. Pushlenkov).

Employees of the Radium Institute were directly involved in the preparation and conduct of 40 nuclear explosions (ground, underwater, surface and air) from 1949 to 1962, as well as from 1965 to 1984 in 55 peaceful underground nuclear explosions in the USSR, studying radiochemical and geological Mineralogical consequences of nuclear explosions. More than 200 employees of the institute took part in the explosive topic (I. E. Starik, B. S. Dzhelepov, B. N. Nikitin, G. V. Gorshkov, G. M. Tolmachev, V. N. Ushatsky , A. S. Krivokhatsky, Yu. V. Dubasov, etc.) ^[7] . For the first tests of the Soviet thermonuclear bomb (1953), the GRI was first established in Toksovo , and then in Zelenogorsk, a station for monitoring radioactive pollution of the environment. By the end of the 1950s, as a result of research conducted in the laboratory, a collection of articles “Determining the pollution of the biosphere by nuclear test products” was published, which became a UN document.

According to a government decree signed by I.V. Stalin, the institute was tasked with developing a radiochemical method for determining the KPI (coefficient of efficiency) in nuclear explosions. The method was developed by G. M. Tolmachev for the first nuclear explosion ^[7] .

Radiochemical direction

The Radium Institute provides scientific support for the work on the regeneration of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) of nuclear power plants . He developed an innovative technology for the Experimental Demonstration Center (ODC) at the Mining and Chemical Combine, called “Simplified PUREKS”, which should eliminate the discharge of all categories of radioactive waste into the environment, providing an enclosed whirlpool and reducing the cost of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. Scientists at the Radium Institute, together with colleagues from the Idaho National Laboratory, developed a universal UNEX process for the fractionation of high-level waste (HLW), which allows one to isolate all long-lived radiotoxic radionuclides from the HLW and transfer the bulk of the waste to the low-level category.

Various decontamination methods have been developed and implemented.

With the direct participation of the Radium Institute, a REMIX fuel has been developed that allows multiple reuse of uranium and plutonium to the extent that these elements are present in SNF.

Together with RosRAO, an industrial unit for the detritization of liquid waste generated as a result of the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant was created . Numerous installations for the immobilization of liquid radioactive waste have been developed, created and implemented, including the Pora installation, the EP-5 with joule heating for boiling silicate glass, the Mega microwave heating unit, and the induction melting unit in a cold crucible. Matrices and equipment have been developed for incorporating waste into various ceramics (iron phosphate, based on monazite, etc.).

The Radium Institute has developed unique complexes that are installed in various regions of Russia and abroad (in Argentina ) for the control of radioactive noble gases and aerosols. In accordance with the Agreement between the Government and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, the Radium Institute has developed, manufactured and implemented equipment for monitoring stations.

Radioecology

Radium Institute:

• carries out monitoring and subsequent rehabilitation of radiation-contaminated objects and at the sites of former defense ranges;
• explores the behavior of radionuclides in ecosystems;
• simulates the formation of fields of radioactive contamination;
• actively participated in the aftermath of the accidents ( Kyshtym , Chernobyl , in the areas of the death of the nuclear submarine "Komsomolets" and the agro-industrial complex "Kursk" ).
• provides environmental expertise for the sites of nuclear power plants under construction.

The Radium Institute represents Russia's national interests in a number of environmental international treaties and conventions, monitoring the waters of the Baltic Sea , etc.

Radio geochemical direction

The Radium Institute is looking for promising geological structures for underground disposal of HLW. As a result of a comprehensive study of the Nizhnekansky granitoid massif of the South Yenisei Ridge, areas were selected whose rock properties correspond to geological criteria for the disposal of HLW. In order to create an underground RW burial ground in North-West Russia, the institute’s specialists investigated and substantiated the possibility of placing such a storage in the clays of the Leningrad and Arkhangelsk regions and in the granites of the Kola Peninsula .

