Retrospective assessment and modeling of radioactive contamination of the territory of the Republic of Belarus as a result of the disaster at the Chernobyl NPP

Abstract

The article presents conceptual approaches to retrospective assessment and predictive modeling of radioactive contamination of the territory of the Republic of Belarus as a result of the Chernobyl accident. The work was carried out within the framework of project 3.01 «Investigation of the effect of ionizing radiation in a wide range of doses and with the variability of radiation characteristics at different levels of organization of a living organism», GPNI «Natural resources and the environment» of the subprogram «Radiation and biological systems» for 2021–2025. We determined the most significant radionuclide composition (for assessing the consequences of the release of radionuclides into the environment for biota) and the levels of radioactive contamination of ecosystem components in the observation zone of the Gomel, Vitebsk and Grodno regions of the Republic of Belarus. The radiation situation was considered at different time stages, namely as a result of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing and after an emergency release at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant [1; 2]. At present time, according to our data, in the observation zone of the Gomel, Vitebsk and Grodno regions of the Republic of Belarus, the radiation situation is caused by 137Cs and 90Sr radionuclides. The migration of 90Sr in the soil and through the food chain significantly increases as a result of the destruction of fuel particles and, as a consequence, 90Sr enters the soil solutions, after which it migrates deep into the soil. In addition, in the Gomel region, 241Am accumulates due to the decay of 241Pu. The maximum contamination level of 241Am will be established by 2060 and will exceed 239 + 240Pu by a factor of 2.7, while territories with a contamination level of 238 + 239 + 240Pu + 241Am up to 1000 Bq / m2 may possibly go outside the 30-km zone. The results of scientific research were introduced into the educational process within the framework of lectures and practical classes at the Faculty of Environmental Monitoring of the International Sakharov Environmental Institute of Belarusian State University.