Skip to main content
DeutschDE
European Commission logo print header
Inhalt archiviert am 2022-12-23

Radioecological study of the Chernobyl Cooling Pond and options for remediation

Ziel

Nuclear reactor cooling and wastewater ponds can receive both routine and accidental discharges of radioactivity. Risk assessment of these discharges, and long-term remediation of contaminated ponds still presents scientific and technical problems worldwide. Often engineering solutions, such as the complete removal and disposal of contaminated sediments are prohibitively expensive. Increasingly, management of existing radioactivity within the pond system is being seen as a more realistic option than complete decontamination of the system.

Such ecosystem management, however, requires a strong scientific basis for
(a) risk assessment to humans and biota of long-term contamination of the system and;
(b) assessment of in situ methods of stabilising radioactivity within the system.

The purpose of the proposed project is to use the Cooling Pond of Chernobyl to significantly improve the scientific basis for cooling and wastewater pond management, in particular focusing on:

Degradation of fuel particles in aquatic systems. The existence of radioactive "hot" particles in contaminated environments cause difficulties in assessing risk because of the complexities of estimating bio-uptake rates. The behaviour of fuel particles in soils has been investigated in several studies. There is however, almost no data available on the behaviour of fuel particles in the bottom sediments of aquatic systems. In the proposed study, unique retrospective data on fuel particle distributions in the Cooling Pond will be combined with new measurements in order to quantify rates of fuel particle dissolution.
Effects of radiation on aquatic biota. Many controlled laboratory studies have been carried out to determine radiation effects on mutation rates, fertility and physiology of biota at high exposure rates. Few studies, however, have been able to assess the effects of radiation on animal and plant life in its natural environment over long time scales of chronic exposure to (relatively) low doses. In the proposed study the body of work on effects on biota in the Chernobyl Cooling Pond will be reviewed. A novel comparative study of radiation effects on aquatic biota in the Cooling Pond and in a number of lakes of different radiation dose rate and dose composition will also be carried out. The Cooling Pond is not only contaminated with radionuclides, but also with a range of heavy metals. In the proposed project, the accumulation of radionuclides and metals in this unique multipollution context will also be studied.
Analysis of remediation options for a cooling pond system. Following the Chernobyl accident, the Cooling Pond was contaminated by a mixture of radionuclides in the form of "fuel particles" and as aerosol deposition. The large size of the Cooling Pond, 22 km2, means that it presents a very expensive remediation problem. During the next few years, the Ukrainian government will implement a management and remediation strategy for the Cooling Pond. Remediation options include a controlled reduction in surface water level of the cooling pond and stabilisation of exposed sediments. Such changes would have a major impact on the Cooling Pond ecology and on the transfers of radionuclides. In the proposed project, remediation options will be assessed for their impact on the Cooling Pond ecology and radioecology.
The outputs of this project will form a key element of the remediation plan for the Chernobyl Cooling Pond, and enhance the scientific basis for remediation of other cooling pond systems. The project results will also significantly improve understanding of hot particle behaviour in aquatic environments and of the effects of radiation on aquatic biota.

Programm/Programme

Thema/Themen

Aufforderung zur Vorschlagseinreichung

Data not available

Finanzierungsplan

Data not available

Koordinator

Natural Environment Research Council
EU-Beitrag
Keine Daten
Adresse
Winfrith Technology Centre
DT2 8ZD Dorchester
Vereinigtes Königreich

Auf der Karte ansehen
Gesamtkosten
Keine Daten

Beteiligte (6)

Diese Seite teilen

Herunterladen

Letzte Aktualisierung: 30 Oktober 2002

Mein Booklet

Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/INTAS-2001-00556/de

European Union, 2024