IMPACT ANALYSIS OF THE RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION OF NON-TIMBER FOREST RESOURCES ON THE INTERNAL RADIATION OF LOCAL PEOPLE

UDC 614.876:630*8

  • Chernushevich Grigoriy Alekseevich − − Senior Lecturer, the Department of Occupational Safety. Belarusian State Technological University (13a, Sverdlova str., 220006, Minsk, Republic of Belarus). E-mail: gregory1946@rambler.ru

  • Azovskaya Natal’ya Olegovna − PhD (Agriculture), Senior Lecturer, the Department of Occupational Safety. Belarusian State Technological University (13a, Sverdlova str., 220006, Minsk, Republic of Belarus). E-mail: azovskaya_natasha@tut.by

  • Domnenkova Alesia Vladimirovna − PhD (Agriculture), Assistant Proffesor, the Department of Occupational Safety. Belarusian State Technological University (13a, Sverdlova str., 220006, Minsk, Republic of Belarus). E-mail: domnenkova@belstu.by

  • Kiselev Sergey Vladimirovich − PhD (Agriculture), Senior Lecturer, the Department of Occupational Safety. Belarusian State Technological University (13a, Sverdlova str., 220006, Minsk, Republic of Belarus). E-mail: kiselev@belstu.by

DOI: https://doi.org/10.52065/2519-402X-2021-246-38-298–305

Key words: berries, radionuclides, cesium-137, radiometer-dosimeter, specific activity.

For citation: Chernushevich G. A., Azovskaya N. O., Domnenkova A. V., Kiselev S. V. Impact analysis of the radioactive contamination of non-timber forest resources on the internal radiation of local people. Proceedings of BSTU, issue 1, Forestry. Nature Management. Processing of Renewable resources, 2021, no. 2 (246), pp. 298–305 (In Russian).DOI: https://doi.org/10.52065/2519-402X-2021-246-38-298–305.

Abstract

The paper gives the review of some factors influencing the radiation exposure dose of Belarusian people dwelling in the radioactively contaminated areas. Today, the proportion of Belarusian forest areas contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster has reduced from 23% to 16%, with 44 forestry enterprises being located in affected areas. It has been estimated that the radioactive contamination level will further decrease by 2046; the areas with more than 37 kBq/m2 (1Ci/km2 ) will amount to approximately 830 thousand ha. Thus, the larger proportion of national forests will still be within radioactive contamination zone. The level of the remaining radioactive contamination is still high and considerable areas of the Republic of Belarus are still contaminated. Therefore, a long-range estimation of the contamination of non-timber forest resources (food products) is a pressing issue as this has an immediate impact on the internal radiation of local people.

Biological resources of fruits and berries in Belarusian forests amount to 50 thousand t. The most commercially valuable berries are blueberries, cranberries, bog whortleberries, red bilberries. The average annual per capita consumption of berries ranges from 3 to 10 kg, which increases the internal radiation exposure dose by 0.3-0.6 m3 /year, the contamination density being 185 kBq/m2 . Studies show that food products of forest make only a minor proportion of the daily diet of rural population of Belarusian Polessye, so about 50% of the cesium-137 total activity enters the human body.

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22.03.2021