Chernobyl: Science, Myths and the Media

Fate of 137Cs and other radionuclides in rivers and lakes

Prof. Jim Smith University of Portsmouth …. and many collaborators ! From Astrophysics to Ecology Mechanistic model of the Solar System

Radioactive pollution of lakes Aquatic food webs Cs co nce ntra tion in pla nts

Bi oup take pl ants Ex cre tion pla nts Age o f pla nt Bi oma gni fica tion fac tor for plan ts Epi te mp Fi sh weig ht Cs co nce ntra tion in fish Bi olog ica l ha lflif e Bi oup take de lay fac tor St ead y st ate

K con cen trat ion

Bi oup take fis h Fi sh weig ht Ex cre tion fis h K mod

bi oav ail c on c

Aut pr od m od era tor Susp mat ter Disso lved co nc Bi oma gni fica tion fac tor Al l pro d m od erat or ha bita t To talP

Fa cto r for se dim ents Partic ulat e p has e Di sso lved fra ctio n Bi oma gni fica tion fac tor Decay rat e fo r Cs

Outflo w ar eas Cs in ET La ke Kd Cs in A Volum e To tal Cs i n water

K con cen trat ion

La ke area Fo rm fact or Age o f ET se dim ents

Di rect fall out

Decay fro m OA ~ Adv to water Reten tion rat e in lak e water Fa llou t of Cs Cs in OA

Cs in lake water

Depos itio n o n OA

In put from OA La ke outf low Di sso lved fra ctio n Di ffus ion Di strib utio n c oef f Rel de pth Outflo w ar eas Catch men t a rea Fr om IA to OA M ean dep th Decay rat e fo r Cs Cs in IA Sed ET Sed ra te o f Cs Sed A La ke pH

Cs in ET Cs in A

Depos itio n o n IA In put from IA Gross sed ra te To talP

Soil p erm eab ility fac tor Decay fro m ET BET

Defau lt ru nof f rat e

M odif ied run off r ate Fo rm fact or Decay fro m I A Adv to A Defau lt fa ll v eloc ity for Cs

Precip itat ion To pa ssiv e s edi men ts Susp mat ter Dynam ic rati o

Di ffus ion rate M onth of fall out

Fo rm fact or Age o f ac tive se dim ent s

Hypo tem p Age o f ET se dim ents

Seaso nal mo der ator for Q Dcrit

La titu de Precip itat ion BET

DTA E and T b otto m a rea s Fo rm fact or ~ Al titud e ~ Seas norm Qmax Seas norm Qmin

Catch men t a rea ~ Volum e La ke area M ax d ept h ~ M ean dep th Seas norm L atm ax Seas norm L atm in

M ean ann ua l Q ~ ~ M ax d ept h ~ Rel de pth Emp m ea n a nnu al Q Seas norm Altma x Seas norm Altmi n Emp wate r Dynam ic rati o Depth of a cti ve s ed Lake model; La ke area

Epi ar ea Fo rm fact or Age o f ac tive se dim ent s

Ac tive vo l Bi otur bati on fact or Lars Hakansson, Epi vo l M ean dep th

Gross sed ra te EpiT t o Hypo T University of Uppsala Volum e

Epilim nic tem p Ac tive vo l Epi te mp Epi de pth M onth ly wate r di sch arg e

Water dis cha rge

Hypo Reten tion rat e in lak e water La titu de Hypol imn ic t emp Hypo tem p Seaso nal mo der ator for Q Th eor etic al wate r ret tim e La ke area

Al titud e Hyp

M ean ann ua l tem p Volum e

Lo ngi tude Seaso nal va riab ility in epit emp ~ Seaso nal va riab ility no rm f or te mp

Dynam ic rati o St ratif icat ion lim it Interaction of Cs-137 with lake sediments Lake water

Burial of sediment Cs+

Aqueous Solid phases C     C   e  D  e   rC  k C  k sC  C  o  e  e  f e b i e t x  x   sK d (x)  

