Radioactivity of Aquatic Biota in Water Bodies Impacted with the Chernobyl-Derived Radionuclides

Abstract

This chapter describes the dynamical behavior of radioactive contamination of aquatic biota in water bodies heavily impacted with the Chernobyl fallouts (Chernobyl Cooling pond, Dnieper river system, and Lake Kozhanovskoe). Specific characteristics of the radioecological situation in aquatic ecosystems are demonstrated for different time periods following the Chernobyl accident: early stage (within 1 year), intermediate stage (up to 5 years), and distant period (over 10 years). Special attention is given to dynamical processes of radionuclide distribution in age-structured fish populations and also transfers through food chains from nonpredatory to predatory fish. We present a modeling approach (ECOMOD methodology) and the results of modeling the dynamic processes of radionuclide migration in fish populations in the Chernobyl Cooling pond and Lake Kozhanovskoe.