Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Speciation and Bioavailability Measurements of Environmental Plutonium Using Diffusion in Thin Films
Published on: November 9, 2015
Chernobyl radionuclide distribution, migration, and environmental and agricultural impacts
R M Alexakhin1, N I Sanzharova, S V Fesenko
1Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, Obninsk, Kaluga Region, 249032, Russia. alexakhin@riar.obninsk.or
Abstract:
The distribution and migration of radionuclides released into the environment following the Chernobyl accident in 1986 are described. The Chernobyl disaster resulted in the consumption of farm products containing radionuclides as a source of irradiation of the population due to the prevalence of a rural type of human nutrition in the affected region. Economic and radiologic importance of countermeasures for reducing the impacts of the accident are described. The basic radioecological problem is described in which the area where direct radiation contamination of biota was observed is considerably smaller than the zone where concentrations of radionuclides through the food chain exceeded the permissible standards. The radiation-induced effects in biota in the affected area are described. In the long-term post-accident period, the radionuclide distribution between components of ecosystems (including humans) and doses are considered in comparison to a technologically normal situation of nuclear power plant operation. This analysis demonstrates that if radiation standards protect humans, then biota are also adequately protected against ionizing radiation.
Related Concept Videos
Biological Effects of Radiation
Nuclear Stability
To hold positively charged protons together in the...
Microbial Bioremediation of Uranium
Types of Toxins
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
Radioactive Decay and Radiometric Dating
Types of Radioactivity
Alpha (α) decay is the emission of an α particle from the nucleus. For example, polonium-210 undergoes α decay: