Wr. Schell et al., MODEL-DIRECTED SAMPLING IN CHERNOBYL FORESTS - GENERAL METHODOLOGY AND 1994 SAMPLING PROGRAM, Science of the total environment, 180(3), 1996, pp. 229-240
Radiologically-contaminated forest and natural ecosystems contribute s
ignificantly to the human radiation dose in the intermediate (several
years) and long (several decades) terms following the radionuclide rel
ease, As a result of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 198
6, extensive forested areas in Europe were significantly contaminated
with cesium, strontium, plutonium and other radionuclides, This study
develops a dynamic model that describes the pathways of radionuclides
which undergo complex transfer processes in forests and natural ecosys
tems. This generic model, FORESTPATH, calculates time-dependent radion
uclide concentrations in forest compartments based on the information
available on residence half-times, Because of the high complexity, tra
ditional sampling programs often provide only limited and fragmented i
nformation for the ecosystem to be modeled. A model-directed sampling
program was initiated which implies close feedback between ecosystem s
ampling and modeling of the radionuclide pathways using the FORESTPATH
model, This program is now being applied by an international team of
USA, European Union (EU) and Newly Independent States (NIS) members in
the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) Exclusion Zone.