C (rsC ) s i   i  k sC  k C  sC t x b i f e i (Smith & Comans, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta,1996) Fish sub-

Fish sub-model model Steady state Biouptake (SS) WF delay factor Epi temperature (BUD) (MMET)

Conc in fish Biological Fish weight halfilfe (BHL) (WF) K conc CF (CK) K moderator (Y K)

Biouptake in Fish fish (F IF) excretion (FFO) BMF Conc in diss Biomagnification Feed factor (BMF) Susp part phase habit Aut matter (Cdiss) (HA) prod conc Conc in TP conc part phase (CTP) moderator (SPM) Physical decay rate (YAU) (CparT) (Rd)

Part MA MET coeff Tot conc in Lake (Kd) water (C wa) volume All prod (Vol) Amount in Amount in Outflow areas moderator A-sediments ET-sediments (OA) (YAL) Diss fraction (Ddiss)

= Distribution coefficient = Driving variables Caesium- potassium model Caesium-potassium model from measurements in lakes pre-Chernobyl

Vanderploeg et al. 1975 Lesson 1: The old literature and empirical data from the nuclear weapons test period are very important Fish sub-

Fish sub-model model Steady state Biouptake (SS) WF delay factor Epi temperature (BUD) (MMET)

Conc in fish Biological Fish weight halfilfe (BHL) (WF) K conc CF (CK) K moderator (Y K)

Part MA MET coeff Tot conc in Lake (Kd) water (C wa) volume All prod (Vol) Amount in Amount in Outflow areas moderator A-sediments ET-sediments (OA) (YAL) Diss fraction (Ddiss)

= Distribution coefficient = Driving variables New Model:

Water

kf kb

Fish Lesson 2: Simple models often make better predictions than complex ones.

Smith, J.T. “Nice work, but is it Science ?” Nature, 408 (2000); p. 293. Models should be as simple as possible… …. But no simpler ! (Albert Einstein)

Size/trophic level/age effect

Radiocaesium in fish in the Kiev Reservoir (Sansone and Voitsekhovitch, 1996) Developing a model for European lakes and rivers

 There are more than 500,000 lakes in Europe  Even more rivers and streams…

Lesson 3: Need to find general parameters which we can use to make predictions

…. AQUASCOPE model

Analysis of data from nuclear weapons testing and Chernobyl

2500

2000

1500

1000

500 Radiocaesium fallout (Bq/sqm) fallout Radiocaesium

Year AQUASCOPE Model

Deposition to water surface

Radionuclide Radionuclide inflow Lake/River outflow

Radionuclide sedimentation Fish

“Blind” predictions of radionuclides in rivers and lakes: Conceptual model of time changes in radiocaesium

Soil

 ~ years

Soil water Soil water

 < months  ~ weeks

Rivers/lakes Crops/vegetation

 ~ months  < days  ~ weeks

Fish Milk Meat

137

2+ + + + Ca Sorption of Cs to K K Cs soils/sediments • After a radioactive fallout, sorption of 137Cs to soils increases over time, a process known as “fixation”:

Aqueous Exchangeable “Fixed”

Rapid kinetics Slow forward and reverse reactions. • Reduction of 137Cs concentration in soil water reduces transfers to rivers and lakes and uptake in vegetation.

Cremers et al (1988); Comans et al. (1989); Smith & Comans (1996) “Fixation” of radiocaesium to soil

10000 Vegetation, n = 30 10 Rivers & Lakes, n = 23 9 Milk, n = 24 Milk, Austria 1000 8 (mBq/l) 7 Upland grass, UK (Bq/kg) 6 100 River Dnieper, 5

Ukraine (mBq/l) 4 Frequency 10 Cogra Moss Lake, 3 UK (mBq/l) 2 1

Cs-137 activity concentration activity Cs-137 1 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0.5 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5 Years since Chernobyl Half-life (years)

Smith, et al. (1999) Environmental Science & Technology, 33, 49-54. Other processes leading to declines….

