ACCUMULATION OF RADIOCESIUM BY MUSHROOMS IN THE ENVIRONMENT: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND IMAGE GALLERY

Title: ACCUMULATION OF RADIOCESIUM BY MUSHROOMS IN THE ENVIRONMENT: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND IMAGE GALLERY

Author: Duff, M / Mary Ramsey, M

Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 2006 Nov 05

Keywords: 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; CONTAMINATION; IMAGES; MUSHROOMS; SAMPLING; SOURCE TERMS; CESIUM 137; BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION; CESIUM 134

Abstract: During the last 50 years, a large amount of information on radionuclide accumulators or ‘sentinel-type’ organisms in the environment has been published. Much of this work focused on the risks of food-chain transfer of radionuclides to higher organisms such as reindeer and man. However, until the 1980’s and 1990’s, there has been little published data on the radiocesium ({sup 134}Cs and {sup 137}Cs) accumulation by mushrooms. This presentation will consist of a review of the published data for {sup 134,137}Cs accumulation by mushrooms in nature. The review will consider the time of sampling, sample location characteristics, the radiocesium source term and other aspects that promote {sup 134,137}Cs uptake by mushrooms. This review will focus on published data for mushrooms that demonstrate a large propensity for use in the environmental biomonitoring of radiocesium contamination. It will also provide photographs and descriptions of habitats for many of these mushrooms to facilitate their collection for biomonitoring.

URL: http://www.osti.gov/bridge/product.biblio.jsp?query_id=2&page=0&osti_id=895047

Deposition of artificial radionuclides from atmospheric Nuclear Weapon Tests estimated by soil inventories in French areas low-impacted by Chernobyl

Title: Deposition of artificial radionuclides from atmospheric Nuclear Weapon Tests estimated by soil inventories in French areas low-impacted by Chernobyl

Author: Le Roux, Gaël / Duffa, Céline / Vray, Françoise / Renaud, Philippe

Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 101 (3), p.211-218, Mar 2010

doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2009.10.010

Keywords: Atmospheric deposition; ¹³⁷Cs; Plutonium; Americium; Nuclear Weapon Tests; France

Abstract: Soil inventories of anthropogenic radionuclides were investigated in altitudinal transects in 2 French regions, Savoie and Montagne Noire. Rain was negligible in these 2 areas the days after the Chernobyl accident. Thus anthropogenic radionuclides are coming hypothetically only from Global Fallout following Atmospheric Nuclear Weapon Tests. This is confirmed by the isotopic signatures (²³⁸Pu/^239+240Pu; ¹³⁷Cs/^239+240Pu; and ²⁴¹Am/^239+240Pu) close to Global Fallout value. In Savoie, a peat core age-dated by ²¹⁰Pb_ex confirmed that the main part of deposition of anthropogenic radionuclides occurred during the late sixties and the early seventies. In agreement with previous studies, the anthropogenic radionuclide inventories are well correlated with the annual precipitations. However, this is the first time that a study investigates such a large panel of annual precipitation and therefore of anthropogenic radionuclide deposition. It seems that at high-altitude sites, deposition of artificial radionuclides was higher possibly due to orographic precipitations.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X09002434

Comparative radiation impact on biota and man in the area affected by the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Title: Comparative radiation impact on biota and man in the area affected by the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Author: Fesenko, S V / Alexakhin, R M / Geras’kin, S A / Sanzharova, N I / Spirin, Ye V / Spiridonov, S I / Gontarenko, I A / Strand, P

Reference: Journal of environmental radioactivity, 80 (1), p.1-25, Jan 2005

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2004.08.011

Keywords: Radiation protection; Chernobyl accident; Radiation impact; Non-human species; Man

