I N F O R M A T I O N
F12.v1

CONTAMINATION OF FARM PRODUCE

Contamination of foodstuffs wasdetermined by the date of the accident
and deposition characteristics
Over the weeks following the accident, thousands of analyses were carriedout on food products. Leafy vegetables, milk and meat were the main products
contaminated due to the season. The east of France was the most severely affected.
Contamination did not increase in proportion to deposition.

THE DATE OF THE ACCIDENT LIMITED THE REPERCUSSIONSIN TERMS OF CONTAMINATION OF LARGE-SCALE CEREAL,FRUIT AND WINE PRODUCTION
In early May 1986…
Wheat was in the blade. The kernels had not
yet started to form.
The leaves on vines and fruit trees were onlyin their early stages.
Some vegetables were ready to harvest.
Grass was abundent and the cattle wereoften out to graze.

GRASS IS HIGHLY RECEPTIVE TO RADIOACTIVE DEPOSITION
However, contamination levels are low inﬁne weather as deposition levels are low.
During a shower, contamination increases
with the level of deposition.
After a few millimeters of rainfall, plant andvegetable leaves only retain part of the waterand thus the depositions they receive. Thereis a higher level of deposition in the soil, but
grass contamination ceases to rise.

Grass contamination
Bq/kgl

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Rainfall (mm)and corresponding radioactive
deposition (Bq/m2)

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q/ orm2
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500 mmBq o/m 2 r

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Environment and Response
Division
Philippe Renaud
Tel. +33 (0)4 42 19 96 60
philippe.renaud@irsn.fr500lll

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www.irsn.org

AFTERMATHOFTHE

CHERNOBYL

ACCIDENTIN

FRANCEI N F O R M A T I O NRANGES OF CONTAMINATION VALUES
The map below presents the ranges of contamination values measured in cows’ milk andlettuce during the ﬁrst two weeks of May 1986. France can be divided into 4 areas in which thecontamination observed on foodstuffs was relatively homogenous.
In the east of France where deposition was highly variable, contamination of farm produce variedby a factor of 2 to 10 between the least affected areas and the areas receiving the highest levelsof deposition during rainfall.
Outside of the ﬁve departments in the south-east of France (Drôme, Ardèche, Bouches-du-Rhône,Vaucluse and Corse du Sud), cereals were not contaminated to a signiﬁcant extent as they werein their early stages of development at the time of deposition.

Ranges of contamination values for cows’ milk and lettuce (1st two weeks of May 1986)
Iodine 131 : 50 - 250 Bq/l
Caesium 137 : 20 - 50 Bq/l

Iodine 131 : 50 - 250 Bq/l
Caesium 137 : 20 - 50 Bq/lIodine 131 : < 100 Bq/l
Caesium 137 : < 10 Bq/l

Iodine 131 : 50 - 250 Bq/l
Caesium 137 : 20 - 50 Bq/l

Iodine 131 : < 100 Bq/l
Caesium 137 : < 10 Bq/l

Iodine 131 : 50 - 250 Bq/l
137Bq/l: 20 - 50 Bq/l
Iodine 131 Caesium: 100 - 600
Caesium 137 : 30 - 100 Bq/l
Iodine 131 : < 100 Bq/l
Caesium 137 : < 10 Bq/l
Caesium 137 : < 200 Bq/kg

Iodine 131 : < 100 Bq/l
Caesium 137 : < 10 Bq/l

Iodine 131 : 100 - 600 Bq/l
Caesium 137 : 30 - 100 Bq/l

Iodine 131 : 100 - 600 Bq/l
: 30 - 100 Bq/l
137fresh
700 Bq/kg
Iodine 131 : 300 - 2Caesium
Caesium 137 : 100 - 600 Bq/kg fresh

Caesium 137 : < 200 Bq/kg

Caesium 137 : < 200 Bq/kg
Iodine 131 : 30 - 250 Bq/l
Caesium 137 : 10 - 20 Bq/l

Iodine 131 : 300 - 2 700 Bq/kg fresh
Caesium 137 : 100 - 600 Bq/kg fresh

Iodine 131 : 300 - 2 700 Bq/kg fresh
Caesium 137 : 100 - 600 Bq/kg fresh

Postal address :Institut de Radioprotection

Iodine 131 : 100 - 600 Bq/l
Caesium 137 : 30 - 100 Bq/l

Caesium 137 : < 200 Bq/kg

Iodine 131 : 300 - 2 700 Bq/kg fresh
Caesium 137 : 100 - 600 Bq/kg fresh

Iodine 131 : 30 - 250 Bq/l
Caesium 137 : 10 - 20 Bq/l

Iodine 131 : 30 - 250 Bq/l
Caesium 137 : 10 - 20 Bq/l

Iodine 131 : 30 - 250 Bq/l
Caesium 137 : 10 - 20 Bq/l

et de Sûreté Nucléaire
DEI/SESURE/LERCM
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Head ofﬁce :77, av. du Général-de-Gaulle
92140 Clamart
Switchboard +33 (0)1 58 35 88 88
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AFTERMATHOFTHECHERNOBYLACCIDENTIN

FRANCEIRSN. Communications Department/CPRP; DEI. Printing: OPAG. 2006 F12.v1

Philippe Renaud