Staff Report
Published Sept. 2, 2010

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory and the Ukraine’s International Radioecology Laboratory will collaborate on radiation ecology research, including projects in the region affected by the catastrophic accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant 24 years ago.

Researchers at IRL use the area around Chernobyl as an extensive laboratory for studying the effects of radioactive contamination and methods of decontamination. The agreement is intended both to assist in the Ukrainians’ research efforts and to gain valuable information on subjects of mutual interest.

The Savannah River National Laboratory designs, develops, fabricates, tests and assists in the installation and field operation of unique equipment systems for use in radioactive, hazardous or inaccessible environments. (Photo/SRS)

Under the Environmental Management’s International Program, SRNL and IRL have recently collaborated on various research projects, such as a study of the environmental problems associated with decommissioning the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Cooling Pond, a study on how deeply certain contaminants penetrate concrete building materials, and a study of how contaminants are distributed along the height of multi-story buildings.

The last two studies were designed to provide insight into approaches for decontaminating buildings. Papers resulting from these studies are scheduled for publication in Health Physics Journal.

These projects convinced DOE and SRNL that there is still a wealth of knowledge to be gained from research in the region affected by the 1986 accident at Chernobyl.

“Even though Chernobyl is fundamentally different from any U.S. nuclear site, there is much we can learn in the surrounding area,” said Eduardo Farfan, co-principal SRNL investigator for interactions with IRL.

“As a result of the accident, the nearby area has become a unique laboratory where we can observe how the environment changes and how animals and plants change over time following contamination. The scientists at IRL have unique knowledge since they work with this landscape every day.”

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, which includes the abandoned industrial city of Pripyat, is heavily contaminated as a result of the accident. Unfit for residential or agricultural use, it is suited for studying radionuclide distribution, movement and effect.

“We share a lot of the same interests with our colleagues at IRL,” said Farfan. “They are developing techniques and technologies for cleaning up the environment in the region that might ultimately be useful to DOE.”

DOE is conducting major programs to clean up and decommission its facilities that are no longer used for nuclear materials production and processing.

One of the key objectives of the collaborators is to make the knowledge gained through this partnership widely available. In addition to the Health Physics Journal papers, a special supplement of the journal is planned, and the team will place emphasis on publishing their research findings in scholarly journals so that others may benefit from the knowledge gained.