Chernobyl fallout and plume maps online.

• Overview - Geographical location and extent of radioactive contamination
• Evacuated zone
• Plume area map 1 and map 2
• Northern hemisphere
• Northern Europe (Scandinavia): map 1 and map 2; Sweden
• Former Soviet Union area map 1 and map 2; Belarus; Briansk region; Estonia
• Europe
• United Kingdom map 1 and map 2; Scotland
• Greece
• Switzerland
• A number of maps of radiation contamination in Europe can be found on the Humus website.  Some of the information on the links to the maps is in italian but many of the maps have English place names.

The following section of our website has been translated into Italian by Humus - Progetto.
(The Humus Project: The effects of Chernobyl contamination on the soil.)
 

AUSTRIA

Irlweck, K., Khademi, B., Henrich, E. and Kronraff, R. (1993). ^239(240),238Pu, ⁹⁰Sr, ¹⁰³Ru and ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in surface air in Austria due to dispersion of Chernobyl releases over Europe. J. Environ. Radioactivity. 20(2). pg. 133-148.
 

May 1986	Vienna	Air concentration	239,240Pu	89 µBq/m3
April 30, 1986	Vienna	Air concentration	137Cs	9,700,000 µBq/m3
April 30, 1986	Vienna	Air concentration	103Ru	62,500,000 µBq/m3

• Contamination by the volatile nuclides ¹³⁷Cs and ¹⁰³Ru preceded the peak pulse of plutonium by a few days.

Mydans, S. (Friday, June 5, 1987). Specter of Chernobyl looms over Bangladesh. New York Times. (page not available).

• "... the Government announced that a 1,600-ton shipment of powdered milk from Poland, which was affected by the Chernobyl nuclear accident in the Ukraine in April 1986, showed unacceptably high levels of radioactivity... the shipment registered levels higher than the 300 Becquerels... it has been deemed to be unfit for consumption."

Buesseler, K.O. (1987). Chernobyl: Oceanographic studies in the Black Sea. Oceanus. pg. 23-30.

• "...Chernobyl cesium-137 fallout input was roughly twice as large as the cesium-137 inventory deposited to this basin from weapons testing fallout." (pg. 26).
• radionuclides identified included: ¹³⁴Cs, ¹³⁷Cs, ¹⁴⁴Ce, ¹⁴¹Ce, ¹⁰⁶Ru,¹⁰³Ru, ¹⁴⁰La, ¹⁴⁰Ba, ⁹⁵Nb and ¹²⁹Te.
• ¹³⁷Cs in surface water was elevated by a factor of over 20 over the previous pre-Chernobyl baseline (15 Bq/m³ to 340 Bq/m³).

• The sediment trap was located at a depth of 1,071 meters in the Southern Black Sea.

• Preliminary cesium data in ocean water was 852 d.p.m. per 100 liters = 142 Bq/m². Cesium-134 contamination is reported as about 50% of cesium-137 levels.

Pourchet, M., Veltchev, K. and Candaudap, F. (October 1997). Spatial distribution of Chernobyl contamination over Bulgaria. International Symposium OM2: Observation of the Mountain Environment in Europe, Borovets (Bulgaria), October 15-17, 1997.

• "...the main part of the radioactive contamination reached Bulgaria in the period from May 1st to 10th 1986. According to available measurements the average surface air radioactivity in this time interval was between 30 - 160 Bq m^-3. The maximum value was measured on May 1th, 1986. A secondary maximum (peak) of radioactivity was registered on May 9th, 1986." (pg. 2).
• This is the first summary of Chernobyl fallout deposition in Bulgaria received or located by RADNET.
• Excellent maps of Chernobyl ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs deposition. Peak values of ¹³⁷Cs deposition to 81,800 Bq m^-2 with a mean deposition of the most contaminated areas of 30,400 Bq m^-2 (Map 4). This contrasts with peak weapons testing cumulative ¹³⁷Cs deposition of 10,053 Bq m^-2.

