Role of GIS in Lifting the Cloud Off Chernobyl

Transcription

1 Role of GIS in Lifting the Cloud Off Chernobyl

2 NATO Science Series A Series presenting the results ofscientific meetings supported under the NATO Science Programme. The Series is published by 10S Press, Amsterdam, and Kluwer Academic Publishers in conjunction with the NATO Scientific Affairs Division Sub-Series I. Life and Behavioural Sciences 11. Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry Ill. Computer and Systems Science IV. Earth and Environmental Sciences V. Science and Technology Policy 10S Press Kluwer Academic Publishers 10S Press Kluwer Academic Publishers 10S Press The NATO Science Series continues the series of books published formerly as the NATO ASI Series. The NATO Science Programme offers support for collaboration in civil science between scientists of countries of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. The types of scientific meeting generally supported are "Advanced Study Institutes" and "Advanced Research Workshops", although other types of meeting are supported from time to time. The NATO Science Series collects together the results of these meetings. The meetings are co-organized bij scientists from NATO countries and scientists from NATO's Partner countries - countries of the CIS and Central and Eastern Europe. Advanced Study Institutes are high-level tutorial courses offering in-depth study of latest advances in a field. Advanced Research Workshops are expert meetings aimed at critical assessmentof a field, and identification of directions for future action. As a consequence of the restructuring of the NATO Science Programme in 1999, the NATO Science Series has been re-organised and there are currently five sub-series as noted above. Please consult the following web sites for information on previous volumes published in the Series, as well as detailsof earlier sub-series I -~ ~ I Series IV: Earth and Environmental Sciences - Vol. 10

3 Role of GIS in Lifting the Cloud Off Chernobyl edited by Jaromfr Kolejka Masaryk University, Faculty of Education, Department of Geography, Brno, Czech Republic Springer Science+Business Media, B.V

4 Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Role of Geoinformation Technology in Mitigation Consequences of Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Yalta, Ukraine September 2001 A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / Printed on acid-free paper AII Rights Reserved 2002 Springer Science+Business Media Oordrecht Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2002 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1 st edition 2002 No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work

5 Table of contents Editor's preface (J.Kolejka) Situation Assessment for Mitigation Activities: Tools for Building Geographic Knowledge. From Geodata to Geoinformation to Geoknowledge? (c. Siegel, S. Palko) The Dnieper River Basin Challenge: Local and International Response to an Environmental and Human Health Crisis (D. Poletto, K. Babcock) 13 Providing Information in Relation to Chernobyl and the Role of GlS (P.G. de Nooijer, V. Chabanyuk) 25 The Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident: FirstResults in the Radioecology Projectof the French-German Initiative (G. Deville-Cavelin, H. Biesold, C. Brun- Yaba, V. Chabanyuk) 49 Development of the Data Base: Nuclear Fuel And Radioactive Waste, Environmental Impact, and Radiological Situation in Chernobyl NPP 4 th Block "Shelter" (A. Borovoi, S. Gavrilov, G. Pretzsch) 67 From Image Maps to Decision Making (S. Palko, C. Siegel) 77 The Chernobyl Sarcophagus Project of the German-French Initiative (G. Pretzsch, V. L"Homme, A.N. Seleznev, E.S. Seredynin) 85 Radon Risk Assessment in GIS (V. Vozenflek) 97 The Run-Off in Natural and Agricultural Environments (V. Popov) 109 Waste Dumps Around Chornobyl Power Plant: Actual State and Future (E. Sobotovich, V. Skvortsov, C. Brun-Yaba) 121 The Problem of Waste: Searching for GIS Solution (1. Kolejka, J. Pokorny, O. Skrott) 131 Countermeasures on Natural and Agricultural Areas After Chemobyl Accident (I. Bogdevitch, N. Sanzharova, B. Prister, S. Tarasiuk) 147 List ofcontributors 159 vu

6 EDITOR'S PREFACE 1. Look back to history The explosion at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in northern Ukraine on April 26, 1986, contaminated the environment in large area s of Europe. As the gove rnments of Ukraine and surrounding countries had an urgent need to manage the recov ery of the affected population, and to optimise the production of uncontaminated food, large volume s of data were accumulated including relocation statistics, compensations for the affected population, and levels and extent of environmental contamination. The great quan tity of data was and is very difficult to use without the aid of modern information tec hno logies, especially Geographi c Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS). Figure 1. Unit 4 ofthe Chemobyl Nuclear Power Plant hidden in concrete sarcophagus. Fifteen years after the catas tro phic accident at Chornobyl (Chernobyl in Russian), the recovery of the affected popul ation and environment is not over. Large quantities of radionuclides, altho ugh mostly immob ilized, are still found in the mineral portion of soi ls. The radionuclide outflow from the Pripyat River into the Dnipro River also cont inues, but is smaller than the amount cycled through the biotic system. Fire in the forests, brush and grass lands has the potential to mobi lize radionuclides from the biotic vu

