Nuclear Hazards in the World: Field Studies on Affected Populations and Environments - hardcover

The far-reaching effects of radiological hazards on population, environment, agriculture etc., are not yet clear and only limited research is being done in this specific field to date. The author provides updated information in several radiological hazardous areas based on field work between 1995 and 2000. The sites include the Techa Riverside, contaminated by the plutonium production complex Mayak in Russia, the area around the Semipalatinsk nuclear weapon test site in Kazakhstan, Rongelap Island contaminated by fallout from a Bravo 15Mt thermonuclear test on Bikini in the Marshall Islands, Sakha with underground nuclear explosions for industrial application, Zaborie Village, the most contaminated area in Russia due to the Chernobyl nuclear accident, Tokaimura, Japan, exposed to radiation in a critically accident and Hiroshima, Japan. The relationship between contamination levels and doses in the population and the recovery from hazards are discussed in detail. TOC:Preface.- Overview of Nuclear Disasters.- Pollution around the Mayak Plutonium Production Complex.- Semipalatinsk Nuclear Tests.- Toward Resettlement on Rongelap Island.- Nuclear Explosions Conducted for Peaceful Purposes.- Strict Control Zone after the Chernobyl Accident.- Radiation Exposure of the Population in the Tokaimura Criticality Accident.- Nuclear Hazard and Recovery.- Appendices.- Index.