Raising the awareness of the area’s inhabitants & teaching them how to protect themselves from radionuclides found in the environment and in agricultural products.

Since the early development of nuclear technology, it has been highly controversial, with among the key concerns the ecological impacts of nuclear accidents and radioactive waste disposal.

Land

Isotopes released during a meltdown or related event are typically dispersed into the atmosphere and then settle to the surface through natural occurrences and deposition. Isotopes settling in the topsoil layer can remain there for many years as a result of the half-life of said particles involved in nuclear events. Due to the long term detrimental effects on agriculture, farming and livestock, it carries further potential to affect human health and safety long after the actual event. In Chernobyl, the amount of focused radiation caused severe damage to plant reproduction, resulting in most plants being unable to reproduce for a minimum of three years. Many of these occurrences on land can be a result of the distribution of isotopes through water systems.
Water

Due to the violent nature of the accident in Chernobyl, a sizable portion of radioactive contamination was dispersed through the atmosphere. Many of these contaminants settled in groundwater systems in the immediate surrounding areas, but also in Russia and Belarus. Due to the resulting radiation in groundwater, the ecological effects of the disaster can be seen in various aspects down the environmental process line. Radionuclides carried by groundwater systems in and around the areas of Chernobyl have resulted in the uptake to plants in the region and up the food chains into animals, and eventually, humans – as one of the largest exposure points of radiation was through agriculture contaminated by radioactive groundwater. Again, one of the largest concerns to the local populaces within the 30 km exclusion zone is the intake of Cs-137 through the consumption of agricultural products contaminated with groundwater. Comparatively, thanks to the environmental and soil conditions outside the exclusion zone, the recorded levels are below those that require remediation based on a survey in 1996. During this event, the groundwater transportation of radioactive material carried over borders into neighbouring countries. Belarus, lying to Chernobyl’s northern border, was subject to approximately 250,000 hectares of previously usable farmland being held by state officials until deemed safe.

Off-site radiological risk may be found in the form of flooding. Many citizens in the surrounding areas have been deemed at risk of exposure to radiation due to the Chernobyl Reactor’s proximity to floodplains. A study conducted in 1996 was conducted to see how far the radioactive effects were felt across eastern Europe. Lake Kojanovskoe in Russia, 250 km from the Chernobyl accident site, was found to be one of the most impacted lakes traced from the disaster area. Fish collected from the lake were found to be 60 times more radioactive than the European Union Standard. Further investigation found that the water source feeding the lake provided drinking water for approximately 9 million Ukrainians, as well as provided agricultural irrigation and food for 23 million more.

A cover was constructed around the damaged reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear plant. This helps in the remediation of leaking radioactive material from the site of the accident but does little to help aid the local area with isotopes that were dispersed in its soils and waterways more than 30 years ago. Partially due to the already abandoned urban areas, as well as international relations currently affecting the country, remediation efforts have been minimized compared to the initial clean up actions and more recent accidents such as the Fukushima incident.
Health

Evacuation and relocation proved a deeply traumatic experience for many people with profound psychosocial impact due to the loss of homes and jobs, rupture of the social fabric of communities and a social stigma associated with Chernobyl. WHO, along with the scientific research agencies and the governments of the three affected states, has been leading the efforts to assess and mitigate the health consequences of the accident by limiting the exposure of the population, supporting medical follow-up to those affected and harnessing the scientific cooperation to study the health impact of the incident.