A Tale of Two Forests: Addressing Postnuclear Radiation at Chernobyl and Fukushima

Bird, Winifred A.; Little, Jane Braxton

doi:10.1289/ehp.121-a78

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…There are a number of remediation methods that can be applied to manage contaminated forests to lessen the probability or effects of burning. Areas can be severely contaminated by cesium-137, strontium-90, multiple isotopes of plutonium, and more than a dozen other radionuclides (Bird and Little 2013). A basic strategy would be construction of firebreaks and roads as an aid to fire suppression to reduce the area burned if a wildfire occurs.…”

Section: Discussion and Operational Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Concentrations of radionuclides gradually accumulate in needles as each season progresses. The needles then fall to the ground, becoming part of the litter, and returning the radioactive salts to the top layer of the soil in a natural cycle that takes approximately 10 to 12 yr to complete (Bird and Little 2013). Contaminated litter can be removed from high impact or other key sites.…”

Section: Discussion and Operational Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Cesium emissions from laboratory fires

Hao

Baker

Lincoln

et al. 2018

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

If a radiological incident such as a nuclear power plant accident, a radiological dispersal device, or detonation of an improvised nuclear device occurs, significant areas may be contaminated. Initial cleanup priorities would likely focus on populated areas, leaving the forested areas to pass several seasons where the overhead canopy materials would fall to the forest floor. In the event of a wildfire in a radionuclide-contaminated forest, some radionuclides would be emitted in the air while the rest would remain in the ash. This paper reports on a laboratory simulation study that examines the partitioning of cesium-133 (a nonradioactive isotope of cesium) between airborne particulate matter and residual nonentrained ash when pine needles and peat are doped with cesium. Only 1-2.5% of the doped cesium in pine needles was emitted as particulate matter, and most of the cesium was concentrated in the particulate fraction greater than 10 µm in aerodynamic diameter. For peat fires, virtually all of the cesium remained in the ash. The results from this study will be used for modeling efforts to assess potential exposure risks to firefighters and the surrounding public.Implications: There is a potential for emissions of radionuclides such as cesium-137 from a wildfire over a radionuclide-contaminated forest. This paper reports on a laboratory simulation study of a wildfire with two types of biomass doped with nonradioactive cesium. This simulation suggests that only 1-2.5% of the cesium in the biomass will be emitted from the wildfire, while the rest will reside in the residual ash. In this study, pine needles were the only contributor to the air emissions of cesium; duff was not a source of cesium emissions. In this study, cesium emitted from the simulated wildfire was concentrated in the particle sizes larger than 10 µm.

show abstract

Section: Discussion and Operational Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion and Operational Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cesium emissions from laboratory fires

Hao

Baker

Lincoln

et al. 2018

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It was not until 4 years after the Chernobyl explosions that the Soviets finally completed the relocation of 350,000 adults and children from the most severely radiation contaminated areas [ 2 ]. While diminishing their exposure, this massive relocation of families produced significant psychosocial stress because people lost their homes, farms, jobs, and friends.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Depression, Suicide Ideation, and Thyroid Tumors Among Ukrainian Adolescents Exposed as Children to Chernobyl Radiation

Contis¹,

Foley

2015

J Clin Med Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe Chernobyl Childhood Illness Program (CCIP) was a humanitarian assistance effort funded by the United States Congress. Its purpose was to assist the Ukrainian Government to identify and treat adolescents who developed mental and physical problems following their exposure as young children to Chernobyl radiation. Thirteen years after the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident in 1986, the CCIP examined 116,655 Ukrainian adolescents for thyroid diseases. Of these, 115,191 were also screened for depression, suicide ideation, and psychological problems. The adolescents lived in five of Ukraine’s seven most Chernobyl radiation contaminated provinces. They were up to 6 years of age or in utero when exposed to nuclear fallout, or were born up to 45 months after Chernobyl.MethodsUkrainian endocrinologist and ultrasonographers used physical examination and ultrasonography of the neck to evaluate the adolescents for thyroid tumors. The adolescents were then screened for depression by the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). After this, Ukrainian psychologists conducted individual psychological interviews to corroborate the adolescents’ CDI responses.ResultsPapillary thyroid carcinoma was diagnosed in eight adolescents, a high prevalence rate similar to that reported by other studies from the Soviet Union. Screening identified thyroid nodules in 1,967 adolescents (1.7%). Depression was diagnosed in 15,399 adolescents (13.2%), suicide ideation in 813 (5.3%), and attempted suicide in 354 (2.3%). Underlying components of the participants’ depression were negative mood, interpersonal difficulties, negative self-esteem, ineffectiveness, and anhedonia. Depression was greater in females (77%). Those with thyroid and psychological problems were referred for treatment.ConclusionsThe adolescents screened by CCIP represent the largest Ukrainian cohort exposed to Chernobyl radiation as children who were evaluated for both thyroid tumors and depression. The group had an increased prevalence of thyroid cancer, thyroid tumors, depression, and suicide ideation. CCIP demonstrated that psychological problems among Chernobyl exposed adolescents began earlier in life than previously reported. They also experienced socioeconomic problems from their relocation from radiation-affected areas and from the Soviet’s inadequate responses to their health needs. CCIP’s findings underscore the requirement that governments prepare plans to deal promptly with the diagnosis and treatment of nuclear accident victims’ medical and psychological problems.

