| Abstrakt: |
This paper summarizes the 35 years' experience in remediation of agricultural lands exposed to radioactive contamination as a result of the Chernobyl accident. In Russia, the total area of agricultural lands contaminated by the main radiologically significant radionuclide, 137Cs, amounts to 2.3 million ha (mainly in Bryansk, Kaluga, Tula and Orel regions). To date, the area of radioactively contaminated agricultural lands in regions most severely affected by the accident has decreased by 65% on average due to the decay of 137Cs. The 137Cs contamination density in agricultural lands of Kaluga, Orel, and Tula regions is expected to drop below 37 kBq/m2 (1 Ci/km2) by 2090 and not earlier than in 2180 in Bryansk region. The article presents the periodization and differences in the scope of organizational, agrotechnical, and agrochemical measures taken in the agricultural sector in different radioactive contamination zones. The implementation of a scientifically based system of countermeasures in the agricultural sector has substantially contributed to its capability to produce agrarian products conforming to the radiological standards. Thirty-five years after the Chernobyl accident, the radiological standards are exceeded in the produced fodder (4–15% of samples), milk (4–8%), and beef (5–8%) only in five southwestern districts of Bryansk region. In most critical farming enterprises, the 137Cs content in livestock products is expected to exceed the standards at least until 2030. Problems associated with the rehabilitation of the agricultural sector are long-term and complex; their solution must take into account the radioactive contamination levels in agricultural lands, soil properties, and economic specificity of the remediated areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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