Department of National Health and Welfare. (1986). Environmental radioactivity in Canada. (Radiological monitoring annual report). Department of National Health and Welfare, Ottawa.

• An extensive survey of imported foods showed little impact from the Chernobyl accident. However, the surveys in this report were terminated prior to the peak pulse of Chernobyl-derived radiocesium reported by the USFDA in foods imported into the U.S.
• Unusually high reading of radioiodine were reported in British Columbia in May of 1986. At Revelstoke, B.C. (pg. 63) an anomalous reading of 251 Bq/m³ (251,000,000 µBq/m³) was noted on May 13. This is the only RADNET citation reporting ¹³¹I higher than the 223,000,000 µBq/m³ recorded at Nurmijarvi, Finland on April 28, 1986.
• Vancouver also had high readings of 107 Bq/m³ on May 16-17, 90 Bq/m³ on May 17-18, and 115 Bq/m³ on May 19-20. 176 Bq/m³ were reported in Quebec on May 5-6. Numerous other elevated readings of radioiodine were reported.
• Unlike Chernobyl fallout data in the European environment, high levels of radioiodine in Canada were not associated with excessive deposition of cesium or ruthenium nuclides; however, ground deposition data measured in contamination per square meter is not available in this report.

• This report notes high pre-Chernobyl ¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁵Zn deposits from a 4-10-86 underground nuclear weapons test leak in Nevada.
• Table one notes major differences between Chernobyl fallout and weapons testing fallout: Chernobyl was characterized by the relatively intermittent release of a full range of radionuclides at relatively low temperatures with very heavy local fallout from tropospheric transport. Weapons testing fallout was at a high temperature with more uniform stratospheric transport and longer residence time (1-10 years), with much less pronounced local fallout.
• "1963 fallout maximum (for Canada): 1.3 kBq m^-2 (40-50° N)" (pg. 126).

• "Chernobyl-derived radionuclides (¹⁰³Ru, ¹⁰⁶Ru, ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs) were consistently measurable until about mid-June.... with a mean tropospheric residence time of about fourteen days for the four radionuclides." (pg. 203).

• "Three waves of airborne radioactivity entered Eastern Canada (Quebec) on 6 May and around 14 May respectively via the Arctic, and 25 and 26 May via Pacific route." (pg. 121).
• "The removal in floc is high (70-90%) for ⁷Be, ⁵⁹Fe, ⁹⁵Nb, ⁹⁵Zr, ¹⁰³Ru, ¹⁰⁶Ru and ¹³¹I, intermediate (40-60%) for ¹⁴⁰La, ¹⁴¹Ce and ¹⁴⁴Ce and low (25% and less) for ⁵⁴Mn, ⁶⁰Co, ⁶⁵Zn and ¹⁴⁰Ba, and variable for ¹³⁷Cs (50-90%)." (pg. 123).
• "Activity ratios of Chernobyl products are nearly the same in air and river water samples." (pg. 124).

Kliment, V. (1991). Contamination of pork by cesium radioisotopes. J. Environ. Radioactivity. 13(2). pg. 117-124.

• Pork was contaminated immediately after Chernobyl when whey, a milk by-product, was put in pig feed instead of uncontaminated 1985 cereal.
• Typical (mean) values of ¹³⁷Cs in pigs May 1986-July 1987: 15-25 Bq/kg.
• Average 1986 values for ¹³⁷Cs in wheat 16 Bq/kg; in barley 7.2 Bq/kg (pg. 120).

• Mean values in all food samples gradually dropped over the next two years, e.g. baby milk to +/- 3.0 Bq/l.

Online radiation fallout maps of Northern Europe: map 1 and map 2.

Numerous research papers published by the Riso National Laboratory in Roskilde, Denmark, pertaining to Chernobyl are cited at the beginning of this section in the General Bibliography. Please also refer to the Riso publications cited in RAD 11 that also contain information on Chernobyl and the other source points discussed in that section. Other citations are in the Riso fallout summary in RADNET, Section 8, Baseline Data.

Aarkrog, A. (1988). Studies of Chernobyl debris in Denmark. Environment International. 14. pg. 149-155.

