Title: Fuel particles in the Chernobyl cooling pond: current state and prediction for remediation options
Author: A. Bulgakov, A. Konoplev, J. Smith, G. Laptev, O. Voitsekhovich
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 100, Issue 4, April 2009, Pages 329-332
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2008.12.012
Keywords: Chernobyl; Cooling pond; Fuel particles; 90Sr; Dissolution; Remediation
Abstract: During the coming years, a management and remediation strategy for the Chernobyl cooling pond (CP) will be implemented. Remediation options include a controlled reduction in surface water level of the cooling pond and stabilisation of exposed sediments. In terrestrial soils, fuel particles deposited during the Chernobyl accident have now almost completely disintegrated. However, in the CP sediments the majority of 90Sr activity is still in the form of fuel particles. Due to the low dissolved oxygen concentration and high pH, dissolution of fuel particles in the CP sediments is significantly slower than in soils. After the planned cessation of water pumping from the Pripyat River to the Pond, significant areas of sediments will be drained and exposed to the air. This will significantly enhance the dissolution rate and, correspondingly, the mobility and bioavailability of radionuclides will increase with time. The rate of acidification of exposed bottom sediments was predicted on the basis of acidification of similar soils after liming. Using empirical equations relating the fuel particle dissolution rate to soil and sediment pH allowed prediction of fuel particle dissolution and 90Sr mobilisation for different remediation scenarios. It is shown that in exposed sediments, fuel particles will be almost completely dissolved in 15–25 years, while in parts of the cooling pond which remain flooded, fuel particle dissolution will take about a century.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X08002324
Title: Remediation strategies for rural territories contaminated by the Chernobyl accident
Author: P. Jacob, S. Fesenko, S.K. Firsakova, I.A. Likhtarev, C. Schotola, R.M. Alexakhin, Y.M. Zhuchenko, L. Kovgan, N.I. Sanzharova, V. Ageyets
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 56, Issues 1–2, 2001, Pages 51-76
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0265-931X(01)00047-9
Keywords: Chernobyl accident;137Cs; Remediation; Contamination; Dose
Abstract: The objective of the present paper is to derive remediation strategies for rural settlements contaminated by the Chernobyl accident in which annual doses to a critical group still exceed 1 mSv. Extensive radioecological data have been collected for 70 contaminated settlements. A dose model based on these data resulted in estimates that are on average close to and a bit less than the official dose estimates (‘catalogue doses’) published by the responsible Ministries of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. For eight remedial actions that can be applied on a large scale, effectiveness and costs have been assessed in light of their dependence on soil type, contamination level and on the degree of previous application of remedial actions. Remediation strategies were derived for each of the 70 settlements by choosing remedial actions with lowest costs per averted dose and with highest degree of acceptability among the farmers and local authorities until annual doses are assessed to fall below 1 mSv. The results were generalised to 11 contamination/internal-dose categories. The total numbers of rural inhabitants and privately owned cows in the three countries distributed over the categories were determined and predicted until the year 2015. Based on these data, costs and averted doses were derived for the whole affected population. The main results are (i) about 2000 Sv can be averted at relatively low costs, (ii) the emphasis on reducing external exposures should be increased, (iii) radical improvement of hay-land and meadows and application of Prussian blue to cows should be performed on a large scale if annual doses of 1 mSv are an aim to be achieved, (iv) additional remedial actions of importance are fertilising of potato fields, distribution of food monitors and restriction of mushroom consumption, and (v) for inhabitants of some settlements (in total about 8600) annual doses cannot be reduced below 1 mSv by the remedial actions considered.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X01000479
Title: Important factors governing exposure of the population and countermeasure application in rural settlements of the Russian Federation in the long term after the Chernobyl accident
Author: S Fesenko, P Jacob, R Alexakhin, N.I Sanzharova, A Panov, G Fesenko, L Cecille
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 56, Issues 1–2, 2001, Pages 77-98
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0265-931X(01)00048-0
Keywords: Countermeasures; Chernobyl; Rural settlements; Remediation; Russia
Abstract: Rural settlements located in areas of the Russian Federation contaminated after the Chernobyl accident and exceeding an annual dose of 1 mSv a−1 have been classified according to 137Cs contamination density, internal dose and the neighbourhood of forests. It has been shown that, with the exception of the most contaminated areas, the internal doses decreased in accordance with a decline in 137Cs availability for plant root uptake. An inverse tendency was observed in areas with 137Cs contamination above 555 kBq m−2 which can be explained by a reduction or even termination of countermeasure application and by an increasing consumption of forest products in areas where restrictive countermeasures are still implemented. Twenty-seven settlements have been studied to estimate the effectiveness of countermeasures applied previously and to identify the most important factors governing the radiation exposure to the population and its change with time. It has been shown that the effectiveness of countermeasures which resulted in a decrease of up to 40% of doses has a tendency to decline in the long term.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X01000480
