Title: FEASIBILITY OF DETERMINING THE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING
Reference: [PDF-133K]Apr 2011
doi:
Keywords:
Abstract: …because the young thyroid cells are rapidly…following the Chernobyl accident, dramatic…increases in childhood thyroid cancer cases were reported…Compared to the 103 Chernobyl situation, exposure…demonstrable excess in thyroid cancer risk was found…
URL: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/fallout/feasibilitystudy/Technical_Vol_1_Chapter_4.pdf
Title: A prognostic estimation of the area contaminated with alpha-emitting transuranium isotopes in Belarus following the Chernobyl accident
Author: V.A. Knatko, V.D. Asimova, A.E. Yanush, Yu.N. Golikov, I.I. Ivashkevich, L.A. Kouzmina, Yu.I. Bondar
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 83, Issue 1, 2005, Pages 49-59
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2004.07.005
Keywords:Chernobyl accident;238,239,240Pu and 241Am;Belarus
Abstract: As a result of the Chernobyl accident, some regions of Belarus have been contaminated with the plutonium isotopes 238,239,240,241Pu. Considering the importance of the environmental impact of the alpha-emitting radionuclides we have carried out a prognostic estimation of the area contaminated with 238,239,240Pu and 241Am (the latter being a decay product of 241Pu) in Belarus. The calculations were made using measurements of 238,239,240Pu activity concentrations in soil samples from about 600 settlements in the affected region, together with the estimated activity ratio A(241Am)/A(238,239,240Pu). The area contaminated with alpha-emitting transuranium isotopes predicted for the year 2006 has been compared with that estimated for 1986.The results show that by 2006, the area of inhabited districts where contamination with 238,239,240Pu and 241Am exceeds the threshold level of 740 Bq/m2, will be 3.7 times larger, reaching approximately 3.5 × 103 km2. Of this, almost 20% will have a contamination level of 1850–3700 Bq/m2.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X05000640
Title: Soil contamination with 90Sr in the near zone of the Chernobyl accident
Author: V.A Kashparov, S.M Lundin, Yu.V Khomutinin, S.P Kaminsky, S.E Levchuk, V.P Protsak, A.M Kadygrib, S.I Zvarich, V.I Yoschenko, J Tschiersch
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 56, Issue 3, 2001, Pages 285-298
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0265-931X(00)00207-1
Keywords: Soil contamination; 90Sr; Chernobyl; 30 km exclusion zone; Map
Abstract: Representative large-scale soil sampling on a regular grid of step width about 1 km was carried out for the first time in the near zone of the Chernobyl accident (radius 36 km). An integrated map of terrestrial 90Sr contamination density in the 30 km exclusion zone (scale 1 : 200,000) has been created from the analysed samples. Maps of the main agrochemical characteristics of the soils, which determine the fuel particle dissolution rates and the contamination of vegetation, were produced. The total contents of 90Sr on the ground surface of the 30 km zone in Ukraine (without the reactor site and the radioactive waste storages) was about 810 TBq (8.1×10+14 Bq) in 1997, which corresponds to 0.4–0.5% of the Chernobyl reactor inventory at the time of the accident. This assessment is 3–4 times lower than previous estimates.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X00002071
Title: An assessment of cumulative external doses from Chernobyl fallout for a forested area in Russia using the optically stimulated luminescence from quartz inclusions in bricks
Author: V. Ramzaev, L. Bøtter-Jensen, K.J. Thomsen, K.G. Andersson, A.S. Murray
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 99, Issue 7, July 2008, Pages 1154-1164
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2008.01.014
Keywords: Chernobyl fallout; Forest; Cumulative dose; Fired quartz; Red clay brick; Optically stimulated luminescence
Abstract: Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) has been used for estimation of the accumulated doses in quartz inclusions obtained from two fired bricks, extracted in July 2004 from a building located in the forested surroundings of the recreational area Novie Bobovichi, the Bryansk Region, Russia. The area was significantly contaminated by Chernobyl fallout with initial 137Cs ground deposition level of ∼1.1 MBq m−2. The accumulated OSL doses in sections of the bricks varied from 141 to 207 mGy, of which between 76 and 146 mGy are attributable to Chernobyl fallout. Using the OSL depth-dose profiles obtained from the exposed bricks and the results from a γ-ray-survey of the area, the Chernobyl-related cumulative γ-ray dose for a point detector located in free air at a height of 1 m above the ground in the study area was estimated to be ca. 240 mGy for the time period starting on 27 April 1986 and ending on 31 July 2004. This result is in good agreement with the result of deterministic modelling of the cumulative γ-ray dose in free air above undisturbed ground from the Chernobyl source in the Bryansk Region. Over the same time period, the external Chernobyl-related dose via forest pathway for the most exposed individuals (e.g., forest workers) is estimated to be ∼39 mSv. Prognosis for the external exposure from 1986 to 2056 is presented and compared with the predictions given by other investigators of the region.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X08000179
Title: Gamma-dose rates from terrestrial and Chernobyl radionuclides inside and outside settlements in the Bryansk Region, Russia in 1996–2003
