Abstract
This chapter deals with the potential risk for elevated radiation doses to people and animals in the Arctic environment. The focus is on radionuclides from man-made sources that may enter the food chains of humans and other mammals, and the text describes key elements, sources of release, contamination in the food chain, and estimated radiation doses in relation to health risks. Radionuclides of particular concern are isotopes of iodine, cesium, and strontium, which were widely distributed in Arctic environments following atmospheric bomb testing and after the nuclear accident in Chernobyl in 1986. In addition, industrial activities may enhance the release of naturally occurring radionuclides like polonium-210 and lead-210. It is evident that natural and seminatural food chains, together with freshwater systems, generally entail a higher risk for transfer of radionuclides to humans compared to agricultural systems. The food chain lichen-reindeer/caribou-man was early acknowledged in this respect. Countermeasures and dietary recommendations, which were applied after the Chernobyl accident, proved effective in limiting human intake of radionuclides. Radiation doses to Arctic populations are generally below recommended limits, and there are no observations of adverse health effects among humans, even in the most exposed groups. Some wildlife, reindeer in particular, received high radiation doses after the Chernobyl accident, and chromosome aberrations (an indicator of damage) that could be attributed to radiation were observed in reindeer calves born in highly contaminated areas just after the accident.
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The author would like to thank Lavrans Skuterud and Brenda Howard for valuable comments on this chapter.
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Åhman, B. (2022). Nuclear Radiation. In: Tryland, M. (eds) Arctic One Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87853-5_8
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