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Radiation Safety of Agrosphere in the Vicinity of Nuclear Power Plants

  • AGRICULTURAL SOIL SCIENCE AND AGROECOLOGY
  • Published:
Russian Agricultural Sciences Aims and scope

Abstract

Radiation control in the agricultural sector in impact zones of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is an important public safety factor. This study examines results of long-term radioecological monitoring of agrarian ecosystems in 30-km zones surrounding the Beloyarsk, Kursk, Leningrad, and Rostov NPPs. No agricultural lands that can be classified as radioactively contaminated (contamination density over 37 kBq/m2 for 137Cs) were registered in the vicinity of these NPPs. For 137Cs, the average soil contamination density in agroecosystems varies in the range from 2 to 17 kBq/m2 and that for 90Sr varies from 0.9 to 1.6 kBq/m2. Higher 137Cs concentrations in agricultural soils were registered in the vicinity of the Leningrad NPP, which can be explained by Chernobyl fallout. Surface 137Cs and 90Sr activities in soils of grasslands and pastures are 1.1‒1.6 times higher in comparison with arable lands; this is apparently due to agrotechnical works performed on arable lands. The maximum specific 137Cs activity levels in plant products produced in the 30-km NPP impact zones are 67–160 times lower than the radiological standards; the maximum specific 90Sr activity levels are 10–40 times lower. In livestock products, the maximum 137Cs content is 330–440 times lower than the sanitary–hygienic standards; the maximum 90Sr content is 60 times lower. It is necessary to stress the necessity to monitor radiologically significant 3H and 14C in food products in the vicinity of nuclear power plants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Russian Institute of Radiology and Agroecology, 249032, Obninsk, Kaluga oblast, Russia

    A. V. Panov, V. K. Kuznetsov, P. N. Tsygvintsev & N. N. Isamov

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  1. A. V. Panov
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  2. V. K. Kuznetsov
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  3. P. N. Tsygvintsev
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  4. N. N. Isamov
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Correspondence to A. V. Panov.

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This article does not contain any studies involving animals or human participants performed by any of the authors.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Translated by L. Emeliyanov

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Panov, A.V., Kuznetsov, V.K., Tsygvintsev, P.N. et al. Radiation Safety of Agrosphere in the Vicinity of Nuclear Power Plants. Russ. Agricult. Sci. 48, 23–29 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068367422020124

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068367422020124

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