Abstract: A methodological approach for a comparative assessment of ionising radiation effects on man and non-human species, based on the use of Radiation Impact Factor (RIF) – ratios of actual exposure doses to biota species and man to critical dose is described. As such doses, radiation safety standards limiting radiation exposure of man and doses at which radiobiological effects in non-human species were not observed after the Chernobyl accident, were employed. For the study area within the 30 km ChNPP zone dose burdens to 10 reference biota groups and the population (with and without evacuation) and the corresponding RIFs were calculated. It has been found that in 1986 (early period after the accident) the emergency radiation standards for man do not guarantee adequate protection of the environment, some species of which could be affected more than man. In 1991 RIFs for man were considerably (by factor of 20.0–1.1 × 10⁵) higher compared with those for selected non-human species. Thus, for the long term after the accident radiation safety standards for man are shown to ensure radiation safety for biota as well.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X04002620

Reduced abundance of raptors in radioactively contaminated areas near Chernobyl

Title: Reduced abundance of raptors in radioactively contaminated areas near Chernobyl

Author: Møller, Anders Pape / Mousseau, Timothy A.

Reference: Journal of Ornithology, 150 (1), p.239-246, Jan 2009

doi:10.1007/s10336-008-0343-5

Keywords: Birds of prey, Predators, Radiation at Chernobyl, Trophic level

Abstract: The negative ecological effects of radioactive contamination around Chernobyl have recently been suggested to be moderate and declining because of an increasing number of anecdotal observations of several species of rare animals including predators. However, these claims were not based on empirical evidence. Radionuclides show bio-accumulation with trophic level, and the abundance of birds is depressed in radioactively contaminated areas around Chernobyl. Therefore, we predicted that birds of prey should be less abundant with increasing levels of radiation. Here, we use our long-term field data from 1991 to 2007 in three different analyses based on observations of raptors using standardized point counts, censuses during capture of barn swallows Hirundo rustica that habitually give alarm calls when a raptor is present, and line transects while driving on roads. Analyses suggest that the abundance of birds of prey is reduced in contaminated areas, and that there is evidence of a recent increase in abundance of raptors in less contaminated areas, but not in the most contaminated ones. Our findings suggest that birds of prey that are top level consumers in ecosystems suffer from reduced abundance in radioactively contaminated areas.

URL: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10336-008-0343-5

Historical mutation rates predict susceptibility to radiation in Chernobyl birds

Title: Historical mutation rates predict susceptibility to radiation in Chernobyl birds

Author: MØLLER, A. P. / ERRITZøE, J. / KARADAS, F. / MOUSSEAU, T. A.

Reference: Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 23 (10), p.2132-2142, Aug 2010

doi:　 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02074.x

Keywords: antioxidants; birds; extreme environmental perturbation; mitochondrial DNA; substitution rates

Abstract: Extreme environmental perturbations are rare, but may have important evolutionary consequences. Responses to current perturbations may provide important information about the ability of living organisms to cope with similar conditions in the evolutionary past. Radioactive contamination from Chernobyl constitutes one such extreme perturbation, with significant but highly variable impact on local population density and mutation rates of different species of animals and plants. We explicitly tested the hypothesis that species with strong impacts of radiation on abundance were those with high rates of historical mutation accumulation as reflected by cytochrome b mitochondrial DNA base-pair substitution rates during past environmental perturbations. Using a dataset of 32 species of birds, we show higher historical mitochondrial substitution rates in species with the strongest negative impact of local levels of radiation on local population density. These effects were robust to different estimates of impact of radiation on abundance, weighting of estimates of abundance by sample size, statistical control for similarity in the response among species because of common phylogenetic descent, and effects of population size and longevity. Therefore, species that respond strongly to the impact of radiation from Chernobyl are also the species that in the past have been most susceptible to factors that have caused high substitution rates in mitochondrial DNA.

