Justification of strategies for agricultural countermeasures in the long term after the Chernobyl accident based on a cost-benefit analysis

Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, 249030 Obninsk, Russia

Abstract

In the long term after the Chernobyl accident the introduction of systems of countermeasures in agriculture must be based on the optimization principle. To implement this principle, a concept was used of evaluation of the effectiveness of countermeasures based on a cost-benefit analysis. Countermeasure options were developed separately for collective and private sectors of rural settlements. For each type of farming a range of countermeasures were defined and the optimal ones were identified. The effectiveness of countermeasures was estimated on the basis of integral criteria: cost of averted collective dose (1 man-Sv), overall costs needed for countermeasures introduction and time for fulfilling legal regulations. Based on the most effective countermeasures, optimal combinations (strategies) were developed. An assessment was given of the effectiveness of countermeasures aimed at reducing the radionuclide content in animal products from collective farms and lowering doses to rural residents affected by the Chernobyl accident, based on a comparative cost-benefit analysis. To optimize costs of the rehabilitation of agricultural lands, the most optimal in terms of meeting the standards strategy was determined, which is an address application of countermeasures.