Title: Iodine-129, Iodine-127 and Caesium-137 in the environment: soils from Germany and Chile
Author: Daraoui, A.; Michel, R.; Gorny, M.; Jakob, D.; Sachse, R.; Synal, H.-A.; Alfimov, V.
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. Oct2012, Vol. 112, p8-22. 15p.
doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2012.02.011
Keywords: Iodine-129; Iodine-127; Caesium-137; Soil; IAEA-soil-375; Accelerator mass spectrometry
Abstract: ► I-129 from European reprocessing plants drastically changed its natural abundances. ► We report here inventories of the Cs-137 and I-129 in Bavaria and Chile. ► The dominant sources of I-129 in Bavaria are the European reprocessing plants. ► The dominant sources of I-129 in Chile are the atmospheric nuclear test. ► I-129 and I-127 demonstrates the complex migration in the soil profiles.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X1200063X
Title: Belarus and Chernobyl: Separating Seeds from Chaff
Author: Ioffe, Grigory
Reference: Post-Soviet Affairs, October-December 2007, v. 23, iss. 4, pp. 353-66
doi: 10.2747/1060-586X.23.4.353
Keywords: Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Political Economy; Property Rights ; Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Natural Resources; Energy; Environment ; Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions: Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training: Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty
Abstract: Seventy percent of radionuclides discharged during the Chernobyl disaster were deposited in Belarus. Besides causing radioactive contamination, Chernobyl exposed some of the socio-cultural characteristics, such as mass dependency on strong patronage of the state, that buttress the political institutions of that country. On the basis of a literature review, a specialist on Belarus aims at separating proven health effects of Chernobyl from psychological and socio-political consequences of the disaster.
URL:http://bellwether.metapress.com/content/t79268m17k5l245r/?p=6c7d814a54a744d398b78abb8ed52fe5&pi=3
Title: Modelling remediation options for urban contamination situations.
Author: Thiessen, K.M.; Andersson, K.G.; Charnock, T.W.; Gallay, F.
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. Jul2009, Vol. 100 Issue 7, p564-573. 10p.
doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2009.03.021
Keywords: Urban contamination; Radioactivity; Modelling; Countermeasures; Remediation; Decontamination; Dose reduction
Abstract: The impact on a population from an event resulting in dispersal and deposition of radionuclides in an urban area could be significant, in terms of both the number of people affected and the economic costs of recovery. The use of computer models for assessment of urban contamination situations and remedial options enables the evaluation of a variety of situations or alternative recovery strategies in contexts of preparedness or decision-making. At present a number of models and modelling approaches are available for different purposes. This paper summarizes the available modelling approaches, approaches for modelling countermeasure effectiveness, and current sources of information on parameters related to countermeasure effectiveness. Countermeasure information must be applied with careful thought as to its applicability for the specific situation being modelled. Much of the current information base comes from the Chernobyl experience and would not be applicable for all types of situations.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X09000721
Title: Proteomics Analysis of Flax Grown in Chernohyl Area Suggests Limited Effect of Contaminated Environment on Seed Proteome.
Author: KLUBICOVÁ, KATARÍNA; DANCHENKO, MAKSYM; SKULTETY, LUDOVIT; MIERNYK, JÁN A.; RASHYDOV, NAMIK M.; BEREZHNA, VALENTYNA V.; PRET’OVÁ, ANNA; HAJDUCH, MARTIN.
Reference: Environmental Science & Technology. 9/15/2010, Vol. 44 Issue 18, p6940-6946. 7p.
doi: 10.1021/es100895s
Keywords:PLANT proteomics; EFFECT of radioactive pollution on plants; FLAX; PLANTS — Adaptation; CHERNOBYL Nuclear Accident, Chornobyl, Ukraine, 1986 — Environmental aspects; SEED pathology; ELECTROPHORESIS; TANDEM mass spectrometry; UKRAINE
Abstract: The accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP) on April 26, 1986 is the most serious nuclear disaster in human history. Surprisingly, while the area proximal to the CNPP remains substantially contaminated with long-lived radioisotopes including 90Sr and 137Cs, the local ecosystem has been able to adapt. To evaluate plant adaptation, seeds of a local flax (Linum usitatissimum) variety Kyivskyi were sown in radio-contaminated and control fields of the Chernobyl region. A total protein fraction was isolated from mature seeds, and analyzed using 2-dimensional electrophoresis combined with tandem-mass spectrometry. Interestingly, growth of the plants in the radio-contaminated environment had little effect on proteome and only 35 protein spots differed in abundance (p-value of ≤0.05) out of 720 protein spots that were quantified for seeds harvested from both radio-contaminated and control fields. Of the 35 differentially abundant spots, 28 proteins were identified using state-of-the-art MSE method. Based on the observed changes, the proteome of seeds from plants grown in radio-contaminated soil display minor adjustments to multiple signaling pathways.