URL:http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02074.x/abstract

The relationship of soil organic carbon to 210 Pb ex and 137 Cs during surface soil erosion in a hillslope forested environment

Title: The relationship of soil organic carbon to 210 Pb ex and 137 Cs during surface soil erosion in a hillslope forested environment

Author: Teramage, Mengistu T. / Onda, Yuichi / Kato, Hiroaki / Wakiyama, Yoshifumi / Mizugaki, Shigeru / Hiramatsu, Shinya

Reference: Geoderma, 192, p.59-67, Jan 2013

doi:　10.1016/j.geoderma.2012.08.030

Keywords: ¹³⁷Cs; ²¹⁰Pb_ex; Distribution; Radionuclide; Soil; SOC

Abstract: ► We evaluate the correlation of SOC with ²¹⁰Pb_ex and ¹³⁷Cs in forest environments. ► SOC shows strong and persistent affinity to ²¹⁰Pb_ex than ¹³⁷Cs. ► In forest soil, SOC and ²¹⁰Pb_ex are replenished continuously from natural sources. ► ²¹⁰Pb_ex model can help to trace SOC in forests around the world.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706112003254

Bird population declines due to radiation exposure at Chernobyl are stronger in species with pheomelanin-based coloration

Title: Bird population declines due to radiation exposure at Chernobyl are stronger in species with pheomelanin-based coloration

Author: Galván, Ismael / Mousseau, Timothy A. / Møller, Anders P.

Reference: Oecologia, 165 (4), p.827-835, Apr 2011

doi:10.1007/s00442-010-1860-5

Keywords: Eumelanin, Glutathione, Pheomelanin, Plumage coloration, Radioactive contamination

Abstract: Eumelanin and pheomelanin are the most common pigments providing color to the integument of vertebrates. While pheomelanogenesis requires high levels of a key intracellular antioxidant (glutathione, GSH), eumelanogenesis is inhibited by GSH. This implies that species that possess the molecular basis to produce large amounts of pheomelanin might be more limited in coping with environmental conditions that generate oxidative stress than species that produce eumelanin. Exposure to ionizing radiation produces free radicals and depletes antioxidant resources. GSH is particularly susceptible to radiation, so that species with large proportions of pheomelanic integument may be limited by the availability of GSH to combat oxidative stress and may thus suffer more from radiation effects. We tested this hypothesis in 97 species of birds censused in areas with varying levels of radioactive contamination around Chernobyl. After controlling for the effects of carotenoid-based color, body mass and similarity among taxa due to common phylogenetic descent, the proportion of pheomelanic plumage was strongly negatively related to the slope estimates of the relationship between abundance and radiation levels, while no effect of eumelanic color proportion was found. This represents the first report of an effect of the expression of melanin-based coloration on the capacity to resist the effects of ionizing radiation. Population declines were also stronger in species that exhibit carotenoid-based coloration and have large body mass. The magnitude of population declines had a relatively high phylogenetic signal, indicating that certain groups of birds, especially non-corvid passeriforms, are particularly susceptible to suffer from the effects of radioactive contamination due to phylogenetic inertia.

URL: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00442-010-1860-5

Radiation contamination after the chernobyl nuclear accident and the effective dose received by the population of Croatia

Title: Radiation contamination after the chernobyl nuclear accident and the effective dose received by the population of Croatia

Author: Lokobauer, Nevenka / Franić, Zdenko / Bauman, Alica / Maračić, Manda / Cesar, Dobroslav / Senčar, Jasminka

Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 41 (2), p.137-146, Nov 1998

doi:　10.1016/S0265-931X(97)00006-4

Keywords: Radioactive contamination, Croatia, humans, 137Cs, 90Sr

Abstract: Because of the Chernobyl nuclear accident which led to enhanced deposition of all fission products, contamination of the human environment in the Republic of Croatia was much higher than in the previous two decades. The paper deals with the investigation of deposition and contamination by fission product radionuclides (¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr, in particular), especially within the human food chain. Its aim was to determine differences in contamination levels resulting from the Chernobyl accident and from large-scale atmospheric nuclear weapon tests. For the year following the Chernobyl accident, the radiation doses received from external and internal exposures were estimated for 1-year old infants, children at the age of 10-years and adults. The corresponding annual effective doses were 1·49, 0·93 and 0·83 mSv, respectively. The paper also gives data on the yearly intakes of ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr in foods and the corresponding effective doses received by the population of Croatia over many years from the global fallout following nuclear weapons testing and the Chernobyl accident.