Radionuclide Direction

Many dozens of sources of alpha, beta, gamma, X-ray, Mössbauer and neutron radiation produced by the Radium Institute are known in Russia and abroad. The buyers of these products are firms in Germany, Great Britain, France, Sweden, Norway, USA, Japan, Australia and other countries. In the production of sources, the Radium Institute uses 27 radionuclides from tritium to ²⁵² Cf. The scope of use of sources made at the Radium Institute covers such areas as radiation technology, radiation sterilization of medical instruments and materials, food processing, static electricity neutralization, process control and automation, X-ray fluorescence and activation analysis, and metrology of ionizing radiation. The Radium Institute is the country's only manufacturer of reference radionuclide sources of OSAI (10 radionuclides), OSGI (20 radionuclides), ORIBI (8 radionuclides), OIDK (4 radionuclides), which, after certification, are an exemplary metrological means for checking alpha and gamma radiation spectrometers and calibration of beta radiometers .

Particularly important was the industrial production of sources with ²¹⁰ Po , ²²⁷ Ac and ²³⁸ U , for which it was necessary to select targets, develop extraction technology, and study the properties of these radionuclides. ²¹⁰ Po was used in the manufacture of Po - Be neutron sources, which were used as a neutron fuse in first-generation nuclear weapons.

For space technology, reliable, safe, long-term power sources, such as RTGs (radioisotope thermoelectric generators), are needed. The most suitable isotope for RTGs was ²³⁸ Pu , the technology for which was developed at the Radium Institute.

The Radium Institute supplies radiopharmaceuticals to 23 clinics in St. Petersburg for the diagnosis of cancer , heart disease , kidney disease, the endocrine system and a number of other diseases. 80% of all diagnostic procedures are performed with ⁹⁹ Tc , the rest with ¹²³ I and ⁶⁷ Ga . This is the most socially significant activity of the Radium Institute. Five cyclotron radiopharmaceuticals have been developed here, of which three are the first in Russia. In 2004-2006, an installation was developed for cyclotron targets and equipment for the separation of ⁶⁷ Ga, ¹¹¹ In , ¹⁸⁶ Re, and ¹⁸⁸ Re radionuclides. A new technology for producing a therapeutic drug based on ¹⁸⁸ Re was created and tested. The production of radiopharmaceuticals has been modernized in accordance with the International GMP standard. This allowed us to begin an international study of the use of peptides labeled with ²¹² Pb or ²¹² Bi in the treatment of metastatic melanoma .

Physical direction

The Radium Institute developed and manufactured full-scale operational prototypes of devices for detecting hidden explosives (chemicals, drugs), packed in any way, hidden in containers, baggage, walls and voids.

At the same time, remote equipment was developed for real-time detection of dangerous objects hidden on the human body under the international program "Science for Peace."

An important development is the creation of a portable high-energy neutron spectrometer for the International Space Station . At the Radium Institute, devices were developed and metrological support was created for measuring the neutron flux (fission chambers based on thin-film breakdown counters and ionization fission chambers) of high energies. On the instructions of Rosatom , the Cordon 2 dosimetric systems (for neutron dosimetry ), Cordon A dosimetric systems (for emergency, individual and zone neutron dosimetry), the Dniester spectrometric set of neutron detectors were created and included in the State Register of Measuring Instruments of the Russian Federation, and also track complexes for measuring the volumetric activity of radon.

At the Radium Institute, an installation was created for the detection of leaking spent fuel assemblies (FAs). A neutron radiography facility and method has been created for the certification of sheath tubes that determine the content of ¹⁰ B in each face and allow to seal the fuel assembly storage.

The achievements of the Radium Institute include the creation of a facility for studying the production of neutrons under the influence of cosmic rays . The experiments were carried out underground at a depth of 20 to 600 m in an underground laboratory in the Finnish city of Oulu . Data was sent to the Radium Institute automatically. Currently, such a facility operates at the University of Nevada under the scientific supervision of the Radium Institute.

