Institute for Applied Radioactivity

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The building of the former
institute for applied radioactivity

The Institute for Applied Radioactivity ( IaR for short ) was a non-university research facility of the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin (DAW), which existed in Leipzig from 1956 to 1970 and then became part of the Central Institute for Isotope and Radiation Research .

history

In the summer of 1955, the three physicists Carl Friedrich Weiss , Walter Herrmann and Wolfgang Burkhardt and the engineer Karl Renker returned from the Soviet Union after nine years of compulsory work at the Institute for Organic-Chemical Industry on the site of the former armaments factory HASAG on Permoserstraße in Leipzig were founded a department for applied radioactivity . The Institute for Applied Radioactivity was established on January 1, 1956, and Carl Friedrich Weiss became its first director. In 1958 the institute already had 59 employees, and in the 1960s there were just over 100 with around 40% university graduates.

A new institute building was built from 1956 to 1959 to meet the special requirements for working with radionuclides. From 1964 the research results were mainly published in the journal Isotopenpraxis , founded by Carl Friedrich Weiss (radionuclides) and Justus Mühlenpfordt (stable isotopes) . In addition to special conferences, a widely acclaimed international workshop on applied radioactivity with six sections was held in Leipzig in 1966 .

In the course of the reform of the academy, which, in addition to political goals, also pursued the establishment of larger research institutions, the Institute for Applied Radioactivity became the Central Institute for Isotope Research in 1970 with the Institute for Stable Isotopes , the Laboratory for Statistical Physics and the Institute for Applied Isotope Research in Berlin-Buch. and radiation research , which was wound up in 1991.

The directors of the Institute for Applied Radioactivity were Professors Carl Friedrich Weiss (1956–1966), Walter Herrmann (1966–1968) and Hartwig Koch (1968–1970).

Work areas

The Institute for Applied Radioactivity developed methods for the application of radioactive nuclides and applied them in various areas of industry and research. The most important tasks were:

A radiophysical and radiochemical internship has been offered since the institute was founded . In one to four-week courses for scientists and engineers from industrial companies and research institutions as well as students, practical knowledge in the field of radioactivity, radiochemistry, radiation protection and radiation measurement technology as well as the application of radioactive nuclides was imparted.

The building

The institute building, which was constructed using a steel frame construction, had to consist of two separate areas for reasons of radiation protection . These are separated by a two meter thick concrete wall extending over three floors. The so-called active part contained the laboratories and operating facilities for handling unsealed radioactive substances , the other laboratories for working with enclosed, low-activity emitters and for inactive work, as well as the scientist's study. The two parts of the building are arranged somewhat offset. Because of the lead shielding used in the laboratories, the active part required a significantly higher floor load capacity, which is evident from the strong main supports protruding from the building front. External passageways on the active part provided additional escape routes. Access to the active part was only possible via a security lock, in which clothes were changed and when employees left, the measurement for freedom from radioactive contamination took place and which also contained a shower facility.

The main entrance and the stairwell of the inactive part are representative. A wall-filling mosaic is installed on the ground floor. Based on a design by Bert Heller, it shows formulas for nuclear fission and symbolically the four classical elements . The three natural radioactive decay series are shown on a brass-covered door .

The design and the safety requirements of the house, for which there were no models, were mainly developed by CF Weiss and W. Herrmann. The architect of the building was Berthold Schneider from the Hochbau design office at the City Council of Leipzig. In terms of its architectural design, the institute building in Leipzig is considered to be the culmination of the tendency to adapt to the typical grid architecture of the 1950s in the Federal Republic. The building is a listed building .

Today, most of the building belongs to the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research - UFZ and the rooms of the active part to the Leipzig Research Center of the Helmholtz Center Dresden-Rossendorf .

Technical equipment

The active part in particular had special technical equipment for working with unsealed radioactive substances. All rooms were air-conditioned and the exhaust air was filtered; no window could be opened. A material transport from the active part was only possible to a limited extent and under strict dosimetric controls. Even work reports and measurement protocols were initially recorded on tapes outside of the active part via an intercom. The protective clothing worn in the active part was cleaned in a laundry in the active part. The entire wastewater of the active part was collected in a wastewater system with decay and precipitation tanks and only released into the general wastewater network when the permissible activity limits were reached. Radioactive waste was collected and specially disposed of. To handle heavy lead shielding containers, there was a crane runway that was also accessible from the outside via the gable of the active part. So-called hot cells were available for processing highly active sources, in which the radioactive substances were handled by manipulators at a greater distance and behind appropriate shields. All walls and floors were covered with a closed layer of plastic to make them easier to decontaminate. The radiochemical work surfaces and fume cupboards had stainless steel coverings. Tile or plastic surfaces could be protected with a removable varnish. Wood was practically not used.

All these provisions are all the more astonishing when you consider the GDR's economy of shortage under which they arose. They were also able to meet the increasingly stringent radiation protection requirements over three decades.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ UFZ Environmental Research Center Leipzig-Halle (ed.): Leipzig Permoserstraße. On the history of an industrial and scientific location . Passage-Verlag Leipzig 2001, ISBN 3-932900-61-8 , p. 147/148
  2. ↑ Lieselott Herforth , Hartwig Koch: Radiophysical and radiochemical basic internship. Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften Berlin 1962, several further editions
  3. ↑ Christoph Kühn: From national traditions to post-war modernity - the architecture of the research center Permoserstraße. In: Leipzig Permoserstraße ... (see above) pp. 155–157
  4. ↑ Monika Gibas , Peer Pasternack (ed.): Socialist house and art: Universities and their buildings in the GDR. Leipziger Universitätsverlag 1999, ISBN 3-933240-32-8 (pdf, without images)
  5. ↑ List of cultural monuments in Sellerhausen-Stünz , ID number 09292457 (2nd page, map)

Coordinates: 51 ° 21 ′ 6 "  N , 12 ° 25 ′ 51.4"  E