Aarkrog, A. (1989). Radioecological lessons learned from Chernobyl. Proceeding of the XVeth Regional Congress of IPRA, Visby, Gotland, Sweden, 10-14 Sept., 1989. pg. 129-134.

Aarkrog, A., et. al. (July, 1991). Environmental radioactivity in Denmark in 1988 and 1989. Riso-R-570. Riso National Laboratory, Roskilde, Denmark.

• See annotations in RAD 8:  Anthropogenic Radioactivity: Baseline Data:  Section 6: Other Nuclides.

• Riso reports continue to be one of the best basic references documenting lingering anthropogenic radioactive contamination of the environment.
• The pervasive impact of the Chernobyl accident is clearly documented by the low levels of ¹³⁷Cs in the human diet, the human body, and in the environment in 1992 and 1993 compared with 1986.
• In the event of another Chernobyl-type nuclear accident at any location, the database of the Riso National Laboratory will provide an important index of environmental contamination by anthropogenic radioactivity.  Will the present golden age of low-levels of hemispheric wide contamination continue in the next millennium, and if not, what will be the source points of the radioactive plumes of the future?

 

Table 5.9.4.B. Estimate of the mean content of ¹³⁷Cs in the human diet in 1993

Type of food	Annual quantity in kg	Bq 137Cs per kg	Total Bq 137Cs	Percentage of total Bq 137Cs in food
Milk and cream	164.0	0.067	10.99	9.5
Cheese	9.1	0.048	0.44	0.4
Grain products	80.3	0.100	8.01	6.9
Potatoes	73.0	0.046	3.36	2.9
Vegetables	43.8	0.020	0.88	0.8
Fruit	51.1	0.019	0.97	0.8
Meat	54.7	0.23	12.58	10.8
Eggs	10.9	0.030	0.33	0.3
Fish	10.9	6.74	73.5	63.1
Coffee and tea	5.5	0.95	5.23	4.5
Drinking water	548	0	0	0
Total			116.29

• This table's total of 116.29 Bq for ¹³⁷Cs contrasts with 124.15 Bq in 1992.  (Table 5.9.4.A, pg. 76).
• "Strontium-90 and Cesium-137 in Humans.  The ⁹⁰Sr mean content in adult human bone (vertebrae) collected in 1992 was 18 Bq (kg Ca)^-1.  Whole body measurements of ¹³⁷Cs were resumed after the Chernobyl accident.  The measured mean level in 1990 was 359 Bq ¹³⁷Cs (kg K)^-1." (pg. 108).

 

Appendix D.3 Fallout rates and accumulated fallout
(Bq ¹³⁷Cs m^-2) in Denmark

	Denmark		Jutland		Islands
Year	di	Ai	di	Ai	di	Ai
1986	1210.000	3725.984	1340.000	4137.847	1080.000	3314.232
1987	29.000	3669.280	32.000	4047.674	26.000	3263.994
1988	11.900	3597.161	13.400	3994.768	10.300	3199.562
1989	3.500	3518.480	4.510	3907.998	2.530	3129.007
1990	2.63	3440.744	3.85	3822.564	1.41	3058.968
1991	1.63	3363.805	1.92	3737.194	1.36	2990.480
1992	0.98	3287.987	1.17	3653.041	0.79	2922.994
1993	0.96	3213.881	1.39	3571.026	0.53	2856.796

• In the above table, di indicates annual deposition and Ai indicates cumulative deposition. (pg. 122).

• "Four years after the Chernobyl accident it was found that most of the cesium remained firmly fixed in the topmost 2 cm. In the deeper layers of the soil it was less strongly bound." (pg. 183).

"The ruthenium was found to be less strongly bound than the cesium and had penetrated a little deeper." (pg. 183).

Online radiation fallout maps of Northern Europe: map 1 and map 2.  Maps of Estonia.

Realo, E., Jogi, J., Koch, R. and Realo, K. (1995). Studies on radiocesium in Estonian soils. J. Environ. Radioactivity. 29. pg. 111-120.
 

