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

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