Assessment of the feasibility of returning Chernobyl-affected radioactively contaminated agricultural lands in the Mogilev region of Belarus to agricultural cycle

Abstract

The nuclear accident at the Chernobyl NPP caused radioactive contamination of large areas of agricultural lands in the Republic of Belarus; 265 thousand hectares of the lands were withdrawn from agricultural turnover. Later 75% of these lands were transferred to forestry enterprises and environmental protection organizations. According to ecological and economic assessments of the feasibility of returning the retiring land in the Mogilev region to full economic activity based on the outcomes of comprehensive inventory of 2014-2016 only 23% of the land areas could be re-stored. At the same time, due to the irreversible radioactive decay it is possible to assess future positive changes in radiological situation and the possibility of recovering of the land, previously recognized as radioactively dangerous, and returning into the agricultural use. The issues con-sidered in the article aim at the assessment of the future changes in the levels of radiation con-tamination of local areas and shows the prospects for their further arable and meadow use.