1986

Estonia

Ground deposition

137Cs

40,000 Bq/m2

• "The distribution of the Chernobyl deposition is extremely uneven." (pg. 111).

Online radiation fallout maps of Northern Europe: map 1 and map 2.

Arvela, H., Blomqvist, L., Lemmela, H., Savolainen, A.L. and Sarkkula, S. (1987). Environmental gamma radiation measurements in Finland and the influence of meteorological conditions after the Chernobyl accident in 1986: Supplement 10 to annual report STUK-A55. Report No. STUK-A65. Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, Helsinki.

• The external dose rate peaked briefly at Uusikaupunki at 4.0 micro sieverts per hour on April 19, 1986; the background rate is 0.11.
• ¹³⁷Cs surface activity to 100,000 Bq/m².

• External gamma dose rate to 384.7 µRh^-1 on April 29, 1986 at Uusikaupunki.
• ¹³¹I to 105,000 Bq/m² on 29 April at Lieto, and 122,700 Bq/m² at Jyvaskyla.
• ¹³²Te to 113,000 Bq/m²; ¹³²I to 98,300 Bq/m²; ¹³⁷Cs to 8,800 Bq/m²: Lieto, 29 April.

• This report contains a lengthy list of suggested restrictions (pg. 9-11) including use of respirators in soil cultivation work.

• Preliminary estimates of the annual dietary intake of cesium-137 to 26,000 Bq (May 1, 1986 - April 30, 1987); maximum body burdens estimated up to 10,000 Bq by December 1986.
• Hot particles were an unexpected feature of Chernobyl fallout in Finland.
• Fresh water fish had peak concentrations up to 3,000 Bq/kg in 1986.

• No additional Chernobyl-derived strontium-90 was found in milk in Finland; the pre-Chernobyl mean was 0.099 Bq/l.
• Maximum deposition of strontium-90 in Chernobyl fallout was 250 Bq/m²; many areas were below the detection limit.

• Surface water concentration range after Chernobyl was 100-400 Bq/m³.
• Sedimentation of Chernobyl fallout into bottom sediments of open sea basins only began to increase in 1987; peak values went to 18,000 Bq/m².
• Pike and cod ¹³⁷Cs range 15-30 Bq/kg, about five times the pre-Chernobyl level.

Ilus, E., Klemola, S., Sjoblom, K.L. and Ikaheimonen, T.K. (1988). Radioactivity of Fucus vesiculosus along the Finnish coast in 1987: Supplement 9 to Annual Report 1987 (STUK-A74). Report No. STUK-A83. Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, Helsinki.

• ¹³⁷Cs activity concentrations were highest in May 1986, to 4,900 Bq/kg dry weight.
• 1987 peak values were 16-17% of the 1986 values; some local power station effluents were noted.
• Rather uniform distribution pre-Chernobyl ¹³⁷Cs levels were noted in Fucus, averaging around 10-15 Bq/kg; including samples taken in the vicinity of nuclear power stations.
• Concentration factors from water to Fucus range from a low of 400 to a high of 2,000.

• "Concentration of locally discharged nuclides was low in comparison with Chernobyl fallout nuclides." (pg. 35).
• "At the beginning of December an increase in cesium concentration was detected at both stations... the most probable reason for observations is a resuspension caused by snowflakes in the surroundings..." (pg. 60).

• "Radionuclides can be categorized to soluble or insoluble species which behave differently in wet or dry deposition." (pg. 1191).

• "Sludge dating from May 1986, containing the greatest amount of radioactive material should not be used on fields as a soil improvement agent." (pg.13-14).
• Areas of rain and runoff had increased levels of sludge contamination.

• Whole body counting measurement of 624 persons in six different groups in Finland in April-Dec. 1986:
• At the end of 1986 the mean ¹³⁴Cs body burden was 730 Bq.
• The ¹³⁷Cs mean body burden increased from 150 Bq to 1,500 Bq in December.
• Peak body burdens were: ¹³⁴Cs: 6,300 Bq. ¹³⁷Cs: 13,000 Bq.
• The two main routes for internal contamination were inhalation and, especially, ingestion.
• The minimum detectable activity (MDA) for ¹³⁴Cs or ¹³⁷Cs is 30 Bq when the nuclides are measured separately; the MDA for ¹³¹I is 20 Bq. (pg. 9).

