Assessment of secondary radioactive contamination of a decontaminated land plot located on the territory of a recreation base in a wooded area

Abstract

The article presents results of a long-term (1998–2021) radiological monitoring survey of a recreation base located in a wooded area in the zone of radioactive contamination after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Local mechanical decontamination of the soil had been made on the territory of the base in 1997. The evaluation of the secondary radioactive contamination of the decontaminated territory was performed by comparing dynamics of the radiological situation at the treated plot and the control, nondecontaminated, part of the base according to four main criteria: 1) dose rate of gamma radiation in the air from cesium radionuclides; 2) inventory of 137Cs in soil; 3) vertical distribution of 137Cs in soil; 4) activity concentration of 137Cs in plants and fungi. In 1998, the value of the 137Cs inventory in the upper 20 cm of soil in the control part of the territory of the base and in the decontaminated plot was 930 kBq/m2 and 143 kBq/ m2, respectively. By 2015, the value of the 137Cs inventory in the control area and the decontaminated plot had significantly decreased: by 35% and 36%, respectively. A decrease in the dose rate of gamma radiation in the air at the decontaminated plot and control area proceeded at the same rate, which is currently mainly determined by the decay of 137Cs. There was a gradual self-restoration of the forest ecosystem at the plot subjected to decontamination. Activity concentration of 137Cs in biota (pine, edible mushrooms) in the treated plot was many times lower than that in the control part of the recreation base. In general, there was no significant secondary radioactive contamination of the decontaminated plot in the 24 years after the intervention.

Keywords

• chernobyl accident
• 137cs
• soil
• forest
• decontamination
• long-term stability
• secondary contamination