Environmental consequences of the chernobyl accident and their remediation: twenty years of experience. Report of the chernobyl forum expert group ‘environment’

Abstract

Recommendations for decontamination of the urban environment in case of large-scale radioactive contamination should be distributed to management of nuclear facilities having the potential of substantial accidental radioactive release (NPPs and reprocessing plants) and to authorities of adjacent regions. Research Generally, physical and chemical processes involved in environmental countermeasures and remediation technologies, both of mechanical nature (radionuclide removal, mixing with soil, etc.), chemical nature (soil liming, fertilisation, etc.) or their combinations, are understood well enough in order to be modeled and applied in similar circumstances worldwide. Much less understood are the biological processes that could be used in environmental remediation, e.g., re-profiling of agricultural production, bioremediation, etc. These processes require more research. An important issue that requires more sociological research is perception by the public of the introduction, performance and withdrawal of countermeasures in case of emergency, as well as development of social measures aiming at involvement of the public in these processes at all stages beginning with the decision making.

Chernobyl-level radiation exposure damages bumblebee reproduction: a laboratory experiment

“…DCRLs predict the dose rate range within which radiation is likely to start having deleterious effects (mortality, morbidity or reproduction) on an individual organism [23]. Estimated dose rates for the present-day Chernobyl Exclusion Zone are demonstrated for context (Chernobyl dose rates are now chronic and low, approximately 1% of those at the time of the accident in 1986) [26]. (Online version in colour.)…”

“…Such laboratory studies are often used to extrapolate to the likely effects of chronic low-dose rates in contaminated natural environments such as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, yet they may have limited ecological relevance [23,24]. Unambiguous determination of the effects of chronic low-dose radiation exposure for wildlife is imperative to predict radiation impacts on ecosystem function in contaminated environments [25], advise in the case of future radiation accidents [26], adhere to ethical obligations associated with environmental protection [27], and to test whether current regulations are fit for purpose [28].…”

“…Knowledge of this relationship is, however, crucial for estimating the ecological impacts of environmental radiological contamination and for radioprotection policy. of those at the time of the accident in 1986) [26].…”

Radiological impact assessment approaches for Life Cycle Assessment: a review and possible ways forward

“…So far, radiation protection has been focussed upon human impacts; on the assumption that the system in place for protection of human beings must afford an acceptable level of protection to non-human organisms, most environmental monitoring of ecosystems concentrates on only those species or materials which are part of the critical pathways to humans. This line of thought has been set out in the ICRP recommendations of 1977 (ICRP 1977), reiterated in the recommendations of 1990 (ICRP 1990) and supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA 2006). However, interest in protection of the environment has greatly increased in recent years: society's concern for environmental risk has put pressure on policy makers and regulators to define protection strategies that specifically and explicitly include the environment.…”

Incorporation and Accumulation of Strontium-90 in the Hard Tissue of Animals and Their Relationship with Strontium-90 Pollution in the Environment

“…Strontium-90 ( 90 Sr) has been released to the environment from various nuclear disasters in the past, such as nuclear weapon tests [1], the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident [2,3], release of contaminated radionuclides from nuclear fuel processing plants at Sellafield and Mayak facilities [4,5], and sea disposal operations by the former Soviet Union [6]. Strontium-90 was released also by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) accident in 2011 and remained in the terrestrial and marine environments due to its long physical half-life of 28.8 years.…”