Impact of radioactive contamination zones regime on municipalities (case of Bryansk oblast)

Abstract

The article is devoted to assessing the possible impact of the establishment of a regime of emergency zones (environmental disaster or pollution, including radioactive) on the socio-economic situation at the level of municipalities. The Bryansk oblast was chosen as a testing ground, which is characterized mainly by forestry and agricultural specialization, long-term stability of the administrative-territorial division and the fact of radioactive contamination of the territory as a result of the radiation accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. To exclude the influence of crisis factors of the 1990s and 2008, the analysis of the socio-economic situation in municipalities is given in relative units compared to the average regional characteristics. Based on its results, a conclusion was made about the negative impact in the long term of the regimes of radioactive contamination zones on the state of economic activity of municipalities exposed to radioactive contamination. The main consequences of the regime of emergency zones for municipalities are manifested in negative demographic trends and the deterioration of the general economic condition. For the first time, a criterion has been proposed for lifting the regime of emergency zones for municipalities based on a composite index.