 As well as fixation and decay:

 Slow migration to deeper soil layers by diffusion and bioturbation;  Slow removal by runoff in dissolved and particulate phase of river water. Slow vertical migration in unmixed soils

137Cs in soil 4-6 years after Chernobyl

% of total deposit per cm depth interval 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0

8 Depth (cm) Depth 10

12 Grassland soil, Veprin, 1992 Grassland soil, Germany, 1990 14 Devoke Water peat bog, 1992 Changes over a longer timescale..

First few weeks More than 4-7 years Fast processes of Up to 4-7 years Slow desorption, vertical sorption, vertical “Fixation” migration, erosion migration, biological uptake Fish, UK Bq/kg Fish, Norway Bq/kg 10000 Vegetation Bq/kg Water mBq/l

1000

100

Csactivityconcentration

137 1 1986 1990 1994 1998 Date Smith, J.T. et al. (2000) Chernobyl’s legacy in food and water. Nature, 405. Runoff from catchments Cs-137 in rivers contaminated by Chernobyl

퐶표푛푐푒푛푡푟푎푡𝑖표푛 𝑖푛 푤푎푡푒푟 (퐵푞 푚3) 푅푢푛표푓푓 푐표푒푓푓𝑖푐𝑖푒푛푡 = 퐹푎푙푙표푢푡 푑푒푛푠𝑖푡푦 (퐵푞 푚2)

Chernobyl Caesium-137 in Rivers - dissolved phase

Kymijoki

0.1 1 - Kokemaenjoki Oulujoki 0.01 Kemijoki Tornionjoki

Cs in water m water in Cs Dora Baltea

137 0.001 Dnieper Sozh Iput 0.0001 Besed

Normalised Normalised Pripyat (Mozyr) Danube 0.00001 0 5 10 15 Temporal model Time since Chernobyl (yrs) Analyses for 23 catchments

Radionuclide runoff: Physical Characteristics: •Size • Percentage Transfer (%) •Mean Slope •Annual Precipitation • Runoff Coefficient (R) •Land Cover Classification • Effective Ecological Half- •Soil Texture Life (Teff) •Compound Topographic Index •Carbon Content Results

Summary of MeanCarbon

Wetness(Cti)

Soil Wetness:Soil

Carbon% >

Precipitation

% of %Inland AverageSoil

% >13% (Cti)

MeanSlope

% of %Sand

% of %Clay

MeanSoil

(mmy

Content the Texture

Water

soils

Soil

( correlations. 17



)

: >99%

: >95% % Transfer

: >90%    Effective 90Sr, NWT : <90% Half-Life RunOff

Coefficient      % Transfer

    137Cs, Effective

Chernobyl Half-Life RunOff

Coefficient    

 High dissolved phase 137Cs runoff is associated with high organic matter in catchment soils;

 So-called “Closed” lakes (shallow, slow water inflow/outflow) have high long term radiocaesium;

 High uptake to fish in systems with low potassium in the water. AQUASCOPE Model for rivers, open lakes and closed lakes

Blind Predictions

Smith et al. (2005) Health Physics 89, 628-644. Sr-90 in Lake Uruskul, Siberia

Predicted Sr-90 in lake water

100000000

10000000

-3 1000000

Sr Bq m 100000

10000

1000 0 10 20 30 40 Time (years) 100000 Dnieper

-3 10000 Predicted Measured 1000

100

Сs (dissolved) m Bq (dissolved) Сs

137 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Time after the accident (y)

1000000 Besed Predicted

-3 100000 Measured 10000 1000 100 10

Сs (dissolved) m Bq (dissolved) Сs

137 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Time after the accident (y) Predicted Cs-137 in water Predicted Sr-90 in water 1.0E+08 Chernobyl 1000000 Cooling 1.0E+07

100000 3

Pond - 1.0E+06

3 - Predictions 10000

1.0E+05 137Cs m Bq 137Cs 90Sr Bq m 90Sr 1000 1.0E+04

100 1.0E+03 0 10 20 0 5 10 15 20 Time (years) Time (years)

