Car Decontamination Process: Everything Owners Need to Know

Situations related to possible radioactive contamination of personal vehicles require detailed explanation and discussion. In this interview, we will focus on how and why vehicles can become radioactively contaminated, how the decontamination process of vehicles occurs, whether vehicles can be seized, and what rules are applied for returning vehicles to owners.

The Acting Head of the Emergency Preparedness and Radiation Monitoring Department at the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (SSTC NRS), Maria Chala, and the Head of the Decontamination Shop of Transport, Equipment, Materials and Operation of Changing Rooms at the Specialized Enterprise “Centralized Enterprise for Radioactive Waste Management” (CERWM), Dmytro Ryabichenko, told the Uatom.org Editorial Board about this.

– How can personal vehicles become radioactively contaminated, if they are not specialized vehicles?

Dmytro Ryabichenko: Personal vehicles may be slightly contaminated by radiation on the roadsides of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone only in the event of an emergency shutdown. Please note that stopping (except for an emergency stop) or driving on the roadsides of the Exclusion Zone is strictly prohibited.

Maria Chala: For example, personnel of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (ChEZ) can come to work in their own car. While a certain car is driving from the monitoring and dosimetry point (MDP) to the place of residence of a worker, there is a possibility of contamination. In addition, when a worker returns home from work, he/she drives along the roads of the ChEZ. Radiation monitoring of the car is carried out at the MDP, where radioactive contamination can be detected.

– Where and how does the decontamination process take place?

Dmytro Ryabichenko: The decontamination process is carried out at the decontamination site for transport, equipment, materials (Leliv decontamination treatment site) at the decontamination shop for transport, equipment, materials and operation of changing rooms at CERWM in accordance with the permits and the technological process map. Vehicles are decontaminated by jet method using high-pressure installation, through chemical method by means of solutions of acids and alkalis, and by mechanical method applying metalworking tools.

Maria Chala: Decontamination is carried out at the decontamination treatment sites. In the ChEZ these are stationary structures, but in the event of an emergency such sites are deployed on the border of the “clean” and “dirty” zones, taking into account certain aspects of their layout. For example, the existing car washes can be used (usually they have a closed drainage system so that flammable and lubricating materials washed off the car do not get into the common wastewater treatment system). Such sites can also be mobile like a corridor of special equipment (fire engines, etc.) capable of washing off radioactive dust. Such sites are tried to be located near the beams and ravines so that the washed off contamination flows to one point and pollutes a smaller area.

The car decontamination process itself resembles a usual car wash. Initially, the detected contamination will be tried to be washed off with ordinary water, if this does not help, cleaning solutions and rags/brushes are used. If washing with detergents does not help, special decontamination solutions are used that can react with the contaminant. For example, acid or alkali solutions can be used.

– Is decontamination carried out for the entire vehicle or only for its contaminated part?

Dmytro Ryabichenko: After vehicle dosimetry survey, SSE “Ecocentre” employees decontaminate the vehicle, namely, the radiation contaminated parts of the vehicle identified by the dosimetrist.

– Is the decontamination process different for specialized equipment and personal vehicles?

Dmytro Ryabichenko: The decontamination process is carried out in accordance with the technological process map and the standards for the consumption of material and energy resources for vehicle decontamination by setting high pressure on the decontamination site for transport, equipment, materials (Leliv decontamination treatment site). The decontamination process of specialized equipment and personal vehicles is practically no different.

Maria Chala: The only differences may be related to the size of a car. That is, an ordinary passenger car has significantly smaller dimensions compared to a tank.

– Are personal cars seized, if radiation contamination is detected? If so, what is the seizure procedure?

Maria Chala: Decontamination is attempted first, but if washing and using decontaminating solutions do not help, the contaminated part can be seized. For example, remove the contaminated wheel and replace it with a spare tire or dismantle the mudguards, etc. The seizure procedure takes place at the decontamination site: a “dirty” car cannot be released to the “clean” area. A corresponding radiation survey record is drawn up, decontaminators provide a document stating that, for example, a car mat cannot be decontaminated and is subjected to seizure. The contaminated part is seized, then it will be transferred to appropriate storage site.

Dmytro Ryabichenko: No such cases were recorded.

– Can a car be seized forever and, in that case, will a person receive any compensation?

Maria Chala: Yes, there were such cases after the Chornobyl disaster. Usually such cars were left for use on the territory of the ChEZ. People received compensation, but I cannot say, in what amount and in what way.

If we consider the situation of car seizure in case of an emergency, there is no clear algorithm for receiving compensation today, that is, no one will tell you where to address. This issue is solved by the local executive bodies that will correct person’s actions in case of car seizure.

Dmytro Ryabichenko: If after the vehicle decontamination process it is not possible to achieve reference levels of radiation contamination that allow driving outside the exclusion zone, a corresponding report is drawn up and the vehicle is sent to the decontamination treatment site. It is necessary to note that when entering the exclusion zone, owners of private vehicles sign a document, according to which in the event of vehicle radiation contamination, they will have no claims against the State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management.

– Are cars returned to their owners after decontamination? If so, within what time frame?

Dmytro Ryabichenko: After the decontamination process, SSE “Ecocentre” dosimetrist conducts repeated survey of the vehicle. If no excess is detected, a corresponding report is drawn up and the vehicle is immediately returned to the owner.

Depending on the radiation contamination degree, the decontamination process takes from one hour to several days.

– Can a person be exposed to radiation, if he/she drives a car that has radiation contamination?

Dmytro Ryabichenko: Yes, this is possible. In contamination by a gamma-emitting radionuclide with high equivalent dose rate, a person can receive radiation exposure.

Maria Chala: The external exposure dose will depend on what radionuclide a vehicle is contaminated with, how dirty it is, and how long the person stayed there.

– Are you aware of any cases of radiation contamination of private vehicles in recent years?

Dmytro Ryabichenko: There were no such cases recorded. The decontamination process was carried out only by specialized equipment operating within the 10-kilometer Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.

Uatom.org Editorial Board