IAEA Updates Ι News
Belarus receives IAEA equipment to assess radiological threats associated with forest fires
Crew of the new mobile laboratory during a practical training exercise for soil and air sampling in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in May 2020. (Photo: R. Nenashev/Polessye State Radioecological Reserve, Belarus)
When forest fires occur on sites with significantly elevated radiation levels, such as the fires that broke out in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, which straddles the border between Belarus and Ukraine, in April 2020, officials and the public want to know whether there is an elevated risk of radiation exposure. While there was no such risk posed by the series of wildfires in northern Ukraine in the exclusion zone, just 16 kilometres from the Belarusian border, new equipment sent to Belarus by the IAEA will better prepare scientists for radiation monitoring in the future. Forest fires are recurring events in the abandoned areas of the exclusion zone, a 4760 square-kilometre area surrounding the nuclear power plant that has mainly been uninhabited since the Chornobyl nuclear accident in 1986. In such circumstances, sound scientific data is needed to ensure the appropriate response and to protect the health of both the public and directly affected
36 | IAEA Bulletin, June 2020
personnel, such as firefighters, forest workers, border guards, scientists and technicians working in the zone. Responding to Belarus’ request, the IAEA helped to design and procure a mobile laboratory in the country, complete with instruments and tools for radiation monitoring of the air and environment. “The dedicated work of IAEA specialists and Belarusian counterparts allowed for the design and delivery of a well-equipped and fit-for-purpose mobile laboratory to support Belarus in its prompt response to current radiological threats posed by forest fires in the exclusion zone,” said Peter Swarzenski, Acting Director of the IAEA Environment Laboratories. The mobile laboratory can be taken on off-road operations and serves as a work station for a crew of four in the field. It is equipped with a portable air-sampling device, a handheld
gamma spectrometer, a radiation monitor for measuring environmental samples, a soil-sampling kit, personal protective equipment, navigation and communication tools, an electric generator and a workplace with a computer and other appliances. The air samples collected at the sites of forest fires need to be analysed to accurately determine the activity of radioactive isotopes of caesium, strontium and transuranium elements. The assistance provided to Belarus by the IAEA is taking place as part of a technical cooperation project launched in 2018, which has been primarily focused on helping the scientific and technical staff of the Polessye State Radioecological Reserve in Belarus to advance their professional knowledge and skills, particularly in relation to the dosimetry of inhalation intake of radionuclides, as well as the identification and procurement of appropriate instruments, tools and