Predicted Sr-90 in fish, Pike-Perch whole fish, wet weight. Bream 10000 Silver Carp Predicted Cs-137 in predatory fish Perch 1.0E+08 Roach 1.0E+07

1000

- 1 - 1.0E+06

100 1.0E+05 90Sr Bq kg 90Sr

137Cs kg Bq 137Cs 1.0E+04

10 1.0E+03 0 10 20 0 5 10 15 20 Time (years) Time (years) Cs-137 in Lake Vorsee, Germany after Chernobyl Model w ater

) Model, small fish

-1 100000 Model, large pred fish 10000 (pike) Water measurements

1000 Pike measurements Measurements, small 100

) ) and kg fish (Bq Cyprinidae

-1 10

0.1

Cs in water (Bq l in(Bq Cs water 0.01

137 0 5 10 15 20 25 Time (years) Data from Gregor Zibold, Eckehart Klemt (Fachhochscule Weingarten) Iitate lake water

Blind prediction of AQUASCOPE model – Iitate Lake Chaisan, K., Kameda, Y. (Chiba Inst Technol.), Smith J.T., unpubl. res. Cs-137 in European Rivers compared to Japanese

Smith J.T., et al. (2004) Env. Sci. and Technology, 38, 850-857. Ueda et al. (2013) J. Env. Radioactivity,118; 96-104 Long term effective half-life 8-12 years

Note: Measurements in Europe are dissolved phase, in Japan Jim Smith (Unpublished data) with total (dissolved+solid) Keiko Tagami, Shigeo Uchida, NIRS, Japan. K : 퐶표푛푐푒푛푡푟푎푡𝑖표푛 𝑖푛 푠표푙𝑖푑 푝ℎ푎푠푒 (퐵푞 푘푔) d 퐾 푙 = 푑 푘푔 퐶표푛푐푒푛푡푟푎푡𝑖표푛 𝑖푛 푑𝑖푠푠표푙푣푒푑 푝ℎ푎푠푒 (퐵푞 푙)

0.9 6 Kd = 10 K = 105 0.8 d

0.7 K = 104 0.6 d

0.5

p f 0.4 3 Data for Kd = 10 0.3 European lakes 0.2 from Smith and 0.1 Beresford (2005) 0

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0 1000.0 Fraction of radionuclide absorbed to particulates,to absorbed radionuclide of Fraction

Suspended particulate concentration, s mg l-1

Very high Kd in many soils and sediments in Japan ! (Konoplev, A., et al. J. Environmental Radioactivity 151 (2016): 568-578.) Summary

 Modelling the extensive data from the nuclear weapons test period and Chernobyl can help predict future contamination from the Fukushima accident  Activity concentrations in freshwater fish can remain high for decades, particularly in “closed” lakes with low potassium concentration of water.  Soils/sediments in Japan seem to have a high binding capacity for Cs (high Kd) Aquatic countermeasures

Fallout Freshwater dose pathways Catchment River Lake

Anti erosion measures, flood prevention.

Sedimentation, lake Groundwater liming, potassium treatment, food web Switching/blending manipulation. water supplies

Irrigation Drinking Freshwater water water biota

Water treatment, drinking water ban. Ban on fish consumption, provision of farmed fish, special preparation measures Dose to Smith, J.T., Voitsekhovitch, Man O. et al. A critical review of aquatic countermeasures J. Env Rad. 56, 11-32.

Figure 1. Freshwater dose pathway indicating potential intervention measures. Dashed lines indicate pathways of lower potential importance. Pripyat Dnieper

River Desna Kiev Reservoir Kiev

Kanev Res. Kremenchug Res. Fear of Privdenny contamination of the Buh Dnipropetrovsk River Pripyat-Dnieper reservoir system Kakhovka Res.