1. V.I. Vernadsky (1922-1939)
2. A.E. Fersman (Acting. 1924-1926)
3. V. G. Khlopin (1939-1950),
4. B.A. Nikitin (1950-1952),
5. V. M. Vdovenko (1953-1972),
6. L.N. Lazarev (1972-1989),
7. A.I. Karelin (1990-1996),
8. A.A. Rimsky-Korsakov (1996-2005),
9. V.N. Romanovsky (2005-2008),
10. I. A. Maslennikov (2008—2010),
11. V.P. Tishkov (2010-2014),
12. I.V. Ryzhov (2014—2016),
13. Yu. G. Pokrovsky (2016—2017).
14. A. A. Seregin (since 2018)

At different times, they worked at the institute

• Academicians: V. I. Vernadsky, V. G. Khlopin, A. E. Fersman, A. I. Alikhanov, S. N. Vernov, A. P. Vinogradov, A. A. Grinberg, P. L. Kapitsa, I.V. Kurchatov, A.I. Leipunsky, P.I. Lukirsky, B.P. Nikolsky, D.I. Shcherbakov;
• Corresponding members : V.V. Belousov, V.M. Vdovenko, G.A. Gamov, I.I. Gurevich, B.S. Dzhelepov, V.P. Dzhelepov, M.G. Meshcheryakov, K.A. Nenadkevich B.A. Nikitin, I.E. Starik; professors - A. B. Verigo, G. E. Gorshkov, D. M. Ziv, A. S. Krivokhatsky, A. A. Lipovsky, A. N. Murin, L. V. Mysovsky, K. A. Petrzhak, M. F. Pushlyonkov, A. P. Ratner, G. M. Tolmachev and many other prominent experts in the field of studying and applying the phenomenon of radioactivity ^[8] .

The Radium Institute was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and the Badge of Honor .

Academicians V. G. Khlopin and B. P. Nikolsky were awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor , 13 employees, including academicians B. P. Nikolsky and A. A. Grinberg, were awarded the title of Honored Worker of Science and Technology of the RSFSR. 7 employees were awarded the Lenin Prize , 48 employees - the Stalin and State Prizes of the USSR , 35 employees received the Prize of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. 11 employees became laureates of the prize. V. G. Khlopina. 22 employees were awarded the Order of Lenin , more than 120 were awarded orders and medals ^[8] . Three discoveries were made at the Radium Institute: L. V. Mysovsky participated in the discovery of nuclear isomerism (1935), K. A. Petrzhak and G. N. Flerov discovered the spontaneous fission of uranium (1939), O. V. Lozhkin and A. A Rimsky-Korsakov participated in the discovery of the superheavy nuclide He-8 (1973).

Radium Institute publishes Proceedings of the Radium Institute. VG Khlopina and is a co-founder of the journal "Radiochemistry", which is published in Russian and English.

• Pogodin S.A. , Libman E.P. How Soviet Radium was Mined / Ed. Corr. USSR Academy of Sciences V. M. Vdovenko . - M .: Atomizdat, 1971. - 232 p. - (Popular Science Library Atomizdat). - 25,000 copies.
• Pogodin S.A. , Libman E.P. How Soviet Radium was Mined / Ed. Corr. USSR Academy of Sciences V. M. Vdovenko . - 2nd ed., Rev. and add. - M .: Atomizdat, 1977 .-- 248 p.
• Proceedings of the Russian Academy of Sciences. A note by Academician V.I. Vernadsky on the organization of the State Radium Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences. 1922, t. 16, p. 65.
• Proceedings of the Radium Institute. V. G. Khlopina. T. 13. SPb., 2007.145 s.
• Atomic project of the USSR. - M .; Sarov, 1999.Vol. 2, book. 1, p. 27-35.
• Ushatsky V.N. , Dubasov Yu.V. Participation in the nuclear explosive programs of the USSR. Radium Institute V. G. Khlopina: On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of its founding. SPb, 1997, p. 63-80.
• Radium Institute. V. G. Khlopina - 90 years. - M., 2013 .-- 328 s. ANO "ICAO"
• Radium Institute V. G. Khlopina. To the 75th anniversary of its founding. SPb, 1997.

• Non-peaceful atom. The leak of "nuclear" water at the Radium Institute is hidden for five years // Novye Izvestia. 07/12/2017.