Oleksii Ananenko Mikhailovich

He was born in a peasant family. In 1961, the family moved to the village of Tulinivka in the Tambov region, where Oleksiy graduated from high school in 1977.

From 1977 to 1983, he studied at the Moscow Energy Institute, majoring in "Nuclear Power Plants and Installations", and received the qualification of a thermophysics engineer.

From 1983 to 1989, he worked as an operator and senior mechanical engineer in the reactor shop of the Chornobyl NPP.

In 1989-1992, he worked at the Kyiv branch of the Atomenergoproekt Institute, where he was involved in the development of reports on the analysis of the safety of Ukrainian nuclear power plants, including assessments of the consequences of radiation accidents.

From 1993 to 1994, he was the head of the laboratory in the department of computational analysis of thermohydraulic processes and probabilistic analysis of NPP safety in the Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety.

In 1994, he started working at the State Atomic Energy Inspectorate of Ukraine, where he was the head of the emergency control department.

From 1995 to 2003, he worked at the Ministry of Safety and Security of Ukraine, the Administration of Nuclear Regulation and the Ministry of Natural Resources as the head of the emergency preparedness and response unit.

From April 2001 to 2010, he worked at the State Committee for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine, dealing with issues of emergency preparedness and response.

In November 2010, he resigned from the position of head of the Information and Crisis Management and retired early as a participant in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident.

From November 2010 to May 2011, he temporarily returned to work and was the head of the international projects department of the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety.

Since May 2011, he has been working as the director of institutional development of the Association "Ukrainian Nuclear Forum".

In 2017, Oleksiy was involved in an accident at a pedestrian crossing, after which he was in a coma for several months.

Retired since April 2018.

Participation in liquidation of the accident at the Chernobyl NPP

Olexii Mykhailovych was one of the three specialists who, in April 1986, were engaged in draining water from the coolant of the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Approximately 185 tons of molten nuclear material from the destroyed reactor burned through the concrete slab under the reactor. Under them, water used during firefighting in the first days after the accident accumulated in the barbater pool. Its volume was estimated at 19 thousand tons.

If the molten core reached water, there was a high probability of a second explosion. Therefore, a plan was developed: three specialists (known as "divers") were to go through the flooded chambers of the fourth reactor, find two shut-off valves and open them to drain the water.

Boris Baranov, station shift chief, decided that this dangerous operation would be performed by three people: himself, senior engineer of power unit No. 3 Valery Bespalov and senior engineer Oleksiy Ananenko.

Contrary to popular belief, all three survived receiving non-critical doses of radiation.

Awards

• Hero of Ukraine awarded the Golden Star Order (June 27, 2019) for heroism and selfless actions during the liquidation of the accident at the Chernobyl NPP.
• Order "For Courage" III degree (April 25, 2018) - for a significant contribution to overcoming the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, dedication, high professionalism and many years of fruitful public activity.
• Order "Badge of Honor" (USSR).
• Certificate of Honor of the Cabinet of Ukraine (2005) — for a significant contribution to the creation of the State Committee for Nuclear Regulation, the development and safety of the nuclear energy industry of Ukraine.