title: Resuspension and atmospheric transport of radionuclides due to wildfires near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 2015: An impact assessment.
abstract: In April and August 2015, two major fires in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) caused concerns about the secondary radioactive contamination that might have spread over Europe. The present paper assessed, for the first time, the impact of these fires over Europe. About 10.9 TBq of (137)Cs, 1.5 TBq of (90)Sr, 7.8 GBq of (238)Pu, 6.3 GBq of (239)Pu, 9.4 GBq of (240)Pu and 29.7 GBq of (241)Am were released from both fire events corresponding to a serious event. The more labile elements escaped easier from the CEZ, whereas the larger refractory particles were removed more efficiently from the atmosphere mainly affecting the CEZ and its vicinity. During the spring 2015 fires, about 93% of the labile and 97% of the refractory particles ended in Eastern European countries. Similarly, during the summer 2015 fires, about 75% of the labile and 59% of the refractory radionuclides were exported from the CEZ with the majority depositing in Belarus and Russia. Effective doses were above 1 mSv y(-1) in the CEZ, but much lower in the rest of Europe contributing an additional dose to the Eastern European population, which is far below a dose from a medical X-ray.
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Department of Atmospheric and Climate Research (ATMOS), Kjeller, Norway.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Evangeliou
authors.affiliation: National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zibtsev
authors.affiliation: National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Myroniuk
authors.affiliation: National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhurba
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Department of Atmospheric and Climate Research (ATMOS), Kjeller, Norway.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hamburger
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Department of Atmospheric and Climate Research (ATMOS), Kjeller, Norway.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stohl
authors.affiliation: CEA-UVSQ-CNRS UMR 8212, Institut Pierre et Simon Laplace, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), L'Orme des Merisiers, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Balkanski
authors.affiliation: King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Paugam
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Mousseau
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, CNRS UMR 8079, Université Paris-Sud, Bâtiment 362, F-91405 Orsay Cedex, France.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Møller
authors.affiliation: Deputy General Director of the State Enterprise "Chernobyl Special Kombinat", Chernobyl city, 6 Shkolna street, Ukraine.
authors.forename: S I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Kireev
mesh_terms: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D047852:Chernobyl Nuclear Accident; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006801:Humans; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D012426:Russia; D000075923:Wildfires
chemical_list: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D011868:Radioisotopes