Odessa

Crimea Radionuclide levels (dissolved phase) in the River Pripyat at Chernobyl (Vakulovsky & Voitsekhovitch, 1990; Voitsekhovitch et al. 1991; Vakulovsky et al. 1994; Kryshev, 1995). RN Half- life Radionuclide concentration in water, Bq l-1 01/05/86 02/05/86 06/05/86 03/06/86 16/07/86 9/8/86 1987 Committed (mean) effective dose during 1st year (mSv) 137Cs 30.2 y 250 555 1591 22.2 7.4 1.8 0.57 (a) 134Cs 2.1 y 130 2891 8271 11.51 3.81 0.941 0.43 (a) 131I 8.1 d 2100 4440 814 33.3 < 0.82 2 4.2 (i) 90Sr 28 y 30 1.9 1.5 0.049 (c) 140Ba 12.8 d 1400 99Mo 3 d 670 103Ru 40 d 550 814 170 26 15 0.053 (i) 106Ru 365 d 183 3 271 3 57 3 8.7 3 5 3 0.29 (i) 144Ce 284 d 380 37 141Ce 33 d 400 89 14.8 95Zr 65 d 400 1554 167 11 37 95Nb 35 d 420 241Pu 13 y 33 4 0.6 4 0.072 (a) 239+240Pu 2.4×104 y 0.4 0.0074 0.0046 (a) 6.6×103 y 1. From 137Cs measurement and 134Cs/137Cs ratio ~ 0.52. 2. Assuming decline from 03/06/86 value by radioactive decay only. 3. From Ru-103 measurement and assuming Ru-103/Ru-106 ratio (~ 3) for Chernobyl fallout. 4. From Pu-239,240 measurement and Pu-241/Pu-239,240 ratio (~ 82) for Chernobyl fallout. Freshwater internal doses - minor compared to terrestrial

- Drinking water: dose very minor except in the first few weeks; - Freshwater fish/foodstuffs – activity concentrations/doses can be very high, but doses generally low (low consumption rates) except to critical groups (e.g. fishermen and their families); 4 8

Dam which cut contaminated bay from Pripyat River near ChNPP

Floating alternative water supply system near Kiev from Desna River Filtration dyke on Illya River Most of these actions were found to be inefficient because a significant part of the radionuclide activity was in dissolved forms and washed out from the catchment areas beyond of ChNPP zone. Most efficient were accepted - short term restriction on water use from contaminated sources Drinking water pathway – short term

 Switching/blending supplies is effective, but requires rapid response and an integrated network.  Groundwaters typically clean.

 Radioactivity removed at water treatment:  Removal efficiencies  Cs 56%; Ru 73%; Co 61%; I 17%.  Activated charcoal found to be effective

Smith, J. T., et al. "A critical review of measures to reduce radioactive doses from drinking water and consumption of freshwater foodstuffs." Journal of environmental radioactivity 56.1 (2001): 11-32. Countermeasure to mitigate secondary 50 contamination of Pripyat River with the groundwater Measures were taken to protect seepage groundwater from radionuclides from the shelter and from radioactive waste sites in the CEZ. These measures focused mainly on the construction of engineering and geochemical barriers around the local hot spots to reduce groundwater fluxes to the river network. Actions to stop precipitation from entering the shelter, and drainage of rainwater collected in the bottom rooms of the shelter, have also to be considered as preventive measures to reduce groundwater contamination around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant industrial site.

Groundwater residence times are long enough and shorter lived radionuclides such as I- 131 will be decayed long before they could reach drinking water. Only very small amounts of Cs-137 percolate from surface soils to groundwater

However, contamination of groundwater from buried radioactive waste could lead to significant doses in some circumstances

Bugai, DA., et al. "The cooling pond of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant: a groundwater remediation case history." Water resources research 33.4 (1997): 677-688. General View 51

1993

1999

Flood protective dam has been constructed Drinking water pathway – long term

• Sediment trapping dams were ineffective;

• Temporary increases in Sr-90 (from ~ 1Bq/l to 10 Bq/l during spring flooding of the Pripyat.

