CONSULTING

In terms of the percentages of their land areas, which were contaminated, Austria, Finland, Sweden,
Slovenia, and Slovakia were also significantly affected outside the former USSR.
Figure 28: Cesium-137 Concentrations in Europe in 1996 (in 1,000 Bq per m 2 )
Source: De Cort et al., 1998 242
In terms of average Cs-137 concentrations (Bq per m2), Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Moldova
were also affected. The most relevant parameter for health was the average concentration of Cs-
137 in diet during the year 1986 to 1987 and the countries (outside former USSR) with the highest
levels were Austria, Moldova, Bulgaria, Croatia, Liechtenstein, Finland and Romania. 243
As shown in Figure 29, radioiodine distribution patterns in Europe were very different from those
for caesium-137. This is because the iodine isotopes were distributed largely in gaseous and
aerosol forms and not as particulates.
242 De Cort M, Dubois G, et al., “Atlas of Caesium Deposition on Europe after the Chernobyl Accident. EUR
Report 16733”, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg.
243 V. Drozdovitch et al., “Radiation exposure to the population of Europe following the Chernobyl accident”,
Radiation Protection Dosimetry, Volume 123, Issue 4, 2007, pp 515– 528.
Mycle Schneider, Antony Froggatt et al. 79 World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2016