Radioecology and the Restoration of Radioactive-Contaminated Sites

289 Pages·1996·9.91 MB·English

by  Arrigo A. Cigna (auth.)

Radioecology and the Restoration of
Radioactive-Contaminated Sites
NATO ASI Series
Advanced Science Institutes Series
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Series 2: Environment - Vol. 13
Radioecology and the
Restoration of
Radioactive-Contaminated Sites
edited by
Felix F. Luykx
International Union of Radioecology,
Tervuren, Belgium
and
Martin J. Frissel
International Union of Radioecology,
Heelsum, Belgium
Kluwer Academic Publishers
Dordrecht / Boston / London
Published in cooperation with NATO Scientific Affairs Division
Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on
Radio-Active Contaminated Site Restoration
Zarechny, Sverdlovsk, Russia
June 19-28, 1995
A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN-13: 978-94-010-6620-4 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-0301-2
DOl: 10.1007/978-94-009-0301-2
Published by Kluwer Academic Publishers,
P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
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D. Reidel, Martinus Nijhoff, Dr W. Junk and MTP Press.
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© 1996 Kluwer Academic Publishers
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1996
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Table of Contents
PREFACE ............................................................................................................... ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................ xi
Part I Introduction
ORIGIN AND AIM OF RADIOECOLOGY
A. A. CIGNA ............................................................................................................. 1
DEVELOPMENT OF RADIOECOLOGY IN EAST AND WEST
A. AARKROG AND G.G. POLIKARPOV ............................................................ 17
INVENTORY OF NUCLEAR RELEASES IN THE WORLD
A. AARKROG ......................................................................................................... 31
Part II Contamination in the Urals and Chernobyl region
ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE ACTIVITIES
AT THE "MAYAK" PLANT
G.N. ROMANOV AND Ye.G. DROZHKO ............................................................ 45
CURRENT RADIO ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE SITUATION IN THE AREA
OF THE EAST-URAL RADIOACTIVE TRAIL
G.N. ROMANOV .................................................................................................... 57
POST-ACCIDENT DEVELOPMENT OF EXPOSURE CONDITIONS
IN THE FORESTS OF THE 30-KM ZONE AROUND CHERNOBYL
P.I. YUSHKOV ........................................................................................................ 69
Part III Soils and Forests
ASSESSMENT OF RADIONUCLIDE TRANSFER
FROM SOILS TO PLANTS AND FROM PLANTS TO SOILS
PJ. COUGHTREY .................................................................................................. 75
SOILS ROLE IN THE RESTORATION OF TERRESTRIAL
SITES CONTAMINATED WITH RADIOACTIVITY
M.J. FRISSEL ......................................................................................................... 85
RADIOECOLOGY IN THE URALS; INVESTIGATIONS OF
HYDROMORPHOUS SOILS
I.M. MOLCHANOVA AND E.N. KARAVAEVA ................................................. 103
vi
A MODELING APPROACH TO REMEDIATION OF FORESTS
CONTAMINATED BY RADiONUCLIDES
W.R. SCHELL AND I. LINKOV .......................................................................... 115
MODEL FOR THE EVALUATION OF LONG TERM
COUNTERMEASURES IN FORESTS
M.J. FRISSEL, G. SHAW, C. ROBINSON, E. HOLM AND M. CRICK ............ 137
MUSHROOMS, LICHENS AND MOSSES AS
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS OF
RADIOACTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION
M.G. NIFONTOVA ............................................................................................... 155
ECOLOGICAL BASES AND PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF AGRICULTURAL REMEDIAL ACTIONS
C.M. VANDECASTEELE, O. BURTON. AND R. KIRCHMANN ..................... 163
Part IV Aqueous Systems
METHOD FOR EVALUATING RADiONUCLIDE INVENTORIES
IN WATER RESERVOIRS APPLIED TO
THE BELOYARSKOE ARTIFICIAL LAKE
A. TRAPEZNIKOV .............................................................................................. 179
UP-TO-DATE STUDIES OF RADIONUCLIDES TRANSFER
IN THE RIVER SYSTEM TECHA-ISET-TOBOL-IRTYSH-OB
TO KARA SEA BY A JOINT INTERNATIONAL GROUP
A. AARKROG ....................................................................................................... 187
OVERVIEW OF WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT
IN THE AREAS AFFECTED BY
THE CHERNOBYL RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION
O. VOITSEKHOVITCH ....................................................................................... 203
THE APPLICATION OF CAESIUM SELECTIVE SORBENTS
IN THE REMEDIATION AND RESTORATION OF
RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATED SITES·
V. P. REMEZ ......................................................................................................... 217
Part V Effects of Ionizing Radiation
THE EFFECT OF IONIZING RADIATION ON COMMUNITIES
OF ORGANISMS
V. POZOLOTINA .................................................................................................. 225
vii
EFFECTS OF IONIZING RADIATION ON ORGANISMS
OF TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS IN
THE EAST URALS RADIOACTIVE TRACK TERRITORY
D.A. SPIRIN .......................................................................................................... 235
PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION OF SMALL MAMMALS
TO RADIOACTIVE POLLUTION
B. V. TESTOV ........................................................................................................ 245
RADIATION EFFECTS ON FORESTS IN THE CHERNOBYL AREA
P.I. YUSHKOV ...................................................................................................... 255
RADIATION EFFECTS IN THE CHERNOBYL AND
KYSHTYM AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
G.G. POLIKARPOV AND V.G. TSYTSUGINA .................................................. 269
***
List of contributors .............................................................................................. 279
List of participants .............................................................................................. 283
Subject index ........................................................................................................ 289
PREFACE
