Assessing potential secondary effects of countermeasures in agricultural systems: a review

Secondary effects are defined as any positive or negative impacts resulting from the application of countermeasures other than radiological benefits o r direct costs. They are categorised into environmental, radioecological, e conomic and social effects.. Impacts on the environment may include changes in water, air and soil pollution or in the conservation and amenity value of an area. Radioecological effects occur when the countermeasure unintenti onally alters the behaviour of the target radionuclide or any other radionu clide present. Economic effects may range from changes in agricultural inco me to environmental costs (e.g. impact of soil erosion on fisheries). Socia l effects relate to the acceptability of countermeasures, for example in te rms of consumer confidence and animal welfare. Recent research into the ide ntification and assessment of secondary effects is summarised. Non-quantita tive and quantitative approaches are explained and formal evaluation proced ures involving decision matrices and decision support systems are introduce d. Examples of recent experimental and modelling work focusing on radiocaes ium are given for the following countermeasures: soil application of potass ium, administration of AFCF to livestock and ploughing techniques. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.