Radionuclide migration in the experimental polygon of the Red Forest waste site in the Chernobyl zone – Part 1: Characterization of the waste trench, fuel particle transformation processes in soils, biogenic fluxes and effects on biota

This review article introduces an experimental site located within the Chernobyl exclusion zone that is equipped to study radionuclide behavior in the environment after disposal of radioactive waste into shallow subsurface storage (trenches). This paper presents how the site is equipped and the methodology that was followed in order to understand and reproduce the observed 90Sr contaminant plume downstream from a shallow waste trench in an area about 2.5 km west of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP), called the Red Forest. The main results include identification of the radionuclide source term (the distribution and inventories of radionuclides in the trench, the description of the physical and chemical properties of the fuel particles encountered in the waste trench) and a model of fuel particle dissolution and subsequent radionuclide leaching into the soil solution. The biogenic migration of radionuclides from the trench to, and effects of radiation on, plants (Scots pine) are also described.

► We describe radionuclide distribution and inventories in the shallow waste dump. ► Radionuclides in the waste dump are associated with fuel particles of three types. ► For each fuel particle type the dissolution parameters have been obtained. ► Biogenic migration fluxes of radionuclides from the waste dump have been determined. ► The effects of radiation on Scots pine in the waste dump territory have been characterized.