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Pilot investigation of food products contamination by caesium-137 in selected areas of Ukraine affected by the Chernobyl catastrophe in 1986 (2011)

Auteur	Iryna Labunska, Stan Vincent, Nikki Westwood, Paul Johnston,
	2-34-8-12-05.pdf
Datum	april 2011
Classificatie	2.34.8.12/05 (TSJERNOBYL - ONGELUK & OMGEVING - BESMET VOEDSEL)
Voorkant

Pilot investigation of food products contamination by caesium-137 in selected 
areas of Ukraine affected by the Chernobyl catastrophe in 1986

April 2011

Introduction

The radioactivity released as a result of the explosions of the No.4 Reactor at 
the Chernobyl NPP plant in 1986 caused a number of severe problems affecting many 
countries worldwide. One of the greatest concerns was the release, transport and 
subsequent deposition of caesium-137, a long-lived radionuclide (half life T1/2 = 
30.1 y), which is able to pass through the food chain and accumulate in milk, fish 
and other food products (Travnikova et al. 2004, Schwaiger et al. 2004, Forberg 
et al. 1994, Voors & Weers 1989). Over the years following the accident, the 
Ukrainian government undertook regular analyses of foodstuffs produced in
contaminated areas and these data were published in the reports of the Ministry 
of Emergencies and Affairs of Population Protection from Consequences of 
Chernobyl Catastrophe (see: MESU 2008). For the last two years this monitoring 
has not been performed,and accordingly an important long-term data set is no 
longer being added to.

The current study was, therefore, designed and carried out by Greenpeace 
International as a small pilot investigation into the current situation with respect 
to radionuclide contamination of foodstuffs in the region. The study targeted selected 
areas of the Ukraine where such contamination has been found in past surveillance 
monitoring programs (Kashparov et al. 2009). In these studies, Rivnenska Oblast 
in Ukraine was found to have the highest levels of radiocaesium in milk and also 
showed the highest levels of caesium-137 in humans (Bondarenko 2010). The levels 
of soil contamination by caesium-137 in Rivnenska Oblast are not the highest found 
in Ukraine. Nevertheless, a unique peaty type of soil in the region, which is often 
waterlogged, is characterised by high caesium-137 soil-to-plant transfer coefficient, 
and this has led to a much higher accumulation of radiocaesium in plants and, 
consequently, in animals grazing on these plants (Prister et al. 1993).

The current study does not, and was not intended to, represent a comprehensive 
description of either the scope of the food contamination by radionuclides 
throughout Ukraine or in any particular region of Ukraine. Nonetheless, it provides 
some insight into ongoing problems with several categories of food products that 
are important components of the basic diet of the population in areas contaminated 
by radionuclides released from Chernobyl NPP in 1986.