Since World War II all over the world large scale nuclear facilities have been built and
operated, both for civil and defense purposes. Many of these have meanwhile ceased
their activities and have been decommissioned.
Some of the sites on which these facilities were located are heavily contaminated with
radioactive substances and require intervention to mitigate the radiological consequences
for man and nature.
Correct and efficient intervention will only be possible when the behaviour of the
radionuclides in the terrestrial environment is sufficiently well known. The study of this
behaviour is commonly called radioecology.
Radioecologists have often difficulties in studying radioactivity transfer in agricultural
lands and semi-natural ecosystems, because of the complexity and diversity of these
environments. In order to have a correct understanding of the phenomena occuring, they
must know the mechanisms determining the behaviour of radionuclides in different eco
systems.
To contribute to the understanding of the behaviour of radionuclides in a contaminated
environment, a NATO Advanced Science Institute (ASI) on this subject was organized
by the International Union of Radioecology (lUR) in June 1995 in Zarechny, Urals,
Russia. Over 60 students from 22 countries, professionally involved in radioecology and
nuclear site restoration, participated in this course.
In this ASI all factors were analyzed affecting the behaviour of radionuclides, as they
move from their point of release through the environment and then enter the tissues of
biota living in the ecosystems, in particular plants and animals which are consumed by
humans.
The course was held in a region which is heavily contaminated due to radioactive dis
charges into the environment during nuclear weapon fabrication in the 1950's and 1960's
and due to a severe accidental release following an explosion of a rad-waste tank in
1957. This allowed in situ training of the students and to give them experimental evi
dence of much of the theories presented in the lectures.
The present book is based on the lectures given in the above course. Its main emphasis
is on specific radioecologic problems in severely contaminated areas in the former So
viet Union, i.e. the East-Urals Radioactive Trail from the Kysthym accident of 1957, the
rivers Techa-Isert-Tobol-Irtish-Ob contaminated from discharges at the MAYAK nuclear
fuel reprocessing plant in the late 1940's and the 30 km zone around Chernobyl.
Ecological systems, which have been examined in these areas, include soils, arable and
pasture land, forests, lakes and rivers.
Special attention is given to the effects of radiation on natural ecosystems including
trees, soil-dwelling organisms and aquatic organisms, and to the possible synergistic
effects of radiation and other contaminants on natural populations and ecosystems.
A substantial part is also devoted to short term, medium term and long term counter
measures to mitigate the consequences of radioactive contamination.
While preparing the publication of the present book, the editors have maintained as
much as possible the original papers, in order to respect the personal views of the au
thors. The transcription of cyrillic names of persons and locations was kept as written by
the different authors.
ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Financial support for organizing this ASI and to publish this book was provided by
NATO, to which the International Union of Radioecology is very grateful. The editors
thank all the lecturers in the course and the contributors to this book. A special thank is
addressed to Dr. A. Trapeznikov and his colleagues of the Institute of Plants and Animals
Ecology of the Urals Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Ekaterinburg, who
made all efforts to make this ASI a success. The editors are also very grateful to the
SCK-CEN, Mol, to Dr. H. Vandenhove of the SCK-CEN Mol and Dr. G. Gerber, former
Head of Division of the European Commission, for assisting in editing the manuscripts
and to Mr. 1. Bonnyns for preparing the lay-out of the book.
xi
ORIGIN AND AIM OF RADIOECOLOGY
ARRIGO A. CIGNA
President of the International Union of Radioecology
Fraz Tuffo
1-14023 Cocconato AT, Italy
RERM NATURA SACRA SUA NON SEMEL TRADIT .
INITIATOS NOS CREDIMUS IN VESTIBULO B1US
HAEREMUS. ILLA ARCANA NON PROMISQUE NEC
OMNIBUS PATENT. REDUCTA ET INTERIORE
SACRARIO CLAUSA SUNT EX QUI BUS ALIUD HAEC
AETAS ALIUD QUAE POST NOS SUBIBIT ASPICIET .
L.A. SENECA NATURALES QUAESTIONES LIBERVII 30
Nature does not disclose its mystery all at once; we consider
ourselves experts while we are stil standing at the entrance;
such mysteries are not displayed by chance or to everyone:
they are kept inside a safe place, some of them will be
understood by us, some by our descendants.
1. Introduction
The term ecology was firstly introduced by Reiter in 1865 and used again in the follow
ing year by E. Haeckel [I] to define the study of the relationships of the living organisms
both among themselves and with the abiotic environment.This new discipline developed
rather slowly particularly on account of the difficulty to carry out observations without
interfering with the organisms observed.
The biological effects of X-rays on living organisms were detected before their disco
very by Rontgen was reported in the public press on January 4, 1896. As a matter of fact,
in the last months of 1895 Grubbe, a manufacturer of Crookes tubes, used his equipment
to study the fluorescence of chemicals and noticed an injury on his left hand. It is
interesting to recall here that Grubbe was really a pioneer both in the therapeutic use of
ionizing radiations and in health physics practice [2].
Following the suggestions of professor Gilman of the Hahnemann Medical College of
Chicago, on January 29 and 30, 1896, he treated, respectively, a patient for carcinoma of
the breast and a patient with an ulcerative lupus with his Crookes tube and used lead as
a shield to protect the rest of the body [3].
A great number of studies both on therapeutic use and acute effects of ionizing radiation
was carried out in the same year 1896 in different laboratories all over the world. Papers
on' damage to mammals were published by Capranica in 1896 and 1897 [4,5] who re
ported the results of his studies on the irradiation of mice by X-rays. At the same time
also Tarkhanov [6] reported some data on the behaviour of terrestrial and aquatic organ
isms when irradiated by X-rays.
F. F. Luykx and M. J. Frissel (eds.), Radioecology and the Restoration of
Radioactive-Contaminated Sites, 1-15.
@ 1996 Kluwer Academic Publishers.