Agricultural aspects of nuclear and/or radiological emergency situations

Following the Chernobyl accident, although the most urgent immediate countermeasures which were implemented concerned the evacuation and/or protection populations within a few hundred kilometers of Chernobyl, the most widely applied countermeasures throughout the rest of the world were agricultural in nature. These included the measurement of contamination levels in foods, the interdiction of some areas from agricultural use, the interdiction of some crops and livestock from sale or use, and later the use of various methods of decontamination. Eight years after the accident, much practical experience in terms of the application of these counter measures has been gained. These proceedings present the results of a workshop organized by the NEA on these issues. Conclusions drawn by the workshop participants show that, although considerable experience has been gained, there is still need for considerable work to be performed in terms of the practical problems associated with the implementation of large-scale countermeasures. Recommendations are made by the conference participants