ASSESSMENT OF THE RADIONUCLIDE COMPOSITION OF “HOT PARTICLES” SAMPLED IN THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER PLANT FOURTH REACTOR UNIT

Title: ASSESSMENT OF THE RADIONUCLIDE COMPOSITION OF “HOT PARTICLES” SAMPLED IN THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER PLANT FOURTH REACTOR UNIT

Author: Farfan, E. / Jannik, T. / Marra, J.

Reference: HEALTH PHYSICS JOURNAL, Oct 2011

Keywords: 21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS; AMERICIUM; BURNUP; CESIUM; CESIUM ISOTOPES; CONFINEMENT; CURIUM; EUROPIUM; NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS; PLUTONIUM; RADIOISOTOPES; SHELTERS

Abstract: Fuel-containing materials sampled from within the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) 4th Reactor Unit Confinement Shelter were spectroscopically studied for gamma and alpha content. Isotopic ratios for cesium, europium, plutonium, americium, and curium were identified and the fuel burnup in these samples was determined. A systematic deviation in the burnup values based on the cesium isotopes, in comparison with other radionuclides, was observed. The conducted studies were the first ever performed to demonstrate the presence of significant quantities of {sup 242}Cm and {sup 243}Cm. It was determined that there was a systematic underestimation of activities of transuranic radionuclides in fuel samples from inside of the ChNPP Confinement Shelter, starting from {sup 241}Am (and going higher), in comparison with the theoretical calculations.

URL: http://www.osti.gov/bridge/product.biblio.jsp?query_id=2&page=0&osti_id=1024191

Transgenic plants are sensitive bioindicators of nuclear pollution caused by the Chernobyl accident.

Title: Transgenic plants are sensitive bioindicators of nuclear pollution caused by the Chernobyl accident.

Author: Kovalchuk, I / Kovalchuk, O / Arkhipov, A / Hohn, B

Reference: Nature biotechnology, 16 (11), p.1054-1059, Nov 1998

DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04831.x

Keywords: Chernobyl; radionuclides; radiolysis; soil; water ecosystems; bioaccumulation; transition ratio; radiomorphosis

Abstract: To evaluate the genetic consequences of radioactive contamination originating from the nuclear reactor accident of Chernobyl on indigenous populations of plants and animals, it is essential to determine the rates of accumulating genetic changes in chronically irradiated populations. An increase in germline mutation rates in humans living close to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant site, and a two- to tenfold increase in germline mutations in barn swallows breeding in Chernobyl have been reported. Little is known, however, about the effects of chronic irradiation on plant genomes. Ionizing radiation causes double-strand breaks in DNA, which are repaired via illegitimate or homologous recombination. We make use of Arabidopsis thaliana plants carrying a beta-glucuronidase marker gene as a recombination substrate to monitor genetic alterations in plant populations, which are caused by nuclear pollution of the environment around Chernobyl. A significant (p<0.05) increase in somatic intrachromosomal recombination frequencies was observed at nuclear pollution levels from 0.1-900 Ci/km2, consistent with an increase in chromosomal aberrations. This bioindicator may serve as a convenient and ethically acceptable alternative to animal systems.

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9831035?dopt=Abstract

Reconstruction of 131 I radioactive contamination in Ukraine caused by the Chernobyl accident using atmospheric transport modelling

Title: Reconstruction of 131 I radioactive contamination in Ukraine caused by the Chernobyl accident using atmospheric transport modelling
Author: Talerko, Nikolai

Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 84 (3), p.343-362, Jan 2005

doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2005.04.005

Keywords: Accidental release; Dry deposition; Wet deposition; Radionuclides; Atmospheric transport

Abstract: …The airborne ¹³¹I concentration and ground deposition fields were calculated as the database for subsequent thyroid dose reconstruction for inhabitants of radioactive contaminated regions. The small-scale deposition field variability is assessed using data of ¹³⁷Cs detailed measurements in the territory of Ukraine. The obtained results are compared with available data of radioiodine daily deposition measurements made at the network of meteorological stations in Ukraine and data of the assessments of ¹³¹I soil contamination obtained from the ¹²⁹I measurements.

URL:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X05001372

Monte Carlo modeling of beta-radiometer device used to measure milk contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl accident

Title: Monte Carlo modeling of beta-radiometer device used to measure milk contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl accident
Author: Khrutchinsky, A. / Kutsen, S. / Minenko, V. / Zhukova, O. / Luckyanov, N. / Bouville, A. / Drozdovitch, V.

Reference: Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 67 (6), p.1089-1093, Jun 2009

doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2009.01.072

Keywords: Geiger–Mueller; Radionuclide; Calibration factor; Chernobyl

Abstract: …radiation exposure to the thyroid was from iodine isotopes…131 I. The US National Cancer Institute is conducting…cohort study in Belarus of thyroid cancer among the persons exposed…childhood following the Chernobyl accident. The reconstruction…

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969804309000803

Radiation Exposures Due to the Chernobyl Accident

Title: Radiation Exposures Due to the Chernobyl Accident

Author: Balonov, M. / Bouville, A.

