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16Figure 1.12. Transuranic radionuclide contamination of Belarus in 2005 (National BelarussianReport, 2006).1.2.4. Arctic RegionsA high level of Chernobyl contaminationis found in Arctic regions. The mossRacomitrium on Franz Josef Land contained upto 630 Bq/kg (dry weight) of Cs-137 of which548 Bq/kg (87%) came from the Chernobylfallout (Rissanen et al., 1999).1.2.5. Northern AfricaRadionuclide fallout in northern Africacame from the most powerful emissions on thefirst day of the catastrophe and that area hasbeen subject to more than 5% of all Chernobylreleases—upto20PBq.1. EGYPT. The Cs-137 to Pu-239/Pu-240 ratioin accumulated Nile River sediment is evidenceof significant Chernobyl contamination(Benninger et al., 1998).1.2.6. Southern HemisphereIn the Southern Hemisphere Cs-137 and Cs-134 from Chernobyl have been found on ReunionIsland in the Indian Ocean and on Tahitiin the Pacific. The greatest concentration ofCs-137 in the Antarctic was found near theSouth Pole in snow that fell from 1987 to 1988(UNSCEAR, 2000).1.3. Estimates of PrimaryChernobyl Radionuclide EmissionsThe official view was that the total radionuclideemissions calculated for May 6, 1986, the