Long-term consequences of Chernobyl catastrophe and remediation programs in Russia

Unprecedented scale of radiological emergency at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) has set us a package of the most difficult tasks aimed to eliminate negative consequences and remediate a normal life in contaminated areas. Due to the accident, above 56,000 square meters of the Russian Federation's territory, including about two million hectares of agricultural lands and about one million hectares of forest resources, were radioactively contaminated. The four regions, namely the Bryansk/Kaluga/Orel/Tula regions, were contaminated to the most extent. About three million people lived in those areas. More than 52,000 citizens were relocated in an organized way or resettled independently. Above 200,000 citizens of Russia were involved in elimination of emergency effects. The Russian Federation (RF) Government has charged EMERCOM of Russia to coordinate activities on mitigation of consequences of the Chernobyl accident. The Ministry has undertaken the functions of a state customer of federal target programs for elimination of effects of radiological emergencies and catastrophes. Federal ministries and agencies, as well as executive authorities of the RF subjects are involved in implementation of the programs. Since 1998, joint Russian-Byelorussian projects to mitigate effects of the Chernobyl catastrophe have been under way. Large-scale work on radiological/medical/social protection for the citizens and remediation of the lands has been performed within the scope of federal target programs. Since 1991, more than 5 billion USD has been spent on the activities to eliminate consequences of the accident, as well as to pay out benefits and compensations. The key element of EMERCOM's policy is to comprehend the role of a radiation factor in the entire package of vital objectives. The result of it is that protective actions are directed towards the most contaminated areas and priority attention is focused on the development of a social sphere and health care. The main program trends are as follows: Social and economic remediation of the areas; Public health protection; Radiation monitoring; Public exposure dose reduction; Remediation of agricultural/forest lands; Information activity and social-and-psychological rehabilitation of the public. This speech summarizes the results of these activities