More than fifty years activity of the nuclear industrial complex of Russia and other Republics of the former Soviet Union under the hard conditions of the cold war accomponing by the unconstrained arms race left its dangerous footprints of the radioactive contaamination on the vast territories of our country. Profound and tragic trace has been left in the fates of greate number of the people both workers of nuclear enterprices and citizens of the regions surrounding these enterprices. Many of them didn't live all years of their life given by nature, many others have lost their health, great number of them had to go away from native houses foreever. Particular concern arises due to that phenomenon that radioactivity impacts not only on the health of the people that were directly exposed to the radiation. It deforms the fates of their children and descendants since it spoils thin genetic mechanisms of the people and thus prolongs its fatal influence on the next generations.
To a certain extent all habitants of our planet became hostages of the atomic era since using the weapon of mass destruction in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, followed by numerous tests of more and more powerful nuclear bombs in the atmosphere as well as a number of technogenic disasters as Chernobyl gave rise to increasing of global radioactive background. Later impact of this phenomenon is hardly predictable. The problem becomes more complicated because of continious accumulation of radiactive wastes both due to activity of military industry and atomic power stations of civilian use. Until now the methods of reliable isolation of the high toxic nuclear wastes from biosphere and natural environment are not found. Existing now the method of deep well injection of radioactive wastes into geological formations dont present reliable warranty because migration of radioactive substances into under surface water is still possible (and one can observe this effect in some sites). Often this water is used as drinking water. Building of reliable storehouses for solid radiactive wastes disposal is very expencive and because of the absence of such enormous funds is continiously postponed. We have the similar picture with the clean-up and reabilitation of radioactively contaminated places. But this work cannot be postponed since nonreversable changes in the genetic structure of people can result in that in future there will be nobody who needs in the defence from radiation.
In the proposed book the main results on the generalisation, systematisation and analysis of vast information available now on this issue and collected by different istitutions are presented. This work on the collection, generalisation and analysis of available information has been done in the framework of the project "RADARM" that is a part of major program "Legacy of the Cold War" that is in progress in Green Cross of Russia at the financial support of the Swiss Green Cross and the Government of Swiss Confideration.
The book brifly presents major results of the "RADARM" project - computer based information system with large data base and advanced information technology for its presentation by means of geoinformation system. Information collected in data base may represent essential interest for research workers and specialists, policy makers, governmental agencies relevant to this problem, nongovernmental organizations of ecological and population health directions.It may be also useful for broad number of readers interesting in the problem of radioactive comtamination and its impact on the objects of biocphere.

The chapters of the presented book corresponds in greate extent to the internal reports of Green Cross of Russia on each section of the major project "RADARM". Graphic materials presented in the book are taken directly from geoinformation system developed in the framework of the project "RADARM".

The chapters of the book has been written by team of authors that were directly involved in the activity of the project. General edition of the book has been made by professors S.Baranovskii and V.Samosyuk.

The book is available in the office of Green Cross of Russia (Address: Moscow, Kuznetski most, 6/3). For futher information email to:"Vladimir Leonov" gcrus@glas.apc.org or "Valeri Samosyuk"samosuk@cemi.rssi.ru.

Content of the book "Radiation Legacy of the Cold War"

[Preface] [Introduction] [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 8]
[Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12]