Chernobyl nuclear plant

Barium-140 (tl/2 = 12.8 d) released in the fire at the Chernobyl nuclear plant has been found in some agricultural products in the region. The biological half-life of barium-140 in the human body is 65 d. What is the effective half-life (see Exercise 17.55) of barium-140 ... 

Eisler, R. 1995. Ecological and toxicological aspects of the partial meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear plant reactor. Pages 549-564 in D.J. Hoffman, B.A. Rattner, G.A. Burton, Jr., and A.J. Cairns, Jr. (eds.). Handbook of Ecotoxicology. Lewis Publ., Boca Raton, FL. 

Ukraine s Chernobyl Nuclear Plant, wearing protective clothing, from International Mobile Radiological Laboratories, near Chernobyl, Ukraine, photograph. Reuters NewsMedia Inc./Corbis. Reproduced by permission p. 60 Radon test kit and carbon monoxide detector, photograph by Robert J. Huffman. 

There are various sources of radiocesium in the environment. The input from atmospheric weapons testing in the mid-twentieth century leads to the most widespread and homogeneous contamination of soil and water. The accumulated contribution of Cs in Europe from this source is estimated to be about 1000 Bq m 2. The fairly uniform deposition of Cs from fallout followuig the nuclear weapons testing has led to the widespread use of this isotope as a tracer of erosion (Ritchie and McHenry, 1990 Agudo, 1998). The accident that occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in April 1986 led to more localized contamination. The events that led to this accident and the consequences have been widely... 

Both human and mechanical errors led to overheating of the reaction chamber at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the former Soviet Union in 1986. Water used to cool the chamber decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen gas, which exploded and blew the roof off the building that housed the reactor. A large amount of radioactive debris was released and traveled as far away as Scandinavia and England. Even now, almost 1000 square miles around the plant are considered too radioactive for permanent habitation. 

These radiologists are measuring radioactivity levels in the soil near the Chernobyl nuclear plant, Ukraine. 

The former head of the Chernobyl nuclear plant power station, and two aides, were sentenced today to 10 years in a labour camp, the maximmn term they faced for their part in the world s worst nuclear accident. 

Studies of catastrophic accidents, such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, the Chernobyl nuclear plant explosion in the Soviet Union, the Bhopal gas spill in India, and the incident of the Hubbell Telescope s misguided mirror, reveal a pattern of subordinating safety and quality to costs. Neither the standards for basic safety nor those for the particular industry were met in these cases. Questions for leaders concerning safety standards include those listed here ... 

The Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident entered into force in September 1986 (IAEA, 1987) following the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident. This Convention establishes a notification system for nuclear accidents, which have the potential for transboundary release that could be of radiological safety significance for another state. It requires states to report the accident s time, location, radiation releases, and other data essential for assessing the situation. 

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