URL: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es100895s
Title: How long is long-term? reflections based on over 20 years of post-Chernobyl management in Norway
Author: Liland, Astrid; Lochard, Jacques; Skuterud, Lavrans.
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. Jul2009, Vol. 100 Issue 7, p581-584. 4p.
doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2009.04.006
Keywords: Chernobyl; Long term; Countermeasures; Rehabilitation; Involvement of affected groups
Abstract: The radiation protection community has only recently started the important work of preparedness for long-term post-accidental management of radioactively contaminated areas, like for instance the EC projects STRATEGY, FARMING and EURANOS and the French authorities’ CODIRPA and PAREX programmes. There are, however, different views concerning how long a long-term management might last. Based on the Norwegian and former Soviet Union experience after the Chernobyl accident, it is clear that a nuclear accident can entail decades of necessary management and rehabilitation of living conditions. The time period is dependent on a number of factors, e.g. amount of fallout, type of radionuclides, land use of contaminated area, number and density of people affected and available techniques and resources for implementing countermeasures. This paper discusses the management strategy implemented in Norway after the Chernobyl accident, the need for changing strategy over time and the important involvement of affected groups. Careful planning and reflections should be undertaken before actions are taken in the recovery phase, keeping in mind the possibility of decades with problems.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X09000770
Title: Soybeans Grown in the Chernobyl Area Produce Fertile Seeds that Have Increased Heavy Metal Resistance and Modified Carbon Metabolism
Author: Klubicová, Katarína; Danchenko, Maksym; Skultety, Ludovit; Berezhna, Valentyna V.; Uvackova, Lubica; Rashydov, Namik M.; Hajduch, Martin.
Reference: PLoS ONE. Oct2012, Vol. 7 Issue 10, Special section p1-11. 11p.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0048169.
Keywords:SOYBEAN — Research; CHERNOBYL Nuclear Accident, Chornobyl, Ukraine, 1986 — Environmental aspects; RESEARCH; HEAVY metals; CARBON — Metabolism; SEEDS — Research; RADIATION, Background
Abstract: Plants grow and reproduce in the radioactive Chernobyl area, however there has been no comprehensive characterization of these activities. Herein we report that life in this radioactive environment has led to alteration of the developing soybean seed proteome in a specific way that resulted in the production of fertile seeds with low levels of oil and b-conglycinin seed storage proteins. Soybean seeds were harvested at four, five, and six weeks after flowering, and at maturity from plants grown in either non-radioactive or radioactive plots in the Chernobyl area. The abundance of 211 proteins was determined. The results confirmed previous data indicating that alterations in the proteome include adaptation to heavy metal stress and mobilization of seed storage proteins. The results also suggest that there have been adjustments to carbon metabolism in the cytoplasm and plastids, increased activity of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and decreased condensation of malonyl-acyl carrier protein during fatty acid biosynthesis.
URL:http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=3e1d6517-626f-479e-bca9-8e4d7f3dfe53%40sessionmgr10&vid=6&hid=19
Title: Consequences of the Chernobyl Catastrophe for Public Health and the Environment 23 Years Later.
Author: Yablokov, Alexey V.; Nesterenko, Vassily B.; Nesterenko, Alexey V.
Reference: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Nov2009, Vol. 1181 Issue 1, p318-326. 9p. 1
doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04841.x.
