The Chernobyl disaster had a wide impact throughout Europe. Interestingly, initially, the people's authorities in Poland began to act, disregarding the Soviet Union's assurances that there was no danger. However, emotions soon subsided, and a policy of disinformation and ensuring that the threat was low was revived. Find out how Poland reacted to the Chernobyl disaster and what steps were taken to counter its effects.
On the night of April 25-26, 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, now in Ukraine, crashed. In the times of the Polish People's Republic, Chernobyl was located in the Soviet Union. The reason for the failure is a failed experiment consisting of an attempt to supply the power plant with the current generated by the turbogenerator rotor. At that time, the nuclear fuel was melted and evaporated, part of which was released into the atmosphere by the explosion. The wind carried the cloud of radioactive particles over Belarus, the Baltic republics, and Scandinavia. The radioactive cloud also moved over Poland, especially over the north-eastern regions. On April 28, at the radiation monitoring station of the Radioactive Contamination Measurement Service in Mikołajki, radioactivity was recorded in the air over half a million times higher than normal. Polish scientists did not know what happened and were afraid of an atomic explosion. However, radiation analysis indicated a nuclear reactor fire. At that time, the USSR authorities tried to hide the catastrophe. It was only in the evening of that day that the Poles learned about the crash from the BBC radio. Already at night, the Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection (CLOR) in Warsaw presented the authorities with an action plan to protect the population. The radioactive cloud also passed over Western Europe, and then the winds returned it to Poland. Generally, at that time, the directions of the winds turned out to be favorable for Poland, as we missed the worst wave, and the cloud returning from Western Europe was stopped by the Sudetes. In the south of the country, the Opolskie Voivodeship suffered the most.
Information about radioactivity in the air reached Poland not from the USSR, but from Western countries. The Soviet Union tried to conceal the catastrophe and its consequences, claiming that it was an ordinary fire. However, fear prevailed both in Poland and all over Europe. Despite the Soviet Union's assurances that would diminish the danger, the authorities of the People's Republic of Poland took swift action in the interest of their own citizens. The first step was to administer Lugol's solution to the children. The administration of iodine in high doses was expected to prevent the radioactive iodine 131 from being absorbed and accumulating in the thyroid gland. As there were no suitable tablets in Poland, a decision was made to use the freely available Lugol's solution. First, the order concerned the north-eastern voivodships, and then the entire country. Children were given Lugol's fluid in schools and kindergartens, and the action began in the evening. Fear fell on adults as well. Therefore, everyone tried to get Lugol's solution at the pharmacy and drink the correct dose. In total, 18.5 million people took doses of Lugol's fluid during the state action, 95% of whom were children. The following actions were also taken:
- grazing of cows in the meadows was stopped, and the milk of cows previously grazed outside was intended for processing,
- it was recommended not to give children fresh milk, but only powdered milk or condensed milk,
- it was also recommended not to consume fresh fruit, vegetables, vegetables, mushrooms, and rainwater.
A communication from the Government Commission with a contamination table was published in the newspapers. Soon, however, the authorities of the People's Republic of Poland resumed the disinformation policy, claiming that the contamination was very small and harmless. In late May, the Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection (CLOR) was ordered to complete the study of the amount of radioactive iodine 131 in the thyroid glands of children. The catastrophe did not cause panic among the people. Everyone followed the TV news which was quite sparse. There was a lot of disinformation as average people did not know what the threat was and what to do. Schools were not closed, nor was it recommended to leave the children at home and close the windows. Despite the Chernobyl accident, the May Day parades were normally held, and this year's Peace Race started from Kyiv. Despite this, average people tried not to leave the house, not to open windows and to carefully wash fruits and vegetables, or to limit them in their diet for a while.
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