Radiation monitoring of conveyances, cargoes, passengers and crews in the UK following the Chernobyl accident: A preliminary review

In the initial few days following the Chernobyl accident a plume of radioactivity passed over Finland, the Baltic Sea and Sweden. The first measurements to be received in the UK came from Sweden. These indicated that ships and aircraft, including their cargo, crew and passengers, returning from the areas affected by the release, might be contaminated. At that time a number of ships were in the Baltic Sea bringing cargoes to the UK, including ferries which make regular voyages between east coast ports and the Scandinavian countries. If a ship had been in the radioactive plume the crew might also have been contaminated. Aircraft flying from Russia and Eastern Europe to the UK were not expected to be heavily contaminated since they were likely to have flown over the plume, which was understood from meteorological sources not to have risen above about 10,000 ft. The origin of a flight would not necessarily indicate whether the passengers had been contaminated since they could have been at very different locations. An early assessment of the radiological hazard was required to check whether restrictions on the movement of conveyances or cargo coming into the UK were necessary. Consumable imports were subject to separate restrictions and are not covered in this review