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Ukrainian physics institute hit by rocket attack

Physics World April 2022

Physics World

 
News & Analysis Physics World  April 2022

Ukrainian physics institute hit by rocket attack

In the firing line A substation at the Kharkiv Research Institute of Physics and Technology was destroyed following a Russian missile attack. (Courtesy: SNRIU)

On 6 March 2022 the Security Service of Ukraine reported that the Kharkiv Research Institute of Physics and Technology, which has a rich history in physics, had come under attack by Russian forces. Built in 1928 in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, the institute quickly became a world-leading centre for low-temperature physics, with its theoretical physics department at one time led by the future Nobel-prize-winning physicist Lev Landau who wrote the famous 10-volume Course of Theoretical Physics with fellow physicist Evgeny Lifshitz (also based at Kharkiv). 

As well as carrying out research into solid-state physics and plasma physics, the institute these days is also home to an experimental neutron facility – dubbed Neutron Source – that can produce medical isotopes for cancer treatment. Built in 2015 with the help of Argonne National Laboratory in the US, it includes a linear accelerator that produces 100 MeV electrons. These are fired at a (natural) uranium or tungsten target to produce neutrons to drive a “subcritical assembly” of 37 nuclear fuel cells, consisting of uranium dioxide enriched to about 20% uranium-235. The neutrons produced are then sent along six separate channels to experimental stations.

The missiles that struck the lab were fired from a “Grad” launcher, with an inspection by personnel at the Neutron Source revealing surface damage to the main building as well as the destruction of an electrical substation, broken windows and damage to the air-conditioning system for the linear accelerator.

The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine noted that, prior to the Russian invasion, the Neutron Source was in the initial start-up phase. But once the invasion began on 24 February, operators protectively removed the nuclear fuel. “The destruction of nuclear facilities and storage facilities could lead to a large-scale environmental catastrophe,” the Security Service of Ukraine noted in a statement. 

As Physics World went to press, there were also concerns regarding the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, located in the south of the country. It is the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine with six reactor units – two of which are operational. That plant, which is now under Russian control, was hit by rocket fire in late February – causing a fire that was soon put out. Russian forces also took control of the Chernobyl nuclear complex, which lies north of Kyiv. It was reported that staff at the facility had not been able to leave and in March external power to the facility was lost for several days.

Michael Banks