Keywords: public health, Chernobyl;dose burden; radionuclide decorporation
Abstract: More than 50% of Chernobyl’s radionuclides were dispersed outside of Belarus, Ukraine, and European Russia and caused fallout as far away as North America. In 1986 nearly 400 million people lived in areas radioactively contaminated at a level higher than 4 kBq/m(2) and nearly 5 million individuals are still being exposed to dangerous contamination. The increase in morbidity, premature aging, and mutations is seen in all the contaminated territories that have been studied. The increase in the rates of total mortality for the first 17 years in European Russia was up to 3.75% and in Ukraine it was up to 4.0%. Levels of internal irradiation are increasing owing to plants absorbing and recycling Cs-137, Sr-90, Pu, and Am. During recent years, where internal levels of Cs-137 have exceeded 1 mSv/year, which is considered “safe,” it must be lowered to 50 Bq/kg in children and to 75 Bq/kg in adults. Useful practices to accomplish this include applying mineral fertilizers on agricultural lands, K and organosoluble lignin on forestlands, and regular individual consumption of natural pectin enterosorbents. Extensive international help is needed to provide radiation protection for children, especially in Belarus, where over the next 25 to 30 years radionuclides will continue to contaminate plants through the root layers in the soil. Irradiated populations of plants and animals exhibit a variety of morphological deformities and have significantly higher levels of mutations that were rare prior to 1986. The Chernobyl zone is a “black hole”: some species may persist there only via immigration from uncontaminated areas.
URL:http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04836.x/abstract;jsessionid=2DF5BC7EC42FB076C84201B5B51B808D.d02t03
Title: The concentration of 137Cs in the surface of the Greek marine environment.
Author: Florou, H.; Nicolaou, G.; Evangeliou, N.
Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. Aug2010, Vol. 101 Issue 8, p654-657. 4p.
doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2010.03.016.
Keywords: Caesium; Chernobyl; Surface seawaters; Food dosimetry; Greece
Abstract: The radiological status of the Greek marine environment, prior to the Chernobyl accident, was characterized mainly by the fallout from nuclear weapon tests. However, the release of radioactivity into the environment from the accident in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and its deposition in the Greek marine environment resulted in an increase of the 137Cs activity concentration by approximately one order of magnitude. In addition, the direct transport of radiocaesium into the North Aegean Sea has been further influenced by the late impact of the Chernobyl accident on the Greek marine environment, related to the transfer of 137Cs, mainly through the Dnieper but also the Danube rivers, to the Black Sea and further to the North Aegean Sea through the Straits of Dardanelles. The aim of this work is to provide a present day picture of the geographic variation of the concentration of 137Cs in the surface layer of the Greek marine environment and hence, to evaluate the annual committed effective dose delivered to humans through the ingestion pathway from marine sources.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X10000834
Title: Landscape portrait: A look at the impacts of radioactive contaminants on Chernobyl’s wildlife.
Author: Mousseau, Timothy A.; Møller, Anders P.
Reference: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Mar2011, Vol. 67 Issue 2, p38-46. 9p. 1
doi: 10.1177/0096340211399747.
Keywords: Chernobyl, effects, environment, mutation, nuclear power, radiation, wildlife
Abstract: The Chernobyl accident of 1986 released vast quantities of radioactive materials and significantly contaminated about 200,000 square kilometers of land. The Chernobyl Forum Report, an initiative of the International Atomic Energy Agency, suggested that the effects of radiation on wildlife were negligible relative to the impacts of human habitation, but this position was based on the very limited data available prior to this 2006 report. The wildlife of this region has been the subject of extensive study since 2005; since then, research has found that many birds, insects, spiders, and mammals show significant declines as a probable consequence of exposure to radionuclides. The best-studied group, birds, shows a 50 percent decrease in species richness and a 66 percent drop in abundance in the most contaminated areas compared to areas with normal background radiation in the same neighborhood. In addition, mutation rates and developmental abnormalities are dramatically higher, and survival rates and fertility are lower, in regions of moderate to high contamination. These findings challenge reports in the popular media and the conclusions of the Chernobyl Forum Report and are of relevance today, given recent interest in returning contaminated lands to agriculture use and the renaissance of the global nuclear power industry.
URL:http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=3e1d6517-626f-479e-bca9-8e4d7f3dfe53%40sessionmgr10&hid=19
Title: Ultrasound diagnosis of radiation-induced childhood thyroid cancer in Belarus: 10 years of practical experience
Author: Drozd, Valentina M. / Lyshchik, Andrej P. / Demidchik, Evgueni P. / Cherstvoy, Evgeny D. / Ostapenko, Vladislav A. / Reiners, Christoph
Reference: International Congress Series, 1234, p.221-229, May 2002
doi: 10.1016/S0531-5131(01)00611-2
Keywords: Ultrasound diagnosis; Childhood thyroid cancer; Ultrasonography
Abstract: …applications of ultrasound in thyroid diagnosis is fine-needle…in clinical management of thyroid patients [5] . After the Chernobyl accident, there was a tendency…increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer in Belarus. The frequency…
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0531513101006112