Rantavaara, A. (1987). Radioactivity of vegetables and mushrooms in Finland after the Chernobyl accident in 1986: Supplement 4 to Annual Report STUK-A55. Report No. STUK-A59. Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, Helsinki.
 

May-Oct. 1986	Finland	Leafy vegetables	103Ru	400 Bq/kg
May-Oct. 1986	Finland	Herbs	132Te	730 Bq/kg
May-Oct. 1986	Finland	Cranberry	137Cs	530 Bq/kg
May-Oct. 1986	Finland	Mushrooms	137Cs	6,680 Bq/kg

• The wide variations in Chernobyl fallout are reflected in the wide variations of contamination in vegetables and mushrooms which range from very low to moderate contamination in most species except mushrooms.

• Low to moderate mean concentrations of contamination in milk were reported: ¹³¹I: 37 Bq/l; ¹³⁷Cs: 65 Bq/l.
• The national mean content of daily intake of ¹³⁷Cs from May-Dec 1986: 20 Bq/day (7,300 Bq/year).
• The 1985 average daily intake was 0.4 Bq/d (146 Bq/yr). The 1963 intake was 25 Bq/d (9,125 Bq/yr); this was the highest level of dietary intake of radiocesium resulting from nuclear weapons testing.
• Individuals in areas most affected by Chernobyl fallout had dietary intake levels of radiocesium far in excess of the national mean daily intake of 20 Bq/d.

• "The plutonium of Chernobyl origin correlates rather well with the non-volatile group and not at all with the volatile group. The volatile group comprises the nuclides ¹³⁷Cs, ¹³⁴Cs, ¹³¹I, ¹³²Te, and the non-volatile group ⁹⁵Zr, ¹⁴¹Ce, and Chernobyl-Pu. (pg. 119).

• "Fallout in Finnish Lapland was considerably less than deposition in S. Finland... the lichen-reindeer-man food chain, located in a nutritionally deficient area, efficiently enhanced the uptake of radiocesium." (pg. 3).
• 9,300 reindeer were sampled with a mean concentration of: ¹³⁷Cs: 720 Bq/kg fresh weight; ¹³⁴Cs: 230 Bq/kg fresh weight.
• Mean ¹³⁷Cs levels in fish from lakes in N. Finland ranged from 18-280 Bq/kg; ¹³⁴Cs median range was 3-100 Bq/kg.

• Highest concentration of radiocesium was found in the areas with the highest Chernobyl fallout.
• The smaller the lake the higher the concentration of radioactivity.

• The highest concentration of ¹³⁷Cs (5,300 Bq/m³) found in 1986 was about 1,000 times higher than the average concentration of ¹³⁷Cs in surface water in 1985, and 10-80 times higher than the highest values detected after the weapons test period in the 1960's.
• A hot spot of 11,000 Bq/m³ of ⁸⁹Sr was found in 1986.

• The dominant alpha-emitting nuclide was ²⁴²Cm, but levels were small, 0.02% of ¹³⁷Cs; for ^239,240Pu, 0.01% of ¹³⁷Cs.
• Chernobyl fallout was unevenly distributed in Finland: Variations in ¹³⁷Cs fallout ranged from 140 Bq/m² to 32,000 Bq/m².

