ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY LABORATORY |
RADIATION PROTECTION, RADIOECOLOGY, AEROSOL SCIENCE |
Research |
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INFO |
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This map is a rough reproduction of a draft produced by the Environment Institute of J.R.C. ISPRA by use of Greek data (1468 measurements provided by NES/NTUA and 462 measurements provided by ERL . The map is a part of the EU Atlas of Chernobyl pollution (EUR 16733). The ground contamination was determined not only by the integrated concentrations of artificial radionuclides in air, but also by the rainfalls during the presence of the "radioactive cloud". The heavy rainfalls in Western Macedonia and Thessalia during May 2 - 5, 1986 resulted in higher contamination of these regions as compared to Thrace, which is closer to Chernobyl. The map shows the estimated pattern of the radioactive cesium deposition. These values are derived by high-resolution gamma-spectrometry analysis of samples of undisturbed soil. Extended studies of the soil-to-plant transfer were undergone by the Soil Science Laboratory , Inst. of Biology, NCSR "Demokritos", with the participation of ERL. It was shown that the root uptake of cesium by various agricultural plants is minor and has negligible radiological consequences for the Greek population. |