show abstract

“…Донині не втрачає своєї актуальності оцінювання мутагенної активності головного джерела надходження радіонуклідів до каскаду дніпровських водоймр. Прип'ять із численними озерами та старицями її заплави, які у післяаварійний період зазнали найінтенсивнішого радіонуклідного забруднення (Gudkov et al, 2010;Bird & Little, 2013;Suga et al, 2014;Fuller et al, 2018). Збіль-шення кількості аберацій хромосом у клітинах меристематичних тканиннеспецифічна реакція клітин живих організмів на вплив мутагенів навколишнього середовища, яка виявляється за дії чинників різної природи, зокрема іонізуючої радіації (Pojoga et al, 2013;Tawn et al, 2015;Nurmansyah et al, 2018).…”

Section: обговоренняunclassified

Cytogenetic activity of radionuclide contamination of water reservoirs of the alienation zone of Chornobyl NPP

Yakymchuk

2018

Regul. Mech. Biosyst.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Thirty years after the accident, the alienation zone of Chornobyl NPP continues to be an open source of radionuclide spread which is carried with superficial and soil waters into river systems and moves beyond the area. The study of mutagenic activity of radionuclide contamination of the water reservoirs in the near zone of Chornobyl NNP will make it possible to predict genetic consequences of their effect in the years after the accident. The purpose of this research is to study frequency and spectrum of chromosome aberrations in root meristem cells of Triticum aestivum L. under the prolonged effect of radionuclide contamination of water and bottom deposits of the water reservoirs in the near alienation zone of Chornobyl NPP. Seeds of winter wheat varieties Al’batros odes’kyi and Zymoiarka were sprouted in the conditions of the effect of water radionuclide contamination of the Prypiat River, Brahinka River, a reservoir-cooler of ChNPP, Semyhodskyi backwater, drainage-way 3 of ChNPP, Lakes Hlyboke and Azbuchyn (total specific activity of 137Cs and 90Sr – 0.17–52.99 Bq/м3) and bottom deposits of the left and right banks of Prypiat canal, a reservoir-cooler of ChNPP, drainage-ways 1–3 of ChNPP (total specific activity of 137Cs and 90Sr – 16.0–45.0 Bq/kg). Frequency and spectrum of cytogenetic disorders were identified in the cells of root meristem sprouts with help of the ana-telophase method. Under the influence of radiation on water and bottom deposits of the water reservoirs in the alienation zone of ChNPP, a 1.6–4.2 times increase in the frequency of chromosome aberrations and mitosis disorders was found. The highest levels of cytogenetic activity were shown by water radionuclide contamination in a reservoir-cooler of ChNPP, Semyhodskyi backwater and bottom deposits of drainage-way 2. The correlation between frequency of chromosome aberrations and specific value of radionuclide activity of water reservoirs has not been recorded, which can prove the induction of cytogenetic disorders resulting from the radiation in the low-rate range. The spectrum of cytogenetic disorder types is mostly represented by acentric fragments, bridges and lagging chromosomes. The induction of the cells with lagging chromosomes, which exhibit the highest levels (0.24–0.38%), under the effect of radionuclide contamination of water in Hlyboke Lake, the Brahinka River, the Prypiat River, a reservoir-cooler of ChNPP and bottom deposits of drainage-way 3, allows one to assume the availability of aneugenic factors in the water reservoirs in the alienation zone of ChNPP. The water entities of the alienation zone of ChNPP, the level of radionuclide contamination of which is characterized by a high cytogenetic activity, induce cells with complex chromosome rearrangements of high frequency. Despite the decrease in chromosome aberration frequency effected by the water of the Prypiat River near Chornobyl city, the Brahinka River and bottom deposits of the right bank of Prypiat canal, the increased level of aneugenic cells and the induction of multiple chromosome rearrangements confirm the persistence of mutagenic activity in the abovementioned contaminated water entities.

show abstract

A Tale of Two Forests: Addressing Postnuclear Radiation at Chernobyl and Fukushima

Cited by 10 publications

References 9 publications

Cesium emissions from laboratory fires

Cesium emissions from laboratory fires

Depression, Suicide Ideation, and Thyroid Tumors Among Ukrainian Adolescents Exposed as Children to Chernobyl Radiation

Cytogenetic activity of radionuclide contamination of water reservoirs of the alienation zone of Chornobyl NPP

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About