• Dam around the Pripyat floodplain was effective, but only implemented some years after the accident and only reduced relatively small peaks in 90Sr concentration during flooding – effectiveness in dose reduction (or not) is controversial. Drinking water pathway

• Levels of radioactivity in Kiev Reservoir water fell within one year to around 1 Bq/l or less. • This compares with – up to 6 Bq/l in some mineral waters; – 10-13 Bq/l in sea water. – Natural potassium-40 in some foodstuffs of 100-200 Bq/kg Drinking water pathway

• Public concern over drinking water supply was much greater than the real risk. Fish consumption pathway Fish consumption pathway

 I-131 in fish from the Kiev Reservoir  6000 Bq/kg (May 1986)  50 Bq/kg (end June 1986)  Cs-137 in fish:  Devoke Water, UK ~ 1000 Bq/kg in 1987  Lake Vorsee, Germany < 5000 Bq/kg, 1987  Lake Svyatoe, Belarus up to 100,000 Bq/kg, 1997  Kiev Reservoir, Ukraine ~ 1000 Bq/kg (1987), 500 Bq/kg (1993)  Sr-90 in fish  Much less significant than Cs-137 Cs-137 in Lake Vorsee, Germany

Model w ater

) Model, small fish

-1 100000 Model, large pred fish 10000 (pike) Water measurements

1000 Pike measurements Measurements, small 100

) ) and kg fish (Bq Cyprinidae

-1 10

0.1

Cs in water (Bq l in(Bq Cs water 0.01

137 0 5 10 15 20 25 Time (years)

Data from Gregor Zibold, Eckehart Klemt (Fachhochscule Weingarten) Fish consumption pathway

 Bans on sale/consumption of freshwater fish in parts of fSU, Scandinavia and Germany;  Guidelines on maximum recommended consumption rates may be appropriate;  Bans/recommendations may not be adhered to. Testing a countermeasure Caesium-potassium model from measurements in lakes pre-Chernobyl

Vanderploeg et al. 1975 Cs-137 in Perch

100000

) 1 - + -1 CF= 6460.[K ] Cs-137 in fish goes

10000 down as potassium goes up

1000 Can we use this to Concentration Factor (l kg (l Factor Concentration reduce Cs-137 in 100 fish ? 0.1 1 10 100 [K+] (mg l-1) “AQUACURE” project with Belarus Academy of Sciences

Result of 10 x increase in potassium in L. Svyatoe, Belarus

Smith, James T., et al. Science of the Total Environment 305.1 (2003): 217-227. Changes in water chemistry Countermeasure for Sr-90 ?

 A similar inverse relationship between 90Sr in fish and calcium concentration in water has been observed.

 Ca additions could work in the case of 90Sr contamination, but this has not been tested. Fish consumption pathway

 Disadvantages of chemical additions:

 Can be expensive;  Can influence the ecology of the water body;  Problems maintaining high K or Ca levels;  Countermeasure can increase radioactivity in the water. Fish consumption pathway

 Food preparation measures can be effective:

 For 90Sr contamination, eat only muscle tissue (~90% of 90Sr is in the bones and skin);

 Salting fish may significantly reduce 137Cs concentrations, but affects taste, nutritional value of the fish;

 May not be publically acceptable Fish consumption pathway

 Fish farms:

 137Cs is absorbed by the fish mainly via ingestion: farmed fish (eating clean food) relatively uncontaminated.  90Sr may also be absorbed via the gills.

Chemical additions could work well for fish farms but may not be necessary. Irrigation water pathway Irrigation water pathway

 For irrigated land contaminated by atmospheric fallout, irrigation will make little difference to concentrations in crops.

