The assessment of the April 2020 chernobyl wildfires and their impact on Cs-137 levels in Belgium and The Netherlands

Pieter De Meutter; Christophe Gueibe; Jasper Tomas; Arnoud Apituley; Michel Bruggeman; Johan Camps; Peter den Outer; Andy Delcloo; Gert-Jan Knetsch; Lars Roobol; Leen Verheyen

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2021.106688

The assessment of the April 2020 chernobyl wildfires and their impact on Cs-137 levels in Belgium and The Netherlands

Pieter De Meutter, Christophe Gueibe, Jasper Tomas, Arnoud Apituley, Michel Bruggeman, Johan Camps, Peter den Outer, Andy Delcloo, Gert-Jan Knetsch, Lars Roobol, Leen Verheyen

Research output › peer-review

Abstract

In April 2020, several wildfires took place in and around the Chernobyl exclusion zone. These fires reintroduced radioactive particles deposited during the 1986 Chernobyl disaster into the atmosphere, causing concern about a possible radiation hazard. Several countries and several stations of the International Monitoring System measured increased 137Cs levels. This study presents the analyses made by RIVM and SCK CEN/RMI during the April 2020 wildfires. Furthermore, more in-depth research was performed after the wildfires. A statistical analysis of 137Cs detections is presented, comparing the April 2020 detections with historical detections. Inverse atmospheric transport modelling is applied to infer the total released 137Cs during the wildfires. Finally, it is assessed whether the 137Cs detections in Belgium and the Netherlands can be attributed to the wildfires.

Original language	English
Article number	106688
Number of pages	11
Journal	Journal of environmental radioactivity
Volume	237
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2021.106688
State	Published - 8 Jul 2021

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Cite this

De Meutter, P., Gueibe, C., Tomas, J., Apituley, A., Bruggeman, M., Camps, J., den Outer, P., Delcloo, A., Knetsch, G.-J., Roobol, L., & Verheyen, L. (2021). The assessment of the April 2020 chernobyl wildfires and their impact on Cs-137 levels in Belgium and The Netherlands. Journal of environmental radioactivity, 237, Article 106688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2021.106688

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abstract = "In April 2020, several wildfires took place in and around the Chernobyl exclusion zone. These fires reintroduced radioactive particles deposited during the 1986 Chernobyl disaster into the atmosphere, causing concern about a possible radiation hazard. Several countries and several stations of the International Monitoring System measured increased 137Cs levels. This study presents the analyses made by RIVM and SCK CEN/RMI during the April 2020 wildfires. Furthermore, more in-depth research was performed after the wildfires. A statistical analysis of 137Cs detections is presented, comparing the April 2020 detections with historical detections. Inverse atmospheric transport modelling is applied to infer the total released 137Cs during the wildfires. Finally, it is assessed whether the 137Cs detections in Belgium and the Netherlands can be attributed to the wildfires.",

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AU - De Meutter, Pieter

AU - Gueibe, Christophe

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AU - Apituley, Arnoud

AU - Bruggeman, Michel

AU - Camps, Johan

AU - den Outer, Peter

AU - Delcloo, Andy

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AU - Roobol, Lars

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AB - In April 2020, several wildfires took place in and around the Chernobyl exclusion zone. These fires reintroduced radioactive particles deposited during the 1986 Chernobyl disaster into the atmosphere, causing concern about a possible radiation hazard. Several countries and several stations of the International Monitoring System measured increased 137Cs levels. This study presents the analyses made by RIVM and SCK CEN/RMI during the April 2020 wildfires. Furthermore, more in-depth research was performed after the wildfires. A statistical analysis of 137Cs detections is presented, comparing the April 2020 detections with historical detections. Inverse atmospheric transport modelling is applied to infer the total released 137Cs during the wildfires. Finally, it is assessed whether the 137Cs detections in Belgium and the Netherlands can be attributed to the wildfires.

KW - Chernobyl wildfires

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KW - ATM

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