Chernobyl Record: The Definitive History of the Chernobyl Catastrophe

420 Pages·2000·7.37 MB·English

by  R.F Mould

Chernobyl Record

Chernobyl Record
The Definitive History of the Chernobyl
Catastrophe
R F Mould
Institute of Physics Publishing
Bristol and Philadelphia
(cid:1)c IOP Publishing Ltd 2000
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
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mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission
of the publisher. Multiple copying is permitted in accordance with the terms
of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency under the terms of its
agreement with the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals.
BritishLibraryCataloguing-in-PublicationData
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 0 7503 0670 X hbk
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataareavailable
Publisher: Nicki Dennis
Production Editor: Simon Laurenson
Production Control: Sarah Plenty
Cover Design: Victoria Le Billon
Marketing Executive: Colin Fenton
Published by Institute of Physics Publishing, wholly owned by The Institute of
Physics, London
Institute of Physics Publishing, Dirac House, Temple Back, Bristol BS1 6BE,
UK
US Office: Institute of Physics Publishing, The Public Ledger Building, Suite
1035, 150 South Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
Typeset in TEX using the IOP Bookmaker Macros
Printed in the UK by J W Arrowsmith Ltd, Bristol
To
Maureen,
Fiona & Jane,
&
Imogen

Contents
List of Colour Plates xi
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xv
About the Author xvii
1 Radiation Doses and Effects 1
1.1 Radiation quantities and their units of measurement 1
1.2 Radiation effects 5
2 Nuclear Reactors 12
2.1 Chain reaction 12
2.2 Reactor operation 13
2.3 RBMK-1000 nuclear power units at Chernobyl 15
2.4 Measures to improve the safety of RBMK plants 25
3 Explosion 27
3.1 Eyewitness accounts 27
3.2 Causes of the accident 32
3.3 Countdown by seconds and minutes 33
3.4 Damage to the power plant 39
3.5 Extinguishing the fire 45
3.6 Initial reports of the accident 45
4 Radionuclide Releases 50
4.1 Release sequence and composition 51
4.2 Atmospheric transport 53
4.3 Releases and exposed population groups 53
4.4 Residual activity in the global environment after 70 years 55
4.5 Chernobyl deposition compared to background deposition 55
4.6 Comparison with Hiroshima and Nagasaki 57
4.7 Comparison with Three Mile Island 59
4.8 Comparison with nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere 60
vii
viii Contents
4.9 Comparison with the Techa river area 64
4.10 Comparison with Tokaimura 69
5 Early Medical Response and Follow-up of Patients with
Acute Radiation Syndrome 73
5.1 The first physician to arrive at the power plant after the
accident 73
5.2 Medical examinations 75
5.3 Iodine prophylaxis against thyroid cancer 77
5.4 Acute radiation syndrome initial diagnosis 79
5.5 Follow-up of patients with acute radiation syndrome 79
5.6 Transplantation of bone marrow and embryonic liver cells 90
5.7 Case histories 93
5.8 Medical centre in Chernobyl town 94
5.9 Liquidator certificates for benefit entitlements 95
6 Evacuation and Resettlement 103
6.1 Evacuation zones and populations 103
6.2 Pripyat 107
6.3 Evacuation of livestock 108
6.4 Resettlement 110
6.5 Returnees 111
6.6 Radiation phobia 113
7 Sarcophagus 118
7.1 Meteorological, geological and seismic conditions of the site 118
7.2 Cooling slab to prevent contamination of the ground water 119
7.3 Construction of the Sarcophagus 120
7.4 Status of the nuclear fuel 126
8 Nuclear Power Past and Future 134
8.1 Before Chernobyl 134
8.2 After Chernobyl 136
8.3 FutureoftheChernobylnuclearpowerstationincludingthe
Sarcophagus 143
8.4 Major radiation accidents 1945–99 147
9 Dose Measurement and Estimation Methods 153
9.1 Military personnel doses 153
9.2 Group dose and itinerary dose 155
9.3 Thyroid and whole-body dosimetry 155
9.4 Electronparamagneticresonancedosimetrywithtoothenamel158
9.5 Dosimetry based on chromosome aberrations 164
Contents ix
10 Population Doses 170
10.1 Natural and man-made background radiation 171
10.2 First year dose estimates in European countries other than
the USSR 174
10.3 CollectiveeffectivedosesforpopulationsinUkraine,Belarus
and Russia 175
11 Contamination in Farming, Milk, Wild Animals and Fish 181
11.1 Exposure pathway 181
11.2 Evaluation of dose from ingestion of food 183
11.3 131I contamination in milk 183
11.4 Contamination in wild animals and fish 184
11.5 Temporary permissible food contamination levels in USSR 187
11.6 International recommendations for intervention levels 190
12 Decontamination 193
12.1 Decontamination sequence for the NPP area 194
12.2 Turbine hall roof 194
12.3 Radioactive waste disposal 195
12.4 Forests 196
12.5 Monitoring and decontamination of transport 198
12.6 Work of the chemical forces 198
12.7 Major problems 199
12.8 Post-accident studies on decontamination strategies 199
13 Water Contamination 203
13.1 Countermeasures 203
13.2 Contamination levels 204
14 Ground Contamination 207
14.1 137Cs contamination 209
14.2 90Sr contamination 212
14.3 239Pu and 240Pu contamination 213
14.4 Exclusion zone area of the Ukraine 213
15 Psychological Illness 225
15.1 Liquidators 225
15.2 Residents in contaminated territories 227
15.3 Atomic bomb survivors 232
16 Other Non-Malignant Diseases and Conditions 235
16.1 Atomic bomb survivors 235
16.2 Brain damage in utero and mental retardation 237
16.3 Reproductive health patterns 238
16.4 Haematological diseases 241
x Contents
16.5 Thyroid diseases 243
16.6 Ocular disease 245
17 Cancer Risk Specification 249
17.1 Absolute risk 250
17.2 Relative risk and excess relative risk 250
17.3 Attributable fraction 251
17.4 Mortality ratio 251
17.5 Confidence interval and confidence limits 252
17.6 Prediction modelling 253
17.7 How does radiation cause cancer? 256
18 Cancer 260
18.1 Incidence and mortality 260
18.2 Thyroid cancer 262
18.3 Leukaemia and other cancers 278
19 The Legasov Testament 287
19.1 My duty is to tell about this... 289
19.2 Defenceless Victor—Margarita Legasov’s title of her remi-
niscences 303
20 Under the Star of Chernobyl 307
20.1 Origin of the names Polissya and Chernobyl 307
20.2 History 308
20.3 Culture 310
Glossary 322
References 332
Index 360