7 Vlll system, increasing the population radiation dose in surrounding areas and posing a serious radiological hazard to workers and firefighters in the Exclusion Zone. 2. Objectives of NATO Advanced Research Workshop The fifteenth anniversary of the Chornobyl accident was a timely event for organizing the advanced research workshop - Role of GIS in Lifting the Cloud Off Chornobyl. Experts from different NATO and partner countries and scientific disciplines had an opportunity to provide a realistic assessment of the current situation and to formulate suggested approaches for management of the information associated with the site and surrounding contaminated territories. The following two objectives were established for the workshop: A) Assess the contribution of modern map-related information technologies, particularly Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing, to the management of the consequences of Chornobyl and other similar environmental emergencies around the world, and B) Propose the best possible approaches to the rehabilitation of contaminated areas in Ukraine and surrounding countries. Figure 2. Area between Kyiv, capital ofukraine (in front) and Chemobyl Power Plant (in background) in 3D model presented by GIS.

8 IX 3. Scientific Meeting Programme As a result of the unexpected, tragic events in the United States of America during the week preceding the workshop, several key speakers from the U.S.A. and Western European countries unfortunately cancelled their participation. In most cases, however, their presentations were delivered by additionally invited co-authors from Ukraine. The final program included (see Table I below) a combination of presentations of scientific methodologies and applications related to the Chornobyl recovery efforts. Expert discussions focused on best possible strategies for the management of the contaminated territories in the future. 4. Benefits Application of modern remote sensing and geographic information systems technologies, and related expertise will continue to be critical in the management of the volumes of information associated with, and accurate assessment of nuclear contamination of affected areas. The Ukrainian government, as well as governments of surrounding countries, need modern information technologies for organizing and executing activities that can minimize the impact of the Chornobyl disaster on the inhabitants and the environment. Consequently, expected short-term benefits of the NATO workshop include support for improved decision-making processes that will be used to identify remediation actions, establ ish priorities, and design and implement work plans to improve living conditions in the areas surrounding the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The long-term benefits will go beyond addressing the consequences ofthe Chornobyl accident. As Ukraine and surrounding countries enter the 2 Ist century, access to information will be critical for planning the country's economic development. In particular, rapidly accessible geospatial information (such as maps and satellite imagery) will be required in support of government decision-making processes. At the same time, such information will be essential for the country's resource management, environmental protection, emergency management, and land use sustainability planning Both short-term and long-term benefits of the NATO workshop go clearly beyond the boundaries of Ukraine and surrounding countries. The world's attention continues to focus on Chornobyl especially following the closure of its nuclear power plant in December Given the real possibility of similar accident at nuclear facilities elsewhere around the world, the development ofrecovery strategies based on experience at Chornobyl that use modern scientific methods and technologies, would be invaluable for all NATO countries in the future. Based on the workshop presentations and discussions, the following highlights summarize key conclusions and indicate directions for further research and development in Ukraine: A) Image maps (i.e., maps derived from satellite imagery) are the most economical, up to date and readily available bases for Chornobyl related applications, as well as for other important future applications, such as land resource management projects; B) Prister's research conclusions concerning the soil-plant transfer of radionuclides, compared to previous conclusions based on less reliable data (to be formulated and added)

9 x C) Building a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) for Ukraine is an important initiative for both the government agencies and the private sector. Starting with the establishment of standards for project proposals, project management, monitoring and reporting, NSDI will implement the use of metadata standards, organize databases, and facilitate access to common, standardized data in Ukraine; Figur e 3. From the NATO ARW discussions. D) Local government agencies responsible for geomatics need to take a leadership role in developing an NSDI strategy and then moving to develop partnerships with the private sector to implement it. E) GIS continues to be a valuable tool in decision making and modelling, but it can also be a liability if used without reliable data and adequate knowledge to interpret the results F) Coord ination of activities between government organizations and the private sector needs to be improved in order to drive maximum benefit from the available financial resources from both internal and external sources. More details about the NATO ARW Role of GIS in Lifting the Cloud Off Chernobyl are available on the web site

10 xi 5. Pa rticipants The total number of the Yalta NATO ARW is 35. All of them attended the meetin g because of the extraordinary opportunity to mee t the leadin g specialists from the intern ational GIS and Rem ote Sensing community dealing with the radioactive area polluti on. The NATO ARW has been held in the beautiful env ironment of the Southern Crim ean Black Sea Coast. Figure 4. First day arrived NATO ARW parti cipants in Yalta, Ukraine. 6. Acknow ledg me nts Thanks to the generous support from the NATO Science Committee, the very useful and successful meeting of western and eastern specialists dea ling with the geomatics app lications in the radioactive area pollution management cou ld be held with regard to the 15th anniversary of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. The experience collected during the remediation activities in the Chomobyl area and the utilizin g of modem geoinformation technology can help not only in the recovery of the territory po lluted by radionuclides around Chornobyl but also enhance the efficiency of emergency management and accid ent prevention on other sites in the world. Jaromir Kolejka NATO Country AR W eo-director, Bmo, March 19,2002