Analysis of the dispersal and deposition of radionuclides from Chernobyl across Europe

Abstract

Following the accident at the Chernobyl 4 nuclear power reactor in the Ukraine, U. S. S. R., on 25 April 1986, computer models were used to analyse dispersal of the radioactive material across Europe according to the meteorological situation, and interpret the available radiological measurements. Subsequently, after Soviet scientists presented their accounts of the accident and its causes in Vienna in August 1986, and as further measurements became available from other countries, more detailed assessments were undertaken of the release pattern over the 10-day period after the initial explosions, and the resulting contamination outside the U. S. S. R.