• This report contains comprehensive real-time nuclide specific fallout data about the Chernobyl accident. The radionuclide concentrations noted in ground level air at Nurmijarvi on April 28 reached peak concentrations between 15.10 and 22.10; the record compiled by the Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety of the passage of the fallout cloud from Chernobyl at this location is one of the most important documents in the literature of radiological surveillance.
• The radionuclide concentrations listed below are measured in µBq/m³; their normal activity levels are either zero or measured as just a few millionths of a becquerel of activity in the vicinity of nuclear power plants. The use of the reporting level µBq/m³ in conjunction with real-time nuclide specific data collection, rather than as an averaged composite, graphically illustrates the extraordinary rise and fall of environmental radioactivity levels of the most important Chernobyl-derived nuclides as the plume pulse impacted this location.
• STUK documented the following activity levels in ground level air at Nurmijarvi on April 28:

• In the hours after 22.10 on the 28th of April, air concentrations of these nuclides began a rapid decline, in some cases reaching zero within 24 hours; in other cases not reaching zero for several weeks; or in the case of some of the longer lived radionuclides such as cesium, continuing throughout the summer at levels between 100 to 300 µBq/m³.
• The two other reporting stations in Finland at Helsinki and Rovaniemi with real-time monitoring capabilities reported significantly lower peak concentrations of Chernobyl-derived radionuclides during the passage of the first plume.
• For a point of comparison air concentrations of cesium-137 measured by the Riso National Laboratory in Denmark in 1988 had a peak arithmetic mean of 2.04 µBq/m³ out of two locations (See Riso R570, pg. 37). The highest recorded level of strontium-90 from weapons test fallout recorded in Denmark in the early 1960's was just over 1,000 µBq/m³ (micro becquerels per cubic meter).
• The extraordinary pulse of Chernobyl-derived fallout recorded at Nurmijarvi reminds us that fallout events consist not of one nuclide, but of many nuclides; the Chernobyl accident has introduced a whole series of unfamiliar (to the layperson) radionuclides which now must be considered along with the more familiar radioiodines and radiocesiums in the evaluation of nuclear accidents of the order of magnitude of the Chernobyl accident.
• The report of high levels of Chernobyl-derived fallout at Nurmijarvi are also anomalous in that ground deposition maps give no hint that such high air concentrations occurred at this location.

Barci, G., Dalmasso, J. and Ardisson, G. (1987). Letters:Chernobyl fallout measurements in some Mediterranean biotas. J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. 117(6). pg. 337-346.

• The Nice, France area experienced low levels of ground deposition; lichens had peak radiocesium concentrations of 4,983 Bq/kg.
• "The seaweed Spaerococcus exhibit(ed) a strong specific activity for iodine and ruthenium and poor concentration for cesium nuclides." (pg. 337).

• Preferential contamination of adult leaves.
• "Because of their rapid accumulation of radionuclides, they [adult leaves] may be a particularly interesting sentinel accumulator in the event of a nuclear accident..."
• These data were collected in an area of relatively low Chernobyl contamination.

• "Following the Chernobyl accident the SCPRI (Service Central de Protection Contre les Radiations Ionisantes) initially denied that the radioactive cloud had passed over France." (pg. 475).
• "Doubts over the accuracy of SCPRI figures led to the creation of an independent body CRIIRAD which periodically monitors levels of radiation in foodstuffs." (pg. 475).
• Cesium-134,137 in mushrooms was recorded at levels up to 24,000 Bq/kg, but no baseline data was available for interpreting this level of contamination.

• Printed in French only.  A most important survey of Chernobyl-derived contamination in the higher altitudes of the Alps in France and Italy (500 to 2260 meters) in the "massif du mercantour".
• Soil contamination (¹³⁷Cs) levels noted up to 545,000 Bq/kg.
• More information about this study will be posted as soon as we can locate an English translation.

Melieres, Marie A., Pourchet, Michel, Pinglot, Jean F., Bouchea, Robert and Piboule, Michel. (June 20, 1988). Chernobyl, ¹³⁴Cs, ¹³⁷Cs, and ²¹⁰Pb in high mountain lake sediment: Measurements and modeling of mixing process. Journal of Geophysical Research. 93(D6). pg. 7055-7061.

• "A value of 0.042 Bq cm^-2 has been estimated for the atmospheric ¹³⁷Cs fallout originating in Chernobyl release on the Alpine area: it represents 15% of the residual ¹³⁷Cs activity due to nuclear tests." (pg. 7055).

