Model for food chain transfer and dose assessment in areas of the Slovak Republic

The radio-ecological model ECOSYS-87 developed for German ecological conditions, has been adapted to the conditions of two sub-regions in the Slovak Republic. In particular, the selection of plant varieties used for animal feeding, the plants’ growing cycles and harvests, the animal feeding practices and the human consumption rates were subjected to adaptation. Measurements of caesium and iodine radioactivity in soil, plants and animal products that have mainly been performed in the vicinity of the Bohunice nuclear power plant after the Chernobyl accident, are compared with the results of the adapted model. Data from various locations with dry, mixed or predominantly wet deposition show in general good agreement. Received: 10 April 2000 / Accepted: 23 October 2000