Mechanical decontamination tests in areas affected by the Chernobyl accident

Decontamination was carried out around three houses in Novo Bobovichi, Russia, in the summer of 1997. It was demonstrated that significant reductions in the dose rate both indoor (DRF = 0.27) and outdoor (DRF = 0.17) can be achieved when a careful cleaning is undertaken. This report describes the decontamination work carried out and the results obtained.

The roof of one of the houses was replaced with a new roof. This reduced the Chernobyl related dose rate by 10 % at the ground floor and by 27 % at the first floor. The soil around the houses was removed by a bobcat, while carefully monitoring the ground for residual contamination with handheld dose meters.

By monitoring the decline in the dose rate during the different stages of the work the dose educing effect of each action has been estimated. This report also describes a test of a skim&burial plough developed especially for treatment of contaminated land. In the appendices of the report the measurement data is available for further analysis.