• "During 1984, total ^239,240Pu activity was much smaller (10-40 nBq/m³)." (pg. 818).

Bilo, M., Steffens, W. and Fuhr, F. (1993). Uptake of ^134/137Cs in soil by cereals as a function of several soil parameters of three soil types in Upper Swabia and North Rhine-Westphalia (FRG). J. Environ. Radioactivity. 19(1). pg. 25-40.
 

1986	Upper Swabia	Ground deposition	137Cs	43,000 Bq/m2
1986	Upper Swabia	Winter barley straw	137Cs	7.74 Bq/kg
1986	Upper Swabia	Winter barley grain	137Cs	3.26 Bq/kg

• Mean values in straw and grain, 1.64 Bq/kg + 0.52 Bq/kg respectively.

• Powdered milk shipments from West Germany to Angola showed levels to 6000 Bq/k (160,000 pCi/kg).
• Powdered milk shipped to Ghana, 5,460 Bq/kg.
• Powdered milk shipments to Egypt, 2,400 Bq/kg.
• Shipments returned to West Germany (Bavaria).
• Nuclide not specified; probably ¹³⁷Cs.

• "Main activity deposition occurred in the afternoon of April 30, ¹³⁷Cs: 17,400 Bq/m²; ¹³¹I: 85,000 Bq/m²; and ¹⁰³Ru: 24,000 Bq/m²." (pg. 262).
• ^134,137Cs were more concentrated in pollen than in honey with peak concentrations in honey to 500 Bq/kg in an area with relatively low cesium deposition.

Clooth, G. and Aumann, D.C. (1990). Environmental transfer parameters and radiological impact of the Chernobyl fallout in and around Bonn. J. Environ. Radioactivity. 12(2). pg. 97-120.

• Bonn escaped significant Chernobyl fallout. ¹³⁷Cs to 1,383 Bq/m² (highest of six locations).
• Geometric mean for soil-to-plant concentration factor for ¹³⁷Cs into pasture = 4.2 x 10^-2 (concentration of radionuclides in plant, wet weight, divided by concentration of radionuclides in soil, dry weight.)

• The 1985 peak concentration was 89 Bq/kg in mushrooms.
• Contamination with ¹³⁴Cs averaged about 40% of ¹³⁷Cs levels.

Heinzl, J., Korschinek, G. and Nolte, E. (1988). Some measurements on Chernobyl. Physica Scripta. 37. pg. 314-316.
 

May 1986	Munich	Dry moss	134,137Cs	30,000 Bq/kg
May 1986	Munich	Fawn meat	134,137Cs	3,200 Bq/kg

Hennies, H.H. (1986). Radiation measurements in Germany resulting from the Chernobyl accident. Nuclear Europe. 7-8. pg. 22-25.

• "Strontium-90, which used to dominate after earlier bomb tests was present in only approximately 1% of ¹³⁷Cs..." (pg. 22). ¹³¹I dominated activity measurements at 36.6% with ¹³²Te at 15.6% and ¹³²I at 15.6%.

• "From a health perspective the expected accumulations will contaminate barns, lead to significant exposure of farm workers, and may pose special threats to children." (pg. 817).
• Hot particles were noted (1-2 µm) with single-isotope source strengths of 1,000-10,000 Bq, which would pose a particular hazard in stored hay.

• "¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs air concentration levels decreased exponentially with a half-time of about 250 days; .... airborne activity of ¹⁰⁶Ru decreased with a half-time of about 150 days." (pg. 157).

• Gamma dose rate rose from a normal of 7-8 µRh^-1 to 108 µRh^-1.

• "In South Bavaria... A total of 364 samples from 83 different fungal species...were taken and analyzed." (pg. 135).
• "The ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration in the fruiting bodies ranges between 2 and 15,000 Bq/kg fresh weight, depending on the living habits and the species of mushroom." (pg. 135).
• "During the last five years, no significant decrease of the ¹³⁷Cs activity in the fruiting bodies studied has been observed." (pg. 135).

