The Influence of the Radiation Background of City-Forming Settlements with NPPs on Public Health and the Environment

Abstract

The radioactive decay of elements as a result of a nuclear reaction is a powerful source of energy used in the production of electricity and heat in cities close to NPPs. The problem of using this kind of energy is the danger of radiation exposure. The production of nuclear energy has many advantages, including the profitability of the final product and its low cost; on the other hand, the half-life products of radionuclides in the composition of gas-aerosol emissions from ventilation pipes settle in the environment on the territory of city-forming nuclear power plants. The duality of the problems of the impact of radiation background on the urban areas near NPPs has become the purpose of this study. It is necessary to investigate the negative effect of radioactive waste emissions during the normal operation of nuclear power plants. For this purpose, the method of a project experiment was used, during which, using laboratory monitoring of external radiation safety and an automated radiation monitoring system, indicators of exposure dose capacities were collected from points in the 30-kilometre zone around the NPP. As a result of the monitoring of radiation samples from soil, atmospheric air and precipitation, and reservoirs, it was revealed that the natural radiation background is insignificant; the probability of harm from radiation exposure is small and insufficient for the development of radiation sickness. However, potentially unsafe sources of radiation exposure have been identified, such as natural radiation – the consumption of contaminated food, solar and cosmic radiation from radioactive elements present in the bowels of the earth; radionuclides, whose emissions uncontrollably occur into the atmosphere; radioactive waste, the disposal and storage technology of which is economically costly. Therefore, it is justified to conduct regular design experiments to check the operability of automated radiation monitoring systems. The materials of the study are of practical value for chemists, environmentalists, and ecotechnologists working at NPPs that monitor safety for human health and environmental protection in the field of atomic energy use