Title: Geographical mapping and associated fractal analysis of the long-lived Chernobyl fallout radionuclides in Greece
Author: N.P Petropoulos, M.J Anagnostakis, E.P Hinis, S.E Simopoulos
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 53, Issue 1, 2001, Pages 59-66
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0265-931X(00)00111-9
Keywords: Chernobyl fallout; Mapping; Fractal analysis; Deposition pattern
Abstract: Immediately after the Chernobyl accident, a soil sampling programme was undertaken in order to detect and quantitatively analyse the long-lived radionuclides in the Chernobyl fallout. Soil samples (1242 in number) of 1 cm thick surface soil were collected in Greece during the period from May–November 1986. The samples were counted and analysed using Ge detector set-ups. The fallout data have already been analysed, mapped and published. In an attempt to improve this analysis and also to extend it to other fallout radionuclides, an in-house unix-based data base/geographical information system (DBGIS) was developed. Multifractal analyses of the deposition patterns have also been performed. In the present work, an analysis of the results of the deposition of [, , , , , , , , ]and are presented together with relevant fractal analysis and three characteristic contour maps. The maximum detected values of the above-mentioned radionuclides were 149.5±0.1, 76.1±0.1, 32.9±0.2, 46±2, 4.56±0.02, 7.98±0.02, 79.1±0.4, 337±2, 20.1±0.2 and 3.02±0.02 kBq m−2, respectively. Furthermore, a statistical technique to compare contour maps was introduced and applied to explain the differences which appeared in the maps of the above-mentioned radionuclides.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X00001119
Title: Chernobyl radioactivity persists in reindeer
Author: Lavrans Skuterud, Eldar Gaare, Inger Margrethe Eikelmann, Knut Hove, Eiliv Steinnes
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 83, Issue 2, 2005, Pages 231-252
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2005.04.008
Keywords: Caesium-137; Effective half-life; Reindeer; Lichen; Plant; Food chain; Chernobyl
Abstract: Transfer of 137Cs in the soil–plant/lichen–reindeer food chain was studied in central (Østre Namdal) and southern Norway (Vågå) during 2000–2003. Reindeer from these areas have been continuously subjected to countermeasure application since the 1986 Chernobyl accident. In both areas no decline in 137Cs concentrations was detectable in reindeer slaughtered in autumn since 1995, or in reindeer slaughtered in winter since 1998–1999. Seasonal differences in 137Cs concentrations in reindeer have been less pronounced in recent years, with 137Cs concentrations occasionally higher in autumn than in winter. Soil-to-plant 137Cs transfer was significantly higher in Østre Namdal than in Vågå. Climatic influences on lichen growth and abundance, and on soil properties that influence the availability of 137Cs for plant uptake, are hypothesized to have a larger impact on long-term transfer of radiocaesium in the soil–plant/lichen–reindeer food chain than has been previously observed.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X05001402
Title: 90Sr migration to the geo-sphere from a waste burial in the Chernobyl exclusion zone
Author: L Dewiere, D Bugai, C Grenier, V Kashparov, N Ahamdach
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 74, Issues 1–3, 2004, Pages 139-150
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2004.01.019
Keywords: Chernobyl; Strontium-90; Fuel particles; Groundwater; Retardation; Sorption; Hydro-dispersion
Abstract: Results are presented from an ongoing field-scale experimental study (namely the Chernobyl Pilot Site project) aimed at characterization of processes controlling 90Sr releases from a shallow trench containing nuclear fuel particles, and subsequent radionuclide transport in the underlying sandy aquifer at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant site. Microscopic analyses of waste material and leaching experiments have shown that 10–30% of the radioactive inventory is associated with chemically extra-stable Zr–U–O particles. The largest fraction of 90Sr activity in the trench (≈30–60%) is currently associated with relatively slowly dissolving non-oxidized UO2 matrix fuel particles. The 90Sr migration velocity in the eolian sand aquifer is retarded by sorption to ≈9% of groundwater flow velocity (Kd ≈ 2 ml/g). The dispersivity values for non-reactive solute transport in the aquifer predicted by geostatistics (i.e. 0.8 6 cm) were confirmed by a natural gradient tracer test using 36Cl. The observed negative correlation between hydraulic conductivity and Kd of aquifer sediments suggests that 90Sr could be subjected to larger dispersion in the subsurface compared with 36Cl.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X04000244
Title: Accumulation of Chernobyl-derived 137Cs in bottom sediments of some Finnish lakes
Author: Erkki Ilus, Ritva Saxén
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 82, Issue 2, 2005, Pages 199-221
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2005.01.008
Keywords: Lake sediments; Chernobyl fallout; Caesium-137; Sedimentation rate
