Assessment of doses to game animals in Finland.

A study was carried out to assess the dose rates to game animals in Finland affected by the radioactive caesium deposition that occurred after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine in 1986. The aim of this assessment was to obtain new information on the dose rates to mammals and birds under Finnish conditions. Dose rates were calculated using the ERICA Assessment Tool developed within the EC 6th Framework Programme.

Seasonal variation of the ¹³⁷Cs level and its relationship with potassium and carbon levels in conifer needles.

Seasonal variations in foliar ¹³⁷Cs levels were examined in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.

Uptake of ¹³⁷Cs by berries, mushrooms and needles of Scots pine in peatland forests after wood ash application.

Increasing use of wood fuels for energy production in Finland since the 1990s implies that large quantities of the generated ashes will be available for forest fertilization. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of wood ash application on ¹³⁷Cs activity concentrations in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) needles and certain berries and mushrooms on drained peatlands.

Application of the ERICA Assessment Tool to freshwater biota in Finland.

In recent years there has been growing international interest in the assessment of doses and risks from ionising contaminants to biota. In this study the ERICA Tool, developed within the EC 6th Framework Programme, was applied to estimate incremental dose rates to biota in freshwater ecosystems in Finland mainly resulting from exposure to the Chernobyl-derived radionuclides (137)Cs, (134)Cs and (90)Sr. Data sets consisting of measured activity concentrations in fish, aquatic plants, lake water and sediment for three selected lakes located in a region with high (137)Cs deposition were applied in the assessment.