With each passing year since the Chernobyl accident of 1986, more questions arise about the potential for organisms to adapt to radiation exposure. Often this is thought to be attributed to somatic and germline mutation rates in various organisms. We analyzed the adaptability of native Arabidopsis plants collected from areas with different levels of contamination around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant from 1986 to 1992. Notably, progeny of Chernobyl plants resisted higher concentrations of the mutagens Rose Bengal and methyl methane sulfonate. We analyzed the possible molecular mechanisms of their resistance to mutagens and found a more than 10-fold lower frequency of extrachromosomal homologous recombination, significant differences in the expression of radical scavenging (CAT1 and FSD3) and DNA-repair (RAD1 and RAD51-like) genes upon exposure to mutagens (Rose Bengal and x-rays), and a higher level of global genome methylation. This data suggests that adaptation to ionizing radiation is a complex process involving epigenetic regulation of gene expression and genome stabilization that improves plants' resistance to environmental mutagens.

Molecular aspects of plant adaptation to life in the Chernobyl zone

Soil organic horizons as a major source for radiocesium biorecycling in forest ecosystems.

Soil influences human health in a variety of ways, with human health being linked to the health of the soil. Historically, emphasis has been placed on the negative impacts that soils have on human health, including exposures to toxins and pathogenic organisms or the problems created by growing crops in nutrient-deficient soils. However, there are a number of positive ways that soils enhance human health, from food production and nutrient supply to the supply of medications and enhancement of the immune system. It is increasingly recognized that the soil is an ecosystem with a myriad of interconnected parts, each influencing the other, and when all necessary parts are present and functioning (ie, the soil is healthy), human health also benefits. Despite the advances that have been made, there are still many areas that need additional investigation. We do not have a good understanding of how chemical mixtures in the environment influence human health, and chemical mixtures in soil are the rule, not the exception. We also have sparse information on how most chemicals react within the chemically and biologically active soil ecosystem, and what those reactions mean for human health. There is a need to better integrate soil ecology and agronomic crop production with human health, food/nutrition science, and genetics to enhance bacterial and fungal sequencing capabilities, metagenomics, and the subsequent analysis and interpretation. While considerable work has focused on soil microbiology, the macroorganisms have received much less attention regarding links to human health and need considerable attention. Finally, there is a pressing need to effectively communicate soil and human health connections to our broader society, as people cannot act on information they do not have. Multidisciplinary teams of researchers, including scientists, social scientists, and others, will be essential to move all these issues forward.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1178622120934441

Soil and Human Health: Current Status and Future Needs:

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant, located in Ukraine about 130 km north of the capital of Kiev and about 10 km south of the border with Belarus, was the scene of the most severe accident that has ever occurred in the nuclear industry. On April 26, 1986, two violent explosions destroyed the core of unit 4 of the power plant and the roof of the building, resulting in a series of fires and in massive releases of radioactive materials into the atmosphere. The releases consisted of gases, aerosols, and finely fragmented nuclear fuel particles. From the radiologic point of view, iodine-131 (131I) and cesium-137 (137Cs) are the most important radionuclides to consider (1, 2). During the 10 days of massive releases, the wind direction changed frequently, so that all areas surrounding the reactor received some fallout at one time or another. In addition, rainfall occurred in an irregular pattern, causing varying degrees of deposition. The releases of radioactive materials were such that contamination of the ground was found to some extent in every country in the Northern Hemisphere (3). However, the most contaminated areas were in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine (table 1).

/pdf/the-chernobyl-disaster-cancer-following-the-accident-at-the-47iz1abtra.pdf

The Chernobyl Disaster: Cancer following the Accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

Processes, dynamics and modelling of radiocaesium cycling in a chronosequence of Chernobyl-contaminated Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) plantations.

The Atlas, which was compiled under the Joint Study Project (JSP6) of the CEC/CIS Collaborative Program on the Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident, implemented into the European Commission's Radiation Protection Research Action, summarizes the results of numerous investigations undertaken throughout Europe to assess the ground contamination by cesium-137 following the Chernobyl accident. The Atlas incorporates about 100 color maps at a range of scales (1/200k - 1/10M) which characterize the contamination in Europe as a whole, within state boundaries and for zones where the contamination levels are above 40 kBq/m{sup 2} ({approx_equal} 2.0% of the European territory) and above 1480 kBq/m{sup 2} ({approx_equal} 0.03% of the European territory). Investigations have shown that around 6% of the European territory has been contaminated for more than 20 kBq/m{sup 2} after the Chernobyl accident. The total amount of deposited cesium-137 in Europe is 8*10{sup 16} Bq and distributed in the following manner: Belarus 33.5%, Russia 24%, Ukraine 20%, Sweden 4.4%, Finland 4.3%, Bulgaria 2.8%, Austria 2.7%, Norway 2.3%, Romania 2.0%, Germany 1.1%.

The atlas of cesium-137 contamination of Europe after the Chernobyl accident

Total137Cs and90Sr contamination and external-radiation doses in the territory of the USSR

The content of an atlas dedicated to radiation conditions, the endproduct of a program of systematic spatially standardized measurements of fallout of radionuclides following the Chernobyl' accident and even before it, is described. The preparation of such an atlas marks the formation of a new scientific field: the mapping of radioactive pollution. The range of applications of such maps and other atlas materials is surveyed. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA from: Ivestiya Akademii Nauk, seriya geograficheskaya, 2000, No. 1, pp. 112-119.

Atlas of radioactive pollution of european russia, belarus, and ukraine

Estimation of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission and sink

This chapter discusses methodology of investigations of long-range transport of sulfur compounds. Sulfur compounds are now considered the most important atmospheric pollutants. The global man-made emission of sulfur dioxide is about 130 million tons per year. The energy programs now under development in many countries lead one to expect a further increase of the global sulfur emission from coal used as fuel because of technological difficulties and the high cost of coal desulphurization before combustion and difficulties of cleaning the stack gas. The techniques to study long-range transport of sulfur compounds should include the determination of the following elements: (1) the field of the emission sources; (2) typical height of emission above ground level; (3) parameters of vertical dispersion during transport; (4) the wind; (5) parameters of removal and transformation of sulfur compounds in the atmosphere; and (6) the nature of the impact of sulfur compounds on the biosphere and detection of critical links in the biosphere. Each of these aspects and the problem of transboundary pollution are considered in the chapter. It also outlines a possible way to establish standards for flows of sulfur compounds across a boundary between States.

I. M. Nazarov

Papers

The atlas of cesium-137 contamination of Europe after the Chernobyl accident

Total137Cs and90Sr contamination and external-radiation doses in the territory of the USSR

Atlas of radioactive pollution of european russia, belarus, and ukraine

Estimation of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission and sink

Methodology of Investigations of Long-Range Transport of Sulphur Compounds