Abstract: The amount and vertical distribution of Chernobyl-derived 137Cs in the bottom sediments of some Finnish lakes were studied. Sediment and surface water samples were taken in 2000 and 2003 from 12 stations in nine lakes and the results were compared with those obtained in corresponding surveys carried out in 1969, 1978, 1988 and 1990. Each of the five deposition categories of Chernobyl fallout in Finland were represented. The depth profiles of 137Cs in the sediments showed considerable variety in the lakes studied. The peak values varied between 1.5 and 46 kBq kg−1 dry wt. The size and shape of the peak did not always correlate with the amount of deposition in the area, but on the other hand, reflected differences in sedimentation processes in different lakes. In some of the lakes the peak still occurred in the uppermost (0–2 cm) sediment layer, but in an extreme case the peak occurred at a depth of 22–23 cm corresponding to a sedimentation rate of 16 mm year−1 during the 14 years after the Chernobyl accident. The total amounts of 137Cs in sediments varied from 15 to 170 kBq m−2 at the sampling stations studied. Since 1990, the amounts have continued to increase slightly in two lakes, but started to decrease in the other lakes. In most of the lakes, the total amounts of 137Cs in sediments were about 1.5–2 times higher than in local deposition. In two lakes, the ratio was below 1, but in one case 3.2. Compared with the total amounts of 137Cs at the same stations in the late 1960s and 1970s, the values were now at their highest, at about 60-fold. The most important factors affecting 137Cs values in sediments were the local amount of deposition and the type of the lake and the sediment, but in addition, there were a number of other factors to be considered.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X0500041X
Title: Justification of remediation strategies in the long term after the Chernobyl accident
Author: S. Fesenko, P. Jacob, A. Ulanovsky, A. Chupov, I. Bogdevich, N. Sanzharova, V. Kashparov, A. Panov, Yu. Zhuchenka
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 119, May 2013, Pages 39-47
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2010.08.012
Keywords: Chernobyl accident; Caesium; Ionizing radiation; Radiation protection; Rehabilitation; Remediation
Abstract: Following the accident at the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl a number of different remedial actions were developed and implemented in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. Recommendations on the application of countermeasures and remedial actions were published by the IAEA as “Guidelines for agricultural countermeasures following an accidental release of radionuclides” in 1994. Since then, new information on the behaviour of radionuclides in the environment and effectiveness of countermeasures in the long term has been obtained and reviewed by many projects, including the Chernobyl Forum. Additionally, new approaches to derive remediation strategies were developed and successfully implemented in the most affected countries. This paper describes a justification of the remediation strategies suggested for rehabilitation of the areas most affected by the Chernobyl accident based on this experience.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X10001992
Title: Melatonin protection from chronic, low-level ionizing radiation
Author: Reiter, Russel J. / Korkmaz, Ahmet / Ma, Shuran / Rosales-Corral, Sergio / Tan, Dun-Xian
Reference: Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation Research, 751 (1), p.7-14, Jul 2012
doi: 10.1016/j.mrrev.2011.12.002
Keywords: Chronic radiation exposure; Radioisotopes; Lingering radioactivity; Melatonin
Abstract: In the current survey, we summarize the published literature which supports the use of melatonin, an endogenously produced molecule, as a protective agent against chronic, low-level ionizing radiation. Under in vitro conditions, melatonin uniformly was found to protect cellular DNA and plasmid super coiled DNA from ionizing radiation damage due to Cs137 or X-radiation exposure. Likewise, in an in vivo/in vitro study in which humans were given melatonin orally and then their blood lymphocytes were collected and exposed to Cs137 ionizing radiation, nuclear DNA from the cells of those individuals who consumed melatonin (and had elevated blood levels) was less damaged than that from control individuals. In in vivo studies as well, melatonin given to animals prevented DNA and lipid damage (including limiting membrane rigidity) and reduced the percentage of animals that died when they had been exposed to Cs137 or Co60 radiation. Melatonin’s ability to protect macromolecules from the damage inflicted by ionizing radiation likely stems from its high efficacy as a direct free radical scavenger and possibly also due to its ability to stimulate antioxidative enzymes. Melatonin is readily absorbed when taken orally or via any other route. Melatonin’s ease of self administration and its virtual absence of toxicity or side effects, even when consumed over very long periods of time, are essential when large populations are exposed to lingering radioactive contamination such as occurs as a result of an inadvertent nuclear accident, an intentional nuclear explosion or the detonation of a radiological dispersion device, i.e., a “dirty” bomb.
…lower the frequency of cancer initiation. Furthermore, if cancer is initiated, melatonin…Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima [67…increasing the risk of cancer because of its ability…concentrates in the thyroid gland since four atoms…
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1383574211001001
Title: Guidance for Industry KI in Radiation Emergencies —Questions and Answers
Reference: [PDF-162K]Sep 2010 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER)
Keywords:
Abstract: This guidance represents the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) current thinking on this topic. It does not create or confer any rights for or on any person and does not operate to bind FDA or the public. An alternative approach may be used if such approach satisfies the requirements of the applicable statutes and regulations.
…uptake of radioiodine by the thyroid gland. The current recommendations…radioiodine exposure and thyroid cancer risk gathered after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident…suggest that the risk of thyroid cancer is inversely related to age…
URL: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/ucm080546.pdf