Author: Valery Ramzaev, Hidenori Yonehara, Ralf Hille, Anatoly Barkovsky, Arkady Mishine, Sarat Kumar Sahoo, Katsumi Kurotaki, Masafumi Uchiyama
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 85, Issues 2–3, 2006, Pages 205-227
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2004.04.014
Keywords: Chernobyl accident; Cesium; Terrestrial radionuclides; Gamma-dose rates; Effective doses
Abstract: In order to estimate current external gamma doses to the population of the Russian territories contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl accident, absorbed gamma-dose rates in air (DR) were determined at typical urban and suburban locations. The study was performed in the western districts of the Bryansk Region within the areas of 30 settlements (28 villages and 2 towns) with the initial levels of 137Cs deposition ranging from 13 to 4340 kBq m−2. In the towns, the living areas considered were private one-story wooden and stone houses. DR values were derived from in situ measurements performed with the help of gamma-dosimeters and gamma-spectrometers as well as from the results of soil samples analysis. In the areas under study, the values of DR from terrestrial radionuclides were 25 ± 6, 24 ± 5, 50 ± 10, 32 ± 6, 54 ± 11, 24 ± 8, 20 ± 6, 25 ± 8, and 18 ± 5 nGy h−1 at locations of kitchen gardens, dirt surfaces, asphalt surfaces, wooden houses, stone houses, grasslands inside settlement, grasslands outside settlement, ploughed fields, and forests, respectively. In 1996–2001, mean normalized (per MBq m−2 of 137Cs current inventory in soil) values of DR from 137Cs were 0.41 ± 0.07, 0.26 ± 0.13, 0.15 ± 0.07, 0.10 ± 0.05, 0.05 ± 0.04, 0.48 ± 0.12, 1.04 ± 0.22, 0.37 ± 0.07, and 1.15 ± 0.19 μGy h−1 at the locations of kitchen gardens, dirt surfaces, asphalt surfaces, wooden houses, stone houses, grasslands inside settlement, grasslands outside settlement, ploughed fields, and forests, respectively. The radiometric data from this work and the values of occupancy factors determined for the Russian population by others were used for the assessments of annual effective doses to three selected groups of rural population. The normalized (per MBq m−2137Cs current ground deposition) external effective doses to adults from 137Cs ranged from 0.66 to 2.27 mSv y−1 in the years 1996–2001, in accordance with professional activities and structures of living areas. For the areas under study, the average external effective doses from 137Cs were estimated to be in the range of 0.39–1.34 mSv y−1 in 2001. The average external effective doses from natural radionuclides appeared to be lower than those from the Chernobyl fallout ranging from 0.15 to 0.27 mSv y−1.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X05002171
Title: Validation of 131I ecological transfer models and thyroid dose assessments using Chernobyl fallout data from the Plavsk district, Russia
Author: I. Zvonova, P. Krajewski, V. Berkovsky, M. Ammann, C. Duffa, V. Filistovic, T. Homma, B. Kanyar, T. Nedveckaite, S.L. Simon, O. Vlasov, D. Webbe-Wood
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 101, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 8-15
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2009.08.005
Keywords: Chernobyl accident; Iodine-131; Environment modeling; Models validation; Population; Thyroid dose
Abstract: Within the project “Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety” (EMRAS) organized by the IAEA in 2003 experimental data of 131I measurements following the Chernobyl accident in the Plavsk district of Tula region, Russia were used to validate the calculations of some radioecological transfer models. Nine models participated in the inter-comparison. Levels of 137Cs soil contamination in all the settlements and 131I/137Cs isotopic ratios in the depositions in some locations were used as the main input information. 370 measurements of 131I content in thyroid of townspeople and villagers, and 90 measurements of 131I concentration in milk were used for validation of the model predictions.A remarkable improvement in models performance comparing with previous inter-comparison exercise was demonstrated. Predictions of the various models were within a factor of three relative to the observations, discrepancies between the estimates of average doses to thyroid produced by most participant not exceeded a factor of ten.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X09001751
Title: Calculations of the deposition of 137Cs from nuclear bomb tests and from the Chernobyl accident over the province of Skåne in the southern part of Sweden based on precipitation
Author: Mats Isaksson, Bengt Erlandsson, Maj-Lena Linderson
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 49, Issue 1, May 2000, Pages 97-112
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0265-931X(99)00101-0
Keywords: Deposition; Precipitation; Radiocalsium; ; Global fallout; Chernobyl fallout
