The Union State Prepared Atlas of Chernobyl Disaster Contaminated Areas

At the press conference in the National Press Center of the Republic of Belarus Belarusian and Russian scientists presented an Atlas of current and projected consequences of Chernobyl disaster on the affected areas of Belarus and Russia which was prepared within the framework of the Union State.

At the press conference in the National Press Center of the Republic of Belarus Belarusian and Russian scientists presented an Atlas of current and projected consequences of Chernobyl disaster on the affected areas of Belarus and Russia which was prepared within the framework of the Union State.

The Atlas of radioactive contamination of Belarusian and Russian territories was prepared as part of the Union State programme of joint activities aimed to eliminate the consequences of Chernobyl disaster designed for 2006-2010.

“The Atlas, prepared by Belarusian and Russian scientists, contains not only retrospective information about radioactive contamination of the territories as a result of the disaster, but also forecast maps of contamination till 2056,” said Deputy Head of the Department for elimination of the consequences of Chernobyl disaster at the Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus Nikolai Tsybulko.

According to the Deputy Head of the Department, 19 organizations took part in the project. The Atlas consists of four sections containing general, cartographic and reference information.

Nikolai Tsybulko said that Polesye Radiological Reserve was explored using the funds of the Union budget. As part of this study the scientists drew up the maps of contaminated areas and forecast maps until the year 2056 with an interval of 10 years.

The unique publication is not a commercial project and will not be on sale, the Atlas is designed for regional libraries located on the affected areas, educational institutions and regional authorities. In Russia the number of printed copies of Atlas makes up 1000, in Belarus – 1400 and another 1400 copies were issued in electronic format.