Spatial datasets of radionuclide contamination in the Ukrainian Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Abstract. The data set "Spatial datasets of radionuclide contamination in the Ukrainian Chernobyl Exclusion Zone" was developed to enable data collected by the Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Radiology after the Chernobyl accident to be made publicly available. Data for samples collected between May 1986 (immediately after Chernobyl) to 2014 are presented. The dataset includes, results from comprehensive soil sampling across the Exclusion Zone (includes 137Cs, 90Sr and soil property data), Pu-isotopes activity concentrations in soils (including distribution in the soil profile), analyses of "hot" (or fuel) particles from the CEZ (data from across Europe are also included), results of monitoring in the Ivankov region adjacent to the Exclusion Zone. Recently, the CEZ was suggested as a "Radioecological Observatory" i.e., a radioactively contaminated site that will provide a focus for joint, long-term, radioecological research which will help address challenges identified for the field of radioecology. For this to be successful, relevant data for the CEZ need to be made openly available; indeed the deficiency of open data has been highlighted as one of the causes for the lack of scientific consensus with regard to published studies from within the CEZ and more recently areas affected by the 2011 Fukushima accident. The data presented here are a first step in this process. The data and supporting documentation are freely available from the Environmental Information Data Centre under the terms and conditions of the Open Government Licence: https://doi.org/10.5285/782ec845-2135-4698-8881-b38823e533bf.