 Irrigation can affect “clean” land in the lower parts of a catchment. Irrigation water pathway

2.5

1.5 Irrigated rice, 1 Dnieper Basin

Sr concentration (Bq/Kg) concentration Sr 0.5

90 0 (Perepelyatnikov & 1986 1996 2006 2016 2026 2036 2046 2056 Prister, 1992) Date

Predicted concentration Observed concentration Range for 50% deviation of clearance constant Irrigation water pathway

 Surface irrigation likely to be less affected than spray since soils will immobilise a significant proportion of the radioactivity. Disadvantages of countermeasures

 Often very expensive – is the cost per Person-Sv justifiable ? E.g. if 10-20 psnSv = one averted fatal cancer, and a life is valued at $X Million, cost per psnSv ≤ $X M ÷10-20

 Dose to clean-up workers; waste generation

 Potential unintended consequences to humans (e.g. salting fish can reduce Cs, but excessive salt intake may outweigh health benefit). Also potential ecosystem damage from large scale measures. Lesson 4: Sometimes doing nothing (“Monitored Natural Attenuation”) can be the best option. Effects on aquatic organisms  Immediate effects:

 “Red” forest died & was cut down.

 Some cattle died (2nd generation “normal”) Some people still find big effects..

Anders Moller University of Paris “Poisoned Wilderness” Tim Mousseau, University of South Carolina BBC Nature website 27 July 2011 Barn Swallows at Chernobyl

Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica. Photo by sannse, North Devon, 14 May 2004

Moller et al. J. Animal Ecol. (2005) Barn Swallows at Chernobyl

“we drove along all public roads to visit Bobor villages and collective farms in areas Vesniane with high levels of radiation outside the exclusion zone near Chernobyl”

“While visits to areas with high levels of radiation is non-random, we see no reason why such a selection should be associated with farming practice, soil quality or abundance of insects, which “Control” site and are the main food for barn swallows”. other “Chernobyl” sites Moller et al. J. Animal Ecology, (2005) Bobor Village, 2007 Lesson 5: We have to look at the detail of studies before we accept their conclusions. Effects on aquatic systems or.. Does “Blinky” from The Simpsons live near Chernobyl?

Biodiversity of insects in 8 lakes

■ Lake area ■ Total hardness

■ Lake depth ■ Phosphate

■ Conductivity ■ 137Cs load

■ pH Increasing contamination → Diversity of fish species “Blinky” from Springfield Nuclear Power Plant Cooling Catfish from Pond the Chernobyl Cooling Pond NERC Radioactivity and the Environment Programme

Transfer – Exposure – Effects: Integrating the science to underpin radioactivity assessments for humans and wildlife Field experiments

Histology Expression of Liver Gonads genes Liver Gonads Comet assay Micronucleus Blood Blood smear Age Laboratory experiments Surface (um2) Eye distance (um)

- 1000 2.E+06 900 2.E+06 SEM 800 - 1.E+06 700 1.E+06 600 1.E+06 500

8.E+05 SEM 400 6.E+05 300 4.E+05 200 2.E+05 100

0.E+00 0 Embryo Embryo eye distance (um)+/

Embryo Embryo surface (um2)+/ Control D10 Control D10

Diameter (um) 1600

1400 SEM - 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0

Control D10 Embryo Embryo diameter (um)+/ The Biological Effects of Ionising Radiation on Crustaceans: Combining Lab and Field Studies

• This project aims to investigate the effects of ionising radiation on aquatic invertebrates across phenotypic and genetic endpoints

• Both laboratory and field studies (Chernobyl) are in progress to determine the effects of long term, environmentally relevant radiation doses on aquatic invertebrates

e.g. A comparison of fecundity (number and weight of broods) in Asellus aquaticus from lakes affected by the Chernobyl incident Risk and perception of risk Nature, April 7th, 2011

 Long term evacuation and contamination of foodstuffs  Potential social and psychological impacts Social and psychological impacts of Chernobyl

“The mental health impact of Chernobyl is the largest public health problem unleashed by the accident to date”

UN/WHO/IAEA Chernobyl Forum Report, 2006 Lesson 6:

• Dose is not the most important health factor !

• Most important health factor is the sense of control and empowerment in people

• Effort in education and communication needs to equal clean-up effort.

Grigory Mamonin, Forester