Wildfires in the Chornobyl exclusion zone—Risks and consequences

Beresford, Nicholas A.; Barnett, C.L.; Gashchak, Sergey; Kashparov, V.; Kirieiev, Serhii; Levchuk, S.; Morozova, Valeriia; Smith, J.T.

doi:10.1002/ieam.4424

Cited by 25 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…In August 2017, we sampled small mammals from the Red Forest, an area of c. 4-6 km 2 over which pine trees were killed by radiation in 1986; subsequently, there has been sparse regrowth of deciduous trees and some understorey vegetation. In 2016, approximately 80% of the Red Forest was damaged by fire (Beresford et al, 2021). Our 2017 sampling sites (Figure 1) included a total of eight sites across three burn categories, namely 'burnt with regrowth' (n = 2), 'burnt with minimal regrowth' (n = 3) and 'unburnt' (n = 3).…”

Section: Field Sampling In the Red Forest (2017)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of radiation exposure on the bacterial and fungal microbiome of small mammals in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Antwis

Beresford

Jackson

et al. 2021

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Section: Field Sampling In the Red Forest (2017)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of radiation exposure on the bacterial and fungal microbiome of small mammals in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Antwis

Beresford

Jackson

et al. 2021

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…This comprehensive investigative analysis well combines the impact of ecological and political issues on the vulnerability of society. Safety investigation processes related to forest fire catastrophes are likely to be more complex especially if they are related to additional accidents (Beresford et al, 2021). However, aircraft investigations may be complex in addition to matters relating to the airplane itself.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildfire-Related Catastrophes: The Need for a Modern International Safety Investigation Procedure

Vuorio¹,

Kovanen²,

Budowle³

et al. 2021

Front. Clim.

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Despite the increased frequency and scale of wildfire-related catastrophes, there has been little or no effective and coordinated international policy to address their highly negative impact. Possibly a generalized approach to respond to such major events could be modeled on existing international safety investigation policies and agreements that already have proved successful. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) outlines safety investigations after international fatal aviation accidents. Although this well-established safety investigation protocol cannot be directly applied in acute wildfire-related accidents, it can offer a useful framework for establishing international guidelines to reduce risk of future wildfire catastrophes. The co-operation between safety investigation authorities has been shown to be fruitful especially for those less developed countries that have limited resources and experience related to accident investigations. While primarily an adaptive measure that can set practices to reduce vulnerability and fragility of ecosystems and human societies, the same policies could be seen as a climate change mitigation measure, as wildfires can contribute significantly to global CO2 emissions. Finally, the concept of independent and qualified safety investigations represents the principle of serendipity: disclosing by accident something that has not been foreseen. Feedback from reality compensates assumptions and limitations of feedforward analysis of complex systems that can only reveal their dynamics and performance in reality and over time.

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“…Three coniferous woodland sites were also selected in the area of comparatively low deposition ( Fig 1 ). Although wildfires are common within the CEZ [ 18 ], none of the study sites had been impacted by wildfires (note many of the Red Forest and nearby deciduous forest sites were impacted by a wildfire in July 2016 after the study reported here [ 18 ]). The locations of all study sites were recorded using a Garmin 64st Global Positioning System (GPS) with an accuracy of ±3 m.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the longer-term after the accident, there is a lack of agreement in reported effects of radiation on soil organisms in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ); the CEZ is the approximately 4800 km 2 area around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) that was abandoned following the accident [ 18 ]. Mousseau et al [ 19 ] deployed leaf litter bags at sites (forests or abandoned farmland reverting to forest) in the CEZ from September 2007 for nine months.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current ionising radiation doses in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone do not directly impact on soil biological activity

2022

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Although soil organisms are essential for ecosystem function, the impacts of radiation on soil biological activity at highly contaminated sites has been relatively poorly studied. In April-May 2016, we conducted the first largescale deployment of bait lamina to estimate soil organism (largely soil invertebrate) feeding activity in situ at study plots in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ). Across our 53 study plots, estimated weighted absorbed dose rates to soil organisms ranged from 0.7 μGy h-1 to 1753 μGy h-1. There was no significant relationship between soil organism feeding activity and estimated weighted absorbed dose rate. Soil biological activity did show significant relationships with soil moisture content, bulk density (used as a proxy for soil organic matter) and pH. At plots in the Red Forest (an area of coniferous plantation where trees died because of high radiation exposure in 1986) soil biological activity was low compared to plots elsewhere in the CEZ. It is possible that the lower biological activity observed in the Red Forest is a residual consequence of what was in effect an acute high exposure to radiation in 1986.

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Wildfires in the Chornobyl exclusion zone—Risks and consequences

Cited by 25 publications

References 56 publications

Impacts of radiation exposure on the bacterial and fungal microbiome of small mammals in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Impacts of radiation exposure on the bacterial and fungal microbiome of small mammals in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Wildfire-Related Catastrophes: The Need for a Modern International Safety Investigation Procedure

Current ionising radiation doses in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone do not directly impact on soil biological activity

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