Reference: Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, Jan 2011

ISBN:9780444522726

Keywords: Background radiation; Cesium-137; Chernobyl accident; Effective dose; Environmental consequences; Environmental transfer; Exposure pathways; External dose; Health consequences; Internal dose; Iodine-131; Radionuclide; Thyroid dose

Abstract: …exposure such as the Chernobyl accident, living…Pathways Related to the Chernobyl Accident…environment, such as the Chernobyl accident, is required…accident was an elevated thyroid cancer incidence in children…

URL:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780444522726000866

Estimation of thyroid doses and health risks resulting from the intake of radioactive iodine in foods and drinking water by the citizens of Tokyo after the Fukushima nuclear accident

Title: Estimation of thyroid doses and health risks resulting from the intake of radioactive iodine in foods and drinking water by the citizens of Tokyo after the Fukushima nuclear accident
Author: Murakami, Michio / Oki, Taikan

Reference: Chemosphere, 87 (11), p.1355-1360, Jun 2012

doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.02.028

Keywords: Cancer risk; Fukushima nuclear power plant accident; Ingestion dose; Internal exposure; I-131; Radionuclides

Abstract: …carcinogen, causing thyroid cancer in particular, the…from fallout from the Chernobyl accident of 1986 had…dose-related increase in thyroid cancer ( Cardis and Hatch…Health effects of the Chernobyl accident for most individuals…

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653512002184

Radionuclide content in lichen thallus in the forests adjacent to the Chernobyl atomic power plant

• Title: Radionuclide content in lichen thallus in the forests adjacent to the Chernobyl atomic power plant

Author: Biazrov, L.G.

Reference: Science of The Total Environment, 157, p.25-28, Dec 1994

doi: 10.1016/0048-9697(94)90561-4

Keywords: Radionuclides; Lichens; Thalli; Chernobyl

Abstract: The concentrations of ¹⁰⁶Ru, ¹³⁴Cs, ¹³⁷Cs, and ¹⁴⁴Ce in thalli of lichens Hypogymnia physodes and Cladina mitis, in the bark of pine tree Pinus silvestris are very high in the immediate vicinity of the Chernobyl atomic power plant. They decrease with increasing distance from the centre of the accident. However, even outside the 30-km zone of population evacuation, they surpass concentrations of these radionuclides from global fallout by hundreds of times.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0048969794905614

Mobility of radionuclides in undisturbed and cultivated soils in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia six years after the Chernobyl fallout

• Title: Mobility of radionuclides in undisturbed and cultivated soils in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia six years after the Chernobyl fallout

Author: Askbrant, S. / Melin, J. / Sandalls, J. / Rauret, G. / Vallejo, R. / Hinton, T. / Cremers, A. / (…) / Alexakhin, R.M.

Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 31 (3), p.287-312, Jan 1996                 

doi: 10.1016/0265-931X(95)00054-E

Keywords:

Abstract: Six years after the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the behaviour of radionuclides in soils in rural areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia has been studied. Measurements were made to determine the total radioactive contamination, the fuel particle contribution, and the distribution and extractability of the radionuclides ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr. Inside the 30 km restriction zone around the plant, particles of highly irradiated fuel accounted for most of the radioactive contamination.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0265931X9500054E

Biological pathways of radionuclides originating from the Chernobyl fallout in a boreal forest ecosystem.

• Title: Biological pathways of radionuclides originating from the Chernobyl fallout in a boreal forest ecosystem.

Author: O Guillitte, J Melin, L Wallberg

Reference: The Science of the total environment, 157 (1-3), p.207-215, Dec 1994

doi: 10.1016/S1569-4860(03)80069-4

Keywords:

Abstract: In an attempt to understand the mechanisms governing the transfer and retention of radiocaesium in the understorey vegetation, 39 macromycetes species and 33 plant species, together with humus samples, were systematically collected from the undercover vegetation in a boreal coniferous forest. The results indicate that the main factors determining interspecific differences in contamination level are the rooting depth in plants, the depth of mycelium in fungi, and the ecophysiological behaviour of fungi, mycotrophism or plant parasitism.

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7839113?dopt=Abstract

Sedimentation rates measurements in former channels of the upper Rhône river using Chernobyl 137Cs and 134Cs as tracers.

• Title: Sedimentation rates measurements in former channels of the upper Rhône river using Chernobyl 137Cs and 134Cs as tracers.

Author: Rostan, J C / Juget, J / Brun, A M

Reference: The Science of the total environment, 193 (3), p.251-262, Jan 1997

doi:

Keywords: Fluvial hydrosystem; Radionuclide; Sedimentation rate; Sediment organic carbon

Abstract: Former river channels are aquatic ecosystems with a different geomorphology generated by fluvial dynamics more or less linked to the main channel. They present different ecological successions to become terrestrial ecosystems and are thus supposed to have different sedimentation rates. The aim of this paper is to assess this sedimentation rate using radioactive tracer methodology commonly used in lake studies.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896979605348X