Components of the comprehensive radioecological criticality index (RECI) for territories

This document presents a comprehensive framework for assessing radioecological risks in contaminated territories, developed by the Institute of Agroecology and Environmental Management of the NAAS (Ukraine). The methodology integrates landscape, soil, and anthropogenic factors to calculate a Radioecological Criticality Index (RECI) using standardized coefficients derived from long-term monitoring and modeling data. Key Components: 1. Environmental Parameters: o Hydrographic conditions (distance to water bodies) o Terrain morphology (slope steepness) o Runoff accumulation intensity o Soil cover types (77 genetic soil classifications) 2. Land Use & Contamination: o Land cover types (e.g., forests, agricultural areas, wetlands) o ¹³⁷Cs contamination levels (10 classes, kBq/m²) o Anthropogenic pressure (agricultural/forestry activities) 3. Dose Assessment: o Population dose load (5 tiers, mSv/year) Tables Included: · Table 1: RECI component coefficients (Hc, Tm, Ri, Sc, etc.) · Table 5: Soil cover coefficients (e.g., Podzolic chernozems = 0.45) · Table 6: ¹³⁷Cs contamination coefficients (73.5 for >1480 kBq/m²) · Table 7-9: Land cover, landscape contamination, and dose load coefficients. Applications: · Prioritizing remediation efforts in radioactively contaminated regions. · Supporting land-use planning and agricultural safety measures.