Recommendations to the governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine on environmental monitoring, remediation and research [Summary]

Environmental transfer and bioaccumulation of 137Cs and 90Sr are now well understood and the is little need for major new research programmes. Requirement for continued but more limited targeted monitoring of the environments. Long term monitoring of 137Cs and 90Sr is required to: To assess levels of human exposure and contamination of foods to determine the need for remedial actions; To inform the general public about the radioactive contamination in food products and its seasonal and annual variability in natural food products as well as give dietary advice.To determine parameters of long-term transfer of radionuclides in various ecosystems and different natural conditions to improve predictive models; To determine mechanisms of radionuclide behaviour in less studied ecosystems (e.g., role of fungi in the forest). Remediation and countermeasures; Different effective long-term remediation measures are available but their use should be justified and optimized. The general public should be informed and involved in the decision-making process