Population Dose Estimate Due to Aquatic Pathways

Abstract

This chapter presents dose estimates via contaminated water pathways for the population living near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and in the Dnieper River Basin. Water is the main pathway for transferring radionuclides from the heavily contaminated CEZ and catchments in the Dnieper River basin to less contaminated areas. The Dnieper River is the most important source of water in Ukraine. Its water is used by about 8 million people for drinking. More than 20 million people living in the Dnieper River Basin are exposed to its contaminated water through consumption of irrigated farm products and fish. The commercial fishing catch averages about 25,000 tons annually. Current annual releases of 137 Cs and 90 Sr from the contaminated floodplains and catchments to the Dnieper River reach 2 to 4 trillion and 10 to 20 trillion Bq, respectively. These values indicate the availability of radionuclides from heavily contaminated catchments to the cleaner Dnieper River downstream areas, as the water travels through the Dnieper cascade of reservoirs. Cesium137 in the river has mostly accumulated in the six reservoirs, whereas a soluble form (a majority) of 90 Sr has actually reached the Black Sea. Population dose estimates for the middle to lower Dnieper Basin are based on monitoring studies performed in the years following the Chernobyl accident.