• The highest total specific activity of nuclides of depositing sediments reached 670,000 Bq/kg, with ¹⁰³Ru being the nuclide of greatest prevalence.
• Levels of deposited activity varied by a factor of 30 or more over distances of less than 100 km because of rainfall.

• Isotopic ratio of ¹²⁹I/¹³¹I was equal to 19 (+/- 5).
• ¹³¹I activity in human thyroids ranged from 91-227 Bq in four persons on May 6, 1986, dropping to a range of 15-36 Bq for seven people on May 27.

• 50 train cars of powdered milk destined for Egypt showed contamination of nearly 6000 Bq/kg.
• Other powdered milk in Cologne to 2400 Bq/kg.
• Contamination originated from Chernobyl-derived radiocesium in alpine meadows.
• Nuclides not specified, probably ¹³⁷Cs.

Online radiation fallout maps of Greece.

Assikmakopoulos, P.A., Ioannides, K.G., Pakou and Pparadopoulou, C.V. (1987). Transport of radioisotopes iodine-131, cesium-134, and cesium-137 from the fallout following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor into cheese and other cheese making products. J Dairy Sci. 70. pg. 1338-1343.
 

May 1986	Spirus, Greece	Sheep milk	131I	18,000 Bq/l (486,000 pCi/l)
May 1986	Spirus, Greece	Yogurt	131I	6,000 Bq/kg (162,000 pCi/kg)

Kritidis, P. and Florou, H. (1991). Environmental study of radioactive cesium in Greek lake fish after the Chernobyl accident. J. Environ. Radioactivity 28(3). pg. 285-294.

• "The local deposition of cesium varies significantly (to 45,000 Bq/m²); the bioaccumulation of cesium by the examined species seems to depend rather on the fish species than on the local environmental parameters." (pg. 285).

• Normal background radiation, noted as 4 µRh^-1, reached 40 µRh^-1 in some areas of Greece.

• Ground deposition is noted as 24,000 Bq/m²; this report doesn't indicate whether this is an average or a peak concentration.
• Peak concentrations of cesium-137 in soil is reported at 7,671 Bq/kg with all 28 soil samples showing significantly elevated radiocesium levels.

• Two unusual nuclides were reported in fallout in Greece: "the ^110mAg concentrations ranged from 4.5-46.1 Bq/kg in soils... and ¹²⁵Sb concentrations ranged from 15.6-284.6 Bq/kg in soils." Contamination levels in grass were one order of magnitude less than that in soils. (pg. 81).
• Peak concentrations of these nuclides were noted in December, "eight months after the accident, when the short-lived nuclides had decayed, and the specific activity of cesium nuclides had dropped to very low levels predominantly because of natural removal rather than decay." (pg. 82).

• The average consumption rates for the total yearly dietary intake of ¹³⁷Cs in Greece from May of 1986 to May of 1987 is 82,072 Bq/yr. The food samples used in this survey originated from all parts of Greece. (pg. 61).

• "... locally high wet depositions included ¹³¹I (117,000 Bq/m²), ¹⁰³Ru (48,000 Bq/m²), and ¹³⁷Cs (24,000 Bq/m²)." (pg. 199).

• "The results show that ¹³⁷Cs fallout from Chernobyl presents a remarkable geographical variability. The evaluated ground activity due to ¹³⁷Cs deposition ranges between 0.01 and 137 kBq/m²." (pg. 607).

Davidson, C.I., Harrington, J.R., Stephenson, M.J., Monaghan, M.C., Pudykiewicz, J. and Schell, W.R. (1987). Radioactive cesium from the Chernobyl accident in the Greenland ice sheet. Science. 237. pg. 633-634.

• Wet and dry deposition of ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs reported as: 0.072 mCi/km² and 0.22 mCi/km².
• "The measured airborne concentrations .... indicate that the radioactive cloud from Chernobyl spread rather uniformly across North America in the weeks after the accident." (pg. 634).

• "Very high total beta activity reported in snow." (pg. 183).
• In January 1987, additional snowfall reports are 10.05 Bq/kg and 23.46 Bq/kg, both near Mont Blanc.