CHERNOBYL

Chernobyl

Chernobyl

During the last two decades, the contaminated ecosystems of the areas surrounding the nuclear power plant have been studied extensively. The severity of radionuclide contamination of a particular territory or town depends mostly on the radionuclide composition of fallout received and meteorological conditions, specifically those that affected movement of radioactive plumes. The most widely used indicator of contamination in environmental conditions is the degree of radioactive Cs-137. In Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, an area is considered contaminated if the indicator exceeds 1 cu/km 2. Based on this definition, 16,791 miles 2 in Belarus, 35,898 miles 2 in Russia, and 14,513.6 miles ...