Radioactivity in foodstuffs after the Chernobyl accident - 20 years research

Three republics of the former USSR – Belarus, Ukraine and Russia – became more contaminated following the Chernobyl accident. The subject of this paper is radioactivity assessment of the foodstuffs in Belarus and Russia, where more than 5000 food samples have been examined over more than the 20-year period after the Chernobyl accident. The methods used: beta– and gamma– spectrometry, radiochemical method. Over the whole surveillance period in Belarus, excluding 1986, when the surface contamination made a significant contribution to the product, 137 Cs and 90 Sr in agricultural foods, with few exceptions, was lower than the actual temporary permissible levels for that time. Real 90 Sr or 137 Cs content in the prime foodstuffs over the Russian territory are currently a small fraction of the established regulations, excepting areas of emergency contamination. Nevertheless, up to now, among the regions most contaminated due to the Chernobyl precipitations, there are ones, where permissible radionuclide contents are in excess for some foodstuffs.