The first vodka 'atomic', controlled origin appellation: Chernobyl

The scientific and commercial collaboration between the United Kingdom and Ukraine has yielded an unusual fruit: a new brand of vodka that takes advantage of the image and particular conditions of the region surrounding the sinister Chernobyl nuclear power plant . The promoters have patented the product under the Atomik brand and maintain that it is very safe from the point of view of radionuclides.

One of the two main ingredients of the drink is the water from the Chernobyl wells, which has "a chemical composition similar to that of the groundwater of the Champagne region in France," according to a press release. Ukrainian Agency of Administration. from the exclusion zone made public this Thursday. The other is distilled alcohol from cereals grown near the site of the largest nuclear accident in history.

3 years of research

Before transforming the brand, an experimental study of the migration of radionuclides between the Chernobyl soil and the crops of the region was carried out for three years. The samples taken had a slight excess of strontium 90, but the emitted radiation was considered acceptable: 20 bequerels per kilogram. In addition, distillation technology does not allow this element to reach alcohol.

According to its creators, in the last drink, only a minimal presence of carbon 14 can be perceived, but this does not exceed the usual levels of the isotope in "any other alcoholic beverage". The scientific estimates resulted from a joint work of specialists from the Hydrometeorological Institute of Ukraine, the Universities of Southampton and Portsmouth, as well as from an independent British laboratory.

In the water, extracted from a deep rock layer, no radioactive contamination was detected, they say.

Outside the exclusion zone

At the presentation of the Atomik vodka in London, Professor Jim Smith of Portsmouth ruled out that they plan to "cultivate cereals in the exclusion zone on an industrial scale" because there are " a wildlife sanctuary ". On the other hand, the initiative plans to plow fields located in a mandatory evacuation zone outside the area where pollution levels are much lower and where the population has already returned.

As he explains, it is "making a product of great value" in order to "support the economic development of these territories".

With this initiative, scientists "turned the world upside down with a unique feat and demonstrated that the impossible becomes possible," said Vitali Petruk, director of the aforementioned Ukrainian agency. He also stressed that the "pure anti-radiation product" will have a "traditional taste". Another participant in the project from Kiev explains that behind this flavor lie the "original methods of Ukrainian distillation" and the aroma of grain that is usually found in the manufacturing drinks of this country.

"Turns the problem into an advantage"

In July, the Ukrainian authorities put into operation the new sarcophagus that covers the fourth reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, a measure that made it much safer for tourists to access their abandoned facilities and their abandoned environment. .

At the inauguration of the metal coating, the president of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelenski, had the task of "turning our problem into an advantage" and proposed to "transform the exclusion zone into one of the points of growth ".

* The Chernobyl nuclear accident occurred on 26 April 1986.

* Dozens of people died in the first three months after the breakdown. Nearly 4,000 people died with posterity due to long-term developmental illnesses after being exposed to air, soil and contaminated objects.

* The population was evacuated within 30 km of the nuclear power plant.

RT