Assessment of the environmental contamination with long-lived radionuclides around an operating RBMK reactor station

Summary, in English

The presence of man-made gamma emitting radionuclides in the region within 32 km radius of the Ignalina NPP/Lithuania has been investigated during the period 2001-2004, prior to the closure of the first 4 the two operating RBMK 1500-type reactors. Gamma spectrometric measurements of various terrestrial and aquatic plants as well as of soil samples showed moderate environmental contamination with the fission product Cs-137 and with the neutron activation products Co-60 and Mn-54. Traces of the activation products Zn-65 and Ag-110m were found in the nearest vicinity of the NPP. Activity concentrations were inhomogeneously distributed in the area of interest. Moss and algae samples showed the highest uptake of radionuclides. In addition to the gamma spectrometric measurements, the levels of C-14 were determined in the same bio-indicator samples using accelerator mass spectrometry. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

• Author: Diana Adliene; Christopher Rääf; Åsa Magnusson; Jon Behring; Mohamad Zakaria; Gediminas Adlys; Göran Skog; Kristina Stenström; Sören Mattsson
• Department/s: Medical Radiation Physics, Malmö; Nuclear physics; LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies); Quaternary Sciences
• Publishing year: 2006
• Language: English
• Pages: 68-77
• Publication/Series: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity
• Volume: 90
• Issue: 1
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2006.06.004
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Topic: Environmental Sciences
• Keywords: terrestrial and aquatic samples; concentration; gamma spectrometry; activity; RBMK reactor; AMS; beta and gamma emitters
• Status: Published
• Research group: Medical Radiation Physics, Malmö; AMS, Nuclear Physics
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1879-1700