Abstract: The deposition of over the province of Skåne (an area of about 100×100 km2) in the southern part of Sweden has been investigated. The origin of the deposition of is, in about equal parts, from nuclear weapons tests and from the Chernobyl nuclear accident and amounts to about 1–3 kBq/m2. The activity concentrations of and in soil samples from 16 sites distributed in a grid pattern over the investigated area have been measured and the depositions from the nuclear weapons tests and from the Chernobyl accident have been separated. These pre- and post-Chernobyl activities have been compared with depositions calculated from measurements of the activity concentrations of and in precipitation at two places and from measurements of the precipitation from a network of between 113 and 143 precipitation stations. Comparisons with in situ measurements and with aerial survey measurements have also been made. The agreement is good gain and it has been possible to gain a good and detailed knowledge in retrospect of the deposition from measurements of the deposition per mm of precipitation from just a few stations, and of the precipitation from a network of stations.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X99001010
Title: Reconstruction of radioactive plume characteristics along Chernobyl’s Western Trace
Author: Ronald K. Chesser, Mikhail Bondarkov, Robert J. Baker, Jeffrey K. Wickliffe, Brenda E. Rodgers
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 71, Issue 2, 2004, Pages 147-157
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0265-931X(03)00165-6
Keywords: Chernobyl; Radioactivity; Fallout; Dispersion; Aerosol
Abstract: Using data obtained from 435 radiation sampling stations in the Red Forest, 1.5 km W of the Chernobyl Nuclear Complex, we reconstructed the deposition pathway of the first plume released by the accident, Chernobyl’s Western Trace. The dimensions and deposition rates of the plume remain sharply defined 15 years after the accident. Assuming a uniform particle distribution within the original cloud, we derived estimates of plume dimensions by applying geometric transformations to the coordinates at each sample point. Our derived estimates for the radioactive cloud accounted for 87% of the variation of radioactivity in this region. Results show a highly integrated bell-shaped cross-section of the cloud of radiation, approximately 660 m wide and 290 m high, traveling at a bearing of 264° from reactor IV. Particle sizes within Chernobyl’s Western Trace were within the most dangerous range for inhaled aerosols (2–5 μm). Therefore, reconstruction of the dispersion of such particles is critical for understanding the aftermath of nuclear and biological aerosol releases.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X03001656
Title: Analysis of radiocaesium in the Lebanese soil one decade after the Chernobyl accident
Author: O. El Samad, K. Zahraman, R. Baydoun, M. Nasreddine
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 92, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 72-79
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2006.09.008
Keywords: 137Cs; Activity concentration; Soil; Chernobyl accident; Lebanon
Abstract: Fallout from the Chernobyl reactor accident due to the transport of a radioactive cloud over Lebanon in the beginning of May 1986 was studied 12 years after the accident for determining the level of 137Cs concentration in soil. Gamma spectroscopy measurements were performed by using coaxial high sensitivity HPGe detectors. More than 90 soil samples were collected from points uniformly distributed throughout the land of Lebanon in order to evaluate their radioactivity. The data obtained showed a relatively high 137Cs activity per surface area contamination, up to 6545 Bq m−2 in the top soil layer 0–3 cm. The average activity of 137Cs in the top soil layer 0–3 cm in depth was 59.7 Bq kg−1 dry soil ranging from 15 to 119 Bq kg−1 dry soil. The horizontal variability was found to be about 45% between the sampling sites. The depth distribution of total 137Cs activity in soil showed an exponential decrease. Estimation of the annual effective dose due to external radiation from 137Cs contaminated soil for selected sites gave values ranging from 19.3 to 91.6 μSv y−1.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X06001676
Title: Seasonal 7Be and 137Cs activities in surface air before and after the Chernobyl event
Author: A. Kulan
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 90, Issue 2, 2006, Pages 140-150
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2006.06.010
Keywords: 7Be; 137Cs; Atmosphere; Aerosols; Chernobyl fallout; Nuclear weapons fallout; Sweden; Europe
Abstract: Seasonal fluctuations of cosmogenic 7Be (T1/2 = 53.4 days) and anthropogenic 137Cs (T1/2 = 30 years) activities in surface air (aerosols) have been extracted from a long data record (1972–2000) at high latitude (56°N–68°N, Sweden). Normalization to weekly average values was used to control long-term trends so that cyclical trends could be investigated. Enhanced 7Be activity was observed in spring and summer seasons and likely relates to the seasonal thinning of the tropopause. Variations in the 137Cs activity record seem to reflect how the isotope was injected in the atmosphere (stratospheric from bomb tests and tropospheric from the Chernobyl accident) and subsequent transport mechanisms. Accordingly, until 1986, the surface air 137Cs activity was strongly related to nuclear weapons test fallout and exhibits temporal fluctuations resembling the 7Be. Conversely, since 1986 the Chernobyl-produced 137Cs dominates the long-term record that shows annual cycles that are strongly controlled by atmospheric boundary layer conditions. Additionally, short-term data within the post-Chernobyl period suggest subtle intrusion of air masses rich in 137Cs that may occur throughout the year, and differences resulting from spatial occurrence at these latitudes. This is an important observation that may have to do with year-to-year variation and calls for caution when interpreting short-term data records.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X06001032
