Psychohygiene and Psychoprophylaxis in Nuclear Industry Safety: Psychological Aspects of Preparing Personnel for Radiation Accidents and Incidents

Possible approaches to providing psychological provision for personnel operating during a radiation accident are examined, under conditions where the psyche is exposed to multiple stress factors of an emergency situation that lies beyond the prior life experience of specialists who, by the will of circumstance, are called upon to stop the spread of radiation bringing death and destruction to all living things on Earth. Under such conditions, the rescue of personnel at radiation-hazardous facilities and of many thousands of people living in the disaster area depends on the self-control of emergency response units and specialized medical teams of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency of Russia. Ensuring the stress resilience of FMBA healthcare specialists operating in a radiation accident setting is a key mission of FMBA clinical psychologists. The штатная staffing structure for clinical psychologists within FMBA healthcare institutions was introduced in 2014 by Order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation No. 34С. For the past three years, the State Research Center — A.I. Burnazyan Federal Medical Biophysical Center of the FMBA of Russia (within the AMRDC) has established a Laboratory of Extreme Psychology. Within the framework of research activities, the laboratory’s work is intended to provide scientific and methodological support for the professional practice of FMBA clinical psychologists and to supply practical content for the functional roles of personnel in emergency units and specialized medical teams of the FMBA of Russia.