Use of GIS in the rehabilitation assessment of the Chernobyl exclusion zone

The main task of the Geographical Information System of the Chernobyl exclusion zone is to estimate the applicability and perform the analysis of the body of radioecological information on the basis of which the administrative decisions about the use of territories can be made. This system is rather virtual and has several logical levels: storage of the primary radioecological and land use information; the analysis of possible ways for rehabilitation of contaminated lands; the economic evaluations based primarily on the cost-benefit comparison of scenarios with use of different countermeasures and those implementing usual technologies. This includes GIS-analysis and evaluation of risks as the basis for the decision-making. The paper presents the results of application of sophisticated GIS to the practice of radioecological research and land rehabilitation. (author)