Biological consequences of radionuclides for the environment

Abstract

The review draws attention to the fact that man-made radionuclides enter the environment mainly in solid form. Information is briefly presented onthe factors that determine the further behavior of radioactive particles in ecosystems, radiation doses and biological consequences of radioactive environmental pollution. Thanks to human activities, natural radionuclides of the earth's crust can enter the atmosphere. When coal is burned at TPPs, in addition to carbon dioxide (a result of the greenhouse effect) and sulfur compounds (a result of acid rain), radon gas enters the atmosphere and emits soot (a product of carbon condensation in the absence of oxygen), which contains radionuclides of the thorium series.Scientists from different countries have repeatedly compared the radiation pollution of TPPs and NPPs. Long-term studies have proven that coal-fired thermal power plants emit many times more radioactive substances into the atmosphere than conventional nuclear power plants. However, historical experience also shows that this optimistic situation changed dramatically due to the massive releases of radioactive materials caused by accidents at nuclear power plants. In connection with the wide practical use of uranium and plutonium, the emission of these elements into the environment has become one of the main problems of modern radiation ecology. Systematization of a large amount of data during the entire post-accident period allowed the Commission to develop a fairly clear assessment. According to the Scientific Committee, there were cases of thyroid cancer in children exposed to radiation during the accident. Trends observed among this group of victims suggest that the number of cancer cases is likely to increase overthe next decade. Apart from the increased incidence of thyroid cancer among exposed children, there is no scientific evidence that increased overall cancer incidence or increased mortality is associated with radiation exposure. Leukemia is a cancer that occurs mainly after exposure due to its short incubation period (210 years), and the risk of leukemia may not be increased even among workers engaged in disaster recovery.