Ensuring Environmental Stability in the Presence of Radioactive Impact: Features and Considerations

The development of nuclear energy by humanity in the second half of the twentieth century led to artificial radioactive contamination of the environment, particularly on a global scale, due to the testing of nuclear weapons. Hundreds of nuclear explosions in the atmosphere occurred between 1945 and 1981 (the majority before 1963), creating an overall elevated (compared to natural) radiation background on Earth, primarily in the northern hemisphere, with a maximum within the range of 40–50° northern latitude. This radiation decreases both towards the north and towards the equator. According to existing estimates, 949 PBq137Cs, 578 PBq 90Sr, and 555 PBq131I were released into the atmosphere [1]. The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster in Ukraine is the most severe technogenic catastrophe in the history of humanity. Approximately 3% of the radionuclides, which were accumulated in the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant at the time of the catastrophe, were released into the environment, amounting to over 300 megacuries or 1.3 × 1019 becquerels of radionuclides [1, 2]. This led to the contamination of more than 145 thousand square kilometers of Ukrainian and other countries’ territory. As a result of the Chernobyl disaster, nearly 5 million people were affected, with around 5 thousand settlements contaminated by radioactive nuclides. In Ukraine alone, 2293 towns and cities with a population of approximately 2.6 million people were affected. The Chernobyl accident caused unprecedented radiation exposure to the population of many countries. As a result of the accident at the 4th block of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, barriers and safety systems protecting the environment from radionuclides contained in the irradiated fuel were destroyed. The release of activity from the damaged reactor at levels of tens of millions of Curies per day continued for 10 days, from April 26 to May 6 [3], after which it decreased by thousands of times. The article analyzes the current state of environmental safety in areas affected by radioactive contamination; it investigates the work of Ukrainian scientists on the ecological consequences of the Chernobyl disaster and proposes rational approaches to the maintenance and use of lands contaminated with radionuclides.