communication and engagement of stakeholders
5.2 Social-psychological aspects of the usage of radioactively contaminated territories of the Urals
Elena Burtovaia (URCRM) presented.
There have been a number of radiation accidents in the Urals associated with the Mayak
Production Association (PA) facility. Radioactive waste has been released into the Techa River and, in 1957, an accident occurred that resulted in the release of radioactivity to atmosphere. This was followed in 1967 by the Lake Karachay incident. Together, these accidents have resulted in high levels of radioactivity across the region, as illustrated in Figure 5-1.
FIGURE 5-1.SR-90 CONTAMINATION OF THE SOUTHERN URALS TERRITORY AS A RESULT OF RADIATION ACCIDENTS ASSOCIATED WITH MAYAK PA.
Due to a lack of safe storage, the Techa River system became contaminated and the local population were exposed to high doses. Analysis has shown that between 1965 and 2005 Sr-90 specific activity in the river has reduced seven-fold. The percentage contribution of food and water to the dose received by the local population has changed considerably over this time. In the 1950’s the dose was dominated by drinking water intake. However, in 1956, the consumption of water from the river was prohibited and the proportion of dose from food increased considerably. The majority of Sr-90 intake was associated with fish consumption (Figure 5-2).
FIGURE 5-2.PERCENTAGE SR-90 INTAKE WITH FOOD STUFFS IN 1950-1952.
In 1957 there was an airborne release of radioactivity as a result of an accident at the Mayak PA site. Over a period of around 11 hours, the East Urals Radioactive Trace (EURT) was formed, with 90% of the radioactive fallout occurring on the territory of Mayak PA.
The stable wind direction at the time of the accident was an important factor in the formation of the EURT. An area of 23, 000 km2 was contaminated to levels of 0.1 Ci/km2. There were over 200 settlements throughout this area. However, only around 200 km2 was contaminated to a level of 100 Ci/km2 or more and only 3 settlements were associated with these areas.
Short-lived radionuclides contributed greatly to the total activity and decay was evident over the first 5 years following the accident such that Sr-90 is now the main radionuclide contributing to dose.
Differences in countermeasures were evident between the Techa River release and the EURT. For the former, no emergency countermeasures were taken and scheduled countermeasures were not as effective as they could have been due to delayed implementation; relocation only began 5 years following the onset of releases when residents had already received the largest part of the dose. In the case of the EURT, emergency countermeasures were taken with residents being evacuated from nearby settlements and food products and fodder were monitored. A sanitary protection zone was also established. There were also scheduled countermeasures implemented, involving additional relocation, decontamination of settlements and agricultural areas and the establishment of a radiation monitoring system for foodstuff and fodder contamination control.
One of the main issues faced in the return of the territory to normal use is the risk perception among the population. The population receives and assesses the degree of risk in a different way to experts. They worry about the health of themselves and their children and have a lack of trust in the authorities. They also want social and economic compensation.
In 2014, data from Fukushima were presented at a MELODI meeting. The people from Fukushima were being given good scientific information to say that cancer risks were low and yet people were still anxious and social effects considerable.
There are a number of factors that determine the social-psychological status of populations of radioactively contaminated territories in the long term (Figure 5-3). The quality of everyday life is determined according to a number of factors, such as the dynamics of assessment of favorable or unfavorable status of the ecological situation of the area, psychological readiness to change the place of residence and concerns around health in view of unfavorable environmental living
FIGURE 5-3.FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THE SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL STATUS OF POPULATIONS INHABITING RADIOACTIVELY CONTAMINATED TERRITORIES IN THE LONG-TERM.
The media had a large role in increasing stress in the populations living in the territory
contaminated by incidents at Mayak PA with various alarmist news headlines. Some populations were resettled some 50 years after the accident and were given the choice of moving into new houses constructed just a few kilometers away, or receiving money to fund their own moves.
Various social and psychological aspects were measured in the population during the resettlement phase and results indicated that people were worried and frustrated. High cortisol levels were measured as people were stressed and anxious. Those being resettled from a village thought the situation was tense and thought leaving the village was negative whereas the views from a comparison group were that the moves were positive.
The main concerns of the group being resettled related to health and radiation hazards and, in terms of help from authorities, wanted improved medical services and living condition and financial reward. People were active in public hearings and when asked to evaluate their health responded with feelings of being tired and thoughts of overall health deteriorating. More than 80% of the population thought that radiation accidents could occur again.
In the long-term post-accident period, social-psychological consequences become one of the important issues for affected populations and are one of the most serious issues in the return of territories to economic use. Measures aimed at forming adequate perceptions of radiation
exposure risk in the population need to be developed. Monitoring of the social-psychological status of the population is necessary to identify critical groups from the point of view of non-adaptive forms of behavior.
Delayed action was one of the biggest problems for populations in the area with a lack of action in the early stages of the incident resulting in many of social-psychological issues among the
population. Early dialogue between authorities and the affected population may have alleviated some of the issues. It is important for properly phrased information to be presented and for people to be able to express opinions and proposals.