タグ「France」
Title: Mapping of 137Cs deposition over eastern France 16 years after the Chernobyl accident
Author: Philippe Renaud, Laurent Pourcelot, Jean-Michel Métivier, Marcel Morello
Reference: Science of The Total Environment, Volume 309, Issues 1–3, 20 June 2003, Pages 257-264
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(03)00049-4,
Keywords: Chernobyl; 137Cs; Depositions mapping; France
Abstract: We observed the relationship between present-day 137Cs surface activity and the rainfall in May 1986 to establish a relevant map of 137Cs deposition over eastern France. This study was performed in an area of the lower Rhône valley where clayey soils are assumed to trap caesium efficiently. Based on the rainwater/airborne activity ratio deduced from this relationship, we verified that present-day activities, measured in clayey soils of this type, are relatively representative of the initial depositions. The interlocked contaminated areas of the resulting map can be related to rainfall occurrences, as is the case for all countries affected by the Chernobyl fallout. This map can be reasonably compared with those obtained for countries bordering France in terms of both activity levels and extent of homogeneous activity areas. Lastly, we demonstrate that it would not be possible to produce a coherent map of initial fallout by extending the campaign over the whole of the eastern territory based on present-day soil activity measurements alone. Hence, only the relationship between 137Cs deposition and the rainfall of the first week of May 1986 can be used to construct a map depicting the Chernobyl fallout over eastern France.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969703000494
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 210Pbex 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
Title: EUR02_4_3_Health_Consequences_chernobyl.doc
Author: M. Tirmarche O. Catelinois
Reference: [PDF-96K]Aug 2008 Assessment of the health consequences of the Chernobyl accident in France
Abstract: During the last years, several reports in the media and the publication of a map of environmental radioactive contamination spots linked to the Chernobyl fallout in France rose the concern of a potential public health effect in French populations. Several thyroid cancer patients are convinced that their disease is related to the radioactive fallout of 1986. Thyroid cancer is a rare disease : in 2000, it represents approximately 1.5 % of new incident cancers in France. This incidence has been multiplied by 5.2 in men and 2.7 in women during the last 20 years. French health authorities asked IRSN to test the feasibility of an epidemiological study able to demonstrate a link between Chernobyl and thyroid cancer increase in France. …
URL: http://www.eurosafe-forum.org/files/euro2_4_3_health_consequences_chernobyl.pdf
