12. Chernobyl's radioactive contamination of food and people. 2009

Alexey V Nesterenko, and Vassily B Nesterenko, and Alexey V Yablokov
Institute of Radiation Safety (BELRAD), 2-nd Marusinsky St. 27, Minsk 220053, Belarus. anester@mail.ru

In many European countries levels of I-131, Cs-134/137, Sr-90, and other radionuclides in milk, dairy products, vegetables, grains, meat, and fish increased drastically (sometimes as much as 1,000-fold) immediately after the catastrophe. Up until 1991 the United States imported food products with measurable amounts of Chernobyl radioactive contamination, mostly from Turkey, Italy, Austria, West Germany, Greece, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Sweden, and Denmark. These products included juices, cheeses, pasta, mushrooms, hazelnuts, sage, figs, tea, thyme, juniper, caraway seeds, and apricots. In Gomel, Mogilev, and Brest provinces in Belarus 7-8% of milk and 13-16% of other food products from small farms exceeded permissible levels of Cs-137, even as recently as 2005-2007. As of 2000, up to 90% of the wild berries and mushrooms exceeded permissible levels of Cs-137 in Rovno and Zhytomir provinces, Ukraine. Owing to weight and metabolic differences, a child's radiation exposure is 3-5 times higher than that of an adult on the same diet. From 1995 to 2007, up to 90% of the children from heavily contaminated territories of Belarus had levels of Cs-137 accumulation higher than 15-20 Bq/kg, with maximum levels of up to 7,300 Bq/kg in Narovlya District, Gomel Province. Average levels of incorporated Cs-137 and Sr-90 in the heavily contaminated territories of Belarus, Ukraine, and European Russia did not decline, but rather increased from 1991 to 2005. Given that more than 90% of the current radiation fallout is due to Cs-137, with a half-life of about 30 years, we know that the contaminated areas will be dangerously radioactive for roughly the next three centuries.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D011829 Radiation Dosage The amount of radiation energy that is deposited in a unit mass of material, such as tissues of plants or animal. In RADIOTHERAPY, radiation dosage is expressed in gray units (Gy). In RADIOLOGIC HEALTH, the dosage is expressed by the product of absorbed dose (Gy) and quality factor (a function of linear energy transfer), and is called radiation dose equivalent in sievert units (Sv). Sievert Units,Dosage, Radiation,Gray Units,Gy Radiation,Sv Radiation Dose Equivalent,Dosages, Radiation,Radiation Dosages,Units, Gray,Units, Sievert
D011834 Radiation Monitoring The observation, either continuously or at intervals, of the levels of radiation in a given area, generally for the purpose of assuring that they have not exceeded prescribed amounts or, in case of radiation already present in the area, assuring that the levels have returned to those meeting acceptable safety standards. Monitoring, Radiation
D005507 Food Contamination, Radioactive Exposure of FOOD to radioactive substances, distinguishable from FOOD IRRADIATION, a food preservation technique. Contamination, Radioactive Food,Radioactive Food Contamination
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D014915 Whole-Body Counting Measurement of radioactivity in the entire human body. Whole Body Counter,Whole-Body Counters,Body Counter, Whole,Body Counters, Whole,Counter, Whole Body,Counter, Whole-Body,Counters, Whole Body,Counters, Whole-Body,Counting, Whole-Body,Whole Body Counters,Whole Body Counting,Whole-Body Counter
D047852 Chernobyl Nuclear Accident April 25th -26th, 1986 nuclear power accident that occurred at Chernobyl in the former USSR (Ukraine) located 80 miles north of Kiev. Chornobyl Nuclear Accident,Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, Chornobyl, Ukraine, 1986,Chornobyl Nuclear Disaster,Accident, Chernobyl Nuclear,Accident, Chornobyl Nuclear,Accidents, Chernobyl Nuclear,Accidents, Chornobyl Nuclear,Chernobyl Nuclear Accidents,Chornobyl Nuclear Accidents,Chornobyl Nuclear Disasters,Disaster, Chornobyl Nuclear,Disasters, Chornobyl Nuclear,Nuclear Accident, Chernobyl,Nuclear Accident, Chornobyl,Nuclear Accidents, Chernobyl,Nuclear Accidents, Chornobyl,Nuclear Disaster, Chornobyl,Nuclear Disasters, Chornobyl

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