Returning radioactively contaminated territories to normal life: current problems and ways for solution (35 years after the Chernobyl NPP accident)

Relevance. 35 years after the Chernobyl NPP accident, 1.974 settlements remain in the radioactively contaminated areas of the Russian Federation (above 37 kBq/m² for ¹³⁷Cs). 90.9 % of these settlements are located in four regions: Bryansk, Kaluga, Tula, Orel. In 137 settlements located in the southwestern districts of the Bryansk region, the average annual exposure doses of residents exceed 1 mSv. This requires measures for their further recovery and return to normal life without radiation-related restrictions.
Intention. Generalize data on changes in the radiation and socio-economic situation in radioactively contaminated territories as a result of the Chernobyl accident over the past five years and analyze the remaining problems of returning the population to normal living conditions and economic activities.
Methodology. Results of monitoring of the Chernobyl accident affected territories performed by departmental scientific organizations of Emercom, the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor), the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), Ministry of Agriculture, Federal Forestry Agency (Rosleskhoz) were retrospectively analyzed.
Results and Discussion. In 98.5 % of settlements with average annual exposure doses above 1 mSv, the internal exposure prevails, mainly due to radionuclides from natural food. Weighted average ¹³⁷Cs contamination density in the southwestern districts of the Bryansk region decreases as follows: forests > agricultural lands > settlements. Deterioration of demographic indicators in the most radioactively contaminated districts was noted.
Conclusion. The need is shown for an integrated approach to return radioactively contaminated territories back to normal via ensuring both the radiation safety of the population and improving the socio-economic conditions in the regions affected by the Chernobyl accident.

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