Radioactive contamination of soils in Belarus: experience and trends of rehabilitation

The paper presents the analysis of the developed and suggested measures and methods on decreasing radionuclide soil contamination in the Republic of Belarus after the Chernobyl accident and prevention of migration of the long-lived radionuclides 137Cs and 90Sr in food chains. It was found that the application of protective measures based on decreasing of 137Cs and 90Sr mobility in soil due to their fixation in soil-absorbing complex, or so-called rehabilitation, is the more effective, ecologically safe and, it seems, the most prospective countermeasure in Belarus at present. The possibility of applying fresh water lake sediments, tripoli and industrial waste for rehabilitation of contaminated soils and prevention of 137Cs and 90Sr accumulation in agricultural production in Belarus are considered. (author)