URL:http://www.franic.info/radovi/NLokobauer_Radiation_Contamination_after_Chernobyl.pdf

Radioactive waste management and environmental contamination issues at the Chernobyl site.

Title: Radioactive waste management and environmental contamination issues at the Chernobyl site.

Author: Napier, B A / Schmieman, E A / Voitsekovitch, O

Reference: Health physics, 93 (5), p.441-451, Nov 2007

doi:　10.1097/01.HP.0000279602.34009.e3

Keywords:　contamination, Radioactive waste management, Chernobyl exclusion zone

Abstract: The destruction of the Unit 4 reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant resulted in the generation of radioactive contamination and radioactive waste at the site and in the surrounding area (referred to as the Exclusion Zone). In the course of remediation activities, large volumes of radioactive waste were generated and placed in temporary near-surface waste storage and disposal facilities. Trench and landfill type facilities were created from 1986-1987 in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone at distances 0.5-15 km from the nuclear power plant site. This large number of facilities was established without proper design documentation, engineered barriers, or hydrogeological investigations and they do not meet contemporary waste-safety requirements. Immediately following the accident, a Shelter was constructed over the destroyed reactor; in addition to uncertainties in stability at the time of its construction, structural elements of the Shelter have degraded as a result of corrosion. The main potential hazard of the Shelter is a possible collapse of its top structures and release of radioactive dust into the environment. A New Safe Confinement (NSC) with a 100 y service life is planned to be built as a cover over the existing Shelter as a longer-term solution. The construction of the NSC will enable the dismantlement of the current Shelter, removal of highly radioactive, fuel-containing materials from Unit 4, and eventual decommissioning of the damaged reactor. More radioactive waste will be generated during NSC construction, possible Shelter dismantling, removal of fuel-containing materials, and decommissioning of Unit 4. The future development of the Exclusion Zone depends on the future strategy for converting Unit 4 into an ecologically safe system, i.e., the development of the NSC, the dismantlement of the current Shelter, removal of fuel-containing material, and eventual decommissioning of the accident site. To date, a broadly accepted strategy for radioactive waste management at the reactor site and in the Exclusion Zone, and especially for high level and long-lived waste, has not been developed.

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18049220?dopt=Abstract

[The regulation of the oxidative processes in the tissues of Muridae like rodents caught in the Chernobyl accident zone].

Title: [The regulation of the oxidative processes in the tissues of Muridae like rodents caught in the Chernobyl accident zone].

Author: Shishkina, L N / Kudiasheva, A G / Zagorskaia, N G / Taskaev, A I

Reference: Radiatsionnaia biologiia, radioecologiia / Rossiĭskaia akademiia nauk, 46 (2), p.216-232, Mar 2006

Keywords: Radioactive contamination, Chernobyl exclusion zone, wild rodents, lipid peroxidation

Abstract: The results of the investigations of the radioactive contamination consequences on the lipid peroxidation (LPO) processes in organs and tissues of wild rodents which were caught in the Chernobyl NPP accident 30-km zone during 1986-1993 are generalized. The behaviors of the technogenic contamination effect on dynamic of changes of the LPO physico-chemical regulatory system parameters and the generalized parameters of the phospholipid composition in organs of the different radioresistance wild rodents are revealed in dependence on the radioactive contamination level and the duration of the radiation factor exposure. Different sensitivity of the LPO regulatory system parameters in wild rodent tissues to the radioactive contamination of their environment and the unequal ability to normalization of the antioxidant status and the energy exchange in tissues result in the change of the scale and character of interrelations between the reciprocal parameters in norm and have an influence on the development of qualitatively new subpopulations of wild rodents due to the transition of the cell regulatory system to the another level of the function.

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16756119?dopt=Abstract