FSUE "Mayak": the realities of the legendary "magpie"

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Information about FSUE "Mayak" and the Chelyabinsk "ban" was kept secret for a long time. The settlement did not even have a name, only a postal code. A lot has changed in 70 years. Having survived a radiation catastrophe in the middle of the last century, the enterprise managed to cope with the situation and has achieved excellent results to date. The "closed" city of nuclear scientists Ozersk is an actively developing, with a large number of young people, a beautiful and modern settlement. Today's media quite openly broadcast about the news of the defense enterprise, and on the Internet there is an official website of FSUE "Mayak" Ozersk.

How it all began

The radiation explosion that occurred at the Mayak enterprise in 1957 could not disrupt life in Chelyabinsk-40. Dangerous "cloud" carried away in the other direction. But about the consequences of the Kyshtym accident and the water pollution that preceded it in the Techa River in 1949many are still talking. From this we can conclude that the formation of a secret enterprise that manufactured the first atomic bomb was not easy.

In 1945, the implementation of the first uranium project began. The construction of a nuclear reactor and its operation required a lot of electricity, railway communication, a huge amount of water to cool the core. External secrecy of the area was also needed. The choice fell on the territory of the Chelyabinsk region, the area between the industrial cities of Kasli and Kyshtym, among dozens of lakes, away from large settlements. In June 1948, an object of special importance was put into operation, and the history of FSUE Mayak Chelyabinsk began.

The South Ural "ban" has long been under a veil of secrecy. They only knew that living in Sorokovka was very good, especially during the years of stagnation: shops were supplied from Moscow, there were practically no hooliganism and crimes - a beautiful quiet city surrounded by forests and lakes.

Seventy atomic years of Mayak

Thanks to the uniqueness of the Mayak software, the dedication of highly qualified specialists, the first successful test of a nuclear sample was carried out a year and a half after the plant was opened. The development of the nuclear industry fell on the years of socialist construction. In step with the times and scientific discoveries, a new enterprise moved forward.

At the turn of the century, FSUE Mayak production association met with new challenges - the need to solveenvironmental problems of the past.

It was necessary to decommission very dangerous facilities that require special attention from the country's leadership. Since the end of the 1990s and to this day, issues of ensuring the safety of the nuclear industry have been addressed. The priority is the preservation of the environment and protection from radiation. The presidential order of 2003, aimed at improving the environment in the cascade of reservoirs of the Techa River, is being successfully implemented, and the enterprise is developing steadily in priority areas of activity.

Main activities of the enterprise

FGUP PO Mayak has at its disposal unique equipment and the necessary capacities to carry out the following activities:

• reactor production;
• chemical and metallurgical production;
• radiochemical production;
• production of radioactive isotopes;



• production of modern metalworking equipment;
• instrumentation;
• ecology;
• science.

Progressive directions

The company employs about twelve thousand highly qualified employees. Unique scientific and technical areas of work of the team:

1. Recovery of spent nuclear fuel from nuclear ships and submarines, nuclear power plants and research reactors.
2. Creation of ionizing radiation units for industrial and medical applications.
3. Design and implementation of fundamentally new ways of managing chemical production and methods of monitoring the parameters of current processes.

FGUP PO Mayak in Ozersk is considered the leading nuclear power facility in the Russian Federation that implements progressive, environmentally sound production methods.

How does Ozersk live today

The economy of modern Ozersk is a well-established structure. It includes a number of industries, transport, an impressive building complex, communications, housing and communal services, trade and public catering. The social sphere has been adjusted: hospitals, polyclinics, cultural facilities, kindergartens, schools, institutions of additional education for children. School graduates can receive higher and secondary specialized education not only in Ozersk, but also outside it (targeted education). Seven and a half hundred organizations and enterprises with different forms of ownership are successfully operating in the city. It is easy to guess that in the settlement where the main enterprise is FSUE "Mayak", the chemical industry prevails (87.2%). Also in the nuclear city, the food, light, woodworking industries, the building materials industry, metalworking and mechanical engineering have been developed. Of the 34 enterprises in the Ozersk urban settlement, 23 have the status of small businesses.

Prospects for development

FSUE "Mayak" - moderndefense enterprise, which is part of the state corporation Rosatom. The large-scale program for improving the country's nuclear power industry, outlined by the President of the Russian Federation, guarantees the constant workload of not only the main, but also all non-military production facilities of Mayak, for example, machine tool building.

The general director of the enterprise, Mikhail Ivanovich Pokhlebaev, considers it a priority task to integrate the technologies available at Mayak into the implementation of the energy program of the entire country. The head draws attention to the importance of fulfilling the state defense order, further development of production, solving safety and environmental issues.

Prospects for the development of the nuclear industry prophesy a successful future not only for the Mayak enterprise and the Ozersk settlement, but also for all people living there. Who knows, maybe an unusual city will open the doors for you. Worth a try!