Potential threat to human health during forest fires in the Belarusian exclusion zone

Abstract

Forest fires are of special interest for Belarus because of radioactive contamination caused by the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. This work aims to determine the potential activity of long-lived radionuclides in surface air caused by forest fires and to estimate the potential health threat to firefighters. The methodology is based on measurements of radioactivity released by forest fuel materials using a combustion chamber. The emissions were combined with a simple dispersion model to estimate air concentrations and dose to firefighters. The inhalation dose from transuranium elements tend to be an order of magnitude greater than that from Cesium-137. Although there was variability among sites, about half of the total dose was caused by external radiation, as measured by dosimeters. Overall effective radiation dose ranged from 3 to 7 uSv for a 1-h exposure, far below the annual effective dose of 20 mSv for workers and 1 mSv for the public. Although, the risk of exceeding annual effective dose limits is low during small fires, such data are important to inform the population and reduce social and psychological stress caused by popular sources.

Existing Risks of Forest Fires in Radiation Contaminated Areas: A Critical Review

“…Researchers (Dvornik et al, 2018), through laboratory studies, came to the conclusion that forest fires insignificantly affect the health of fire-fighters directly involved in extinguishing. However, despite adequate methodology and good laboratory equipment, it should be noted that there were no direct measurements of air concentration or deposition after fire.…”

“…Volatile radionuclides such as 134 Cs, 137 Cs, 132 Te, 133 I, together with fine dust particles ("aerosols"), are distributed in the atmosphere, although most of the radioactive iodine remains in gaseous form (Smith & Beresford, 2005). The study (Dvornik et al, 2018) made it possible to establish that the activity of long-lived radionuclides in solid combustion products exceeds the activity in fuel materials by 1.5-4 times (the largest ratio was 4.2 ± 0.4 for 137 Cs). In the process of combustion, forest materials lose up to 90% of their organic matter, and radionuclides are concentrated in the mineral part of combustion products and ash (Dvornik et al, 2018).…”

“…The study (Dvornik et al, 2018) made it possible to establish that the activity of long-lived radionuclides in solid combustion products exceeds the activity in fuel materials by 1.5-4 times (the largest ratio was 4.2 ± 0.4 for 137 Cs). In the process of combustion, forest materials lose up to 90% of their organic matter, and radionuclides are concentrated in the mineral part of combustion products and ash (Dvornik et al, 2018). Thus, solid combustion products are an open source of ionization with radioactive substances' potentially high activity that significantly affects the radiation safety level of the region.…”

“…Monitoring Centre (REEFMC), more than 1147 wildfires on the territory of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) occurred in 20 years (from 1993 to 2013) (Dvornik et al, 2018;Zibtsev et al, 2015).…”

Rapid in situ assessment of radiocesium wood contamination using field gamma-ray spectroscopy to optimise felling

“…Until recent years, the management of Chernobyl contaminated land, inclusive of the PSRER, has been primarily oriented towards reducing external and internal doses to the public and mitigating the risks for further dispersal of contaminants through natural events such as forestfires or wildfires (Dvornik et al, 2018;Evangeliou, 2015). Irrespective of the radiological challenges posed by contamination for forestry workers or residents of forested areas, there are still direct and indirect economic impacts imposed due to radioactive contamination of forests (Yoshihara et al, 2014).…”