Agricultural countermeasures following deposition of radioactivity after a nuclear accident

Abstract

Contamination of food products reaching the consumer may be a serious problem following an accident in which radioactive contamination is deposited in the agricultural environment. A wide variety of measures is available to reduce or prevent the transfer of radionuclides through the food-chain and hence reduce the radiation dose to the consumer. Intervention is possible at any step in the chain between contaminated soil and the final food consumed by the population; possible methods include physical and chemical treatments, for example of soil or animal feed, and changes in agricultural practice, ranging from the minor to the very disruptive. This paper reviews both the theory and practice of applying agricultural countermeasures. The basic principles of radiological protection apply to the decision as to which, if any, measure should be used, just as they do to other forms of intervention. The application of these principles to agricultural countermeasures is discussed and the underlying scientific basis of the different forms of countermeasure described. Experience of these measures under laboratory and field conditions is reviewed and the practicability of individual techniques on a large scale is considered.