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Risks from radionuclide migration to groundwater in the Chernobyl 30-km zone

D A Bugai¹, R D Waters, S P Dzhepo

¹Institute of Geological Sciences, Kiev, Ukraine.

|July 1, 1996

Summary

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Groundwater remediation in the Chernobyl 30-km zone is not supported by current health risks. Radionuclide migration via groundwater poses a minimal threat compared to surface contamination, suggesting remediation efforts should be reconsidered.

Area of Science:

Environmental Science
Radiological Health
Risk Assessment

Background:

Groundwater remediation in the Chernobyl 30-km zone is a stated priority.
Previous assessments have not fully compared groundwater risks with surface contamination risks.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the health risk basis for Chernobyl groundwater remediation.
To compare on-site and off-site health risks from groundwater radionuclide migration versus surface contamination.

Main Methods:

Developed a simple analytical model for radionuclide transport from soil to groundwater.
Evaluated Strontium-90 (90Sr) as the primary groundwater contaminant.
Compared estimated health risks from groundwater and surface exposure pathways.

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Main Results:

Health risks for residents in the 30-km zone are dominated by Cesium-137 (137Cs) from surface contamination.
Risks from contaminated groundwater are approximately one order of magnitude lower than surface risks.
Off-site risks from groundwater migration are marginal and below counter-measure thresholds.

Conclusions:

There is little current or future health risk basis for complex and costly groundwater remediation in the Chernobyl 30-km zone.
Groundwater remediation activities in this area should be abandoned.
Resources should be redirected to address more pressing health issues stemming from the Chernobyl accident.