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The radiation monitoring of forest ecosystems as the constituent of general forest monitoring and state monitoring of an environment as a whole, is at the same time a constituent of a system of information support of forestry as a branch of industry. For achievement of goals of radioecological monitoring it is necessary to involve various structural subdivisions both of State Committee of Forestry of Ukraine, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and also State Committee of Nuclear Safety of Ukraine. Probably for its implementation it would be expedient to use a network of points of observation of Committee of Hydrometeorology of the country. In forestry as a branch of general industry partially specially prepared experts of local forestry units and two central forest-accounting expeditions can solve problems of radiation monitoring. From our point of view by development of the programs and methodology of observations, collecting and processing of obtained analytical data, creation of analytical materials and prognosis of development of a situation in forests should conduct special subdivisions of Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute of Forestry and Forest Amelioration (UkrSRIFA) or special State Centre of Forest Monitoring.

It is necessary to mark that for acceptance of quick decisions on management of forestry in conditions of radioactive contamination the application of GIS-technology is demanded on the basis of radiation monitoring of forest ecosystems. GIS-technology in application to purpose and main tasks of monitoring provides:

Coal mines, such as those which occur on the arctic island of Spitsbergen, provide potentially useful scenarios in which techniques can be developed for the assessment of comparative risks from simultaneous exposures to a mixture of environmental contaminants. Exposures to ionizing radiation can be enhanced at coal mine sites to a small but significant degree and there is the potential for relatively high exposure at a small number of locations where combustion of coal may have occurred. Of chief concern amongst non-radioactive contaminants of coal wastes are the carcinogens arsenic and the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Exposures to both these radioactive and non-radioactive contaminants can occur common pathways such as soil ingestion. Following quantification of exposure common routes such as soil ingestion, techniques and data currently exist to allow the calculation of the comparative risks associated with both types of contaminant. A scheme is proposed by which such comparative risks can be calculated and the results from an example calculation are presented. This example indicates that the lowest risks are associated with artificially derived (i.e. weapons fallout) radionuclides such as Cs while higher risks are to expected from naturally occurring radionuclides and from non-radioactive contaminants of coal wastes. It would be informative to extend the comparative use of radiation dose assessment methodology and slope factors for non-radioactive contaminants to examine the relative impacts and risks associated with the contamination of the environment in other areas where multiple pollution occurs.

It is proposed the method of estimation of risk due to combined radiation and chemical food contamination.

This method is the synthesis of “Maximum Permissible Concentration” (MPC) methodology of the Former USSR and methodology of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). The pseudo-slope-factors are introduced in this method. They are calculated on the base of approximation of threshold criteria (MPC) by nonthreshold criteria.

This method was used for analysis of situation in 10 regions of Ukraine. In particular, it is shown that chemical risk may exceed radiation risk. The some results of this analysis are illustrated by examples for Kievska and Volinska regions.

In summary, constant inhabiting of rodents at the SMZ of the Sergievo-Posadsky radioactive waste disposal site induces some genetic effects. However, these changes are not typical only for ionizing factors. Pathological-morphological changes in internal organs, muscle and osteal tissues were not noticed. Statistical significant changes in the haematological parameters and clinical status of animals were not detected. The data on the myeloperoxidase activity in blood neutrophiles and the sensitivity of spleen lymphocytes to hydrogen peroxide prove a development of some adaptive processes in bank voles from the SMZ of the Sergievo-Posadsky radioactive waste disposal site.

The results of the water toxicity measurements by using the proposed method demonstrate that it can be helpful for both the study of photosynthesis and respiration of aquatic plants in general, and for water toxicity measurements as well.

Further researches must be directed for revealing the most sensitive species of plants to a chemical stress (to use them as test organisms), and for studying effects of individual and simultaneous actions of different chemical substances on physiological functions of hydrophytes.

The results obtained independently both in greenhouse and field trials in 10-km zone of ChNPP demonstrate the decrease in plant disease resistance. Analysis of biochemical mechanisms underlying the decrease in wheat and rye disease resistance revealed reduction in activity of proteinase inhibitors in the plants. An opaquemutation of corn could be a useful tool in understanding low dose radiation effects. The population structure of , a causal agent of stem rust and one of the most severe pathogens, has been changed in 10-km ChNPP zone by appearance of a “new” population with high frequency of more virulent clones.

This study was designed to demonstrate the biological effects of BPA, one of the well-known endocrine disruptors, by means of the micronucleus assay. The biological effect of gamma rays on the same cell system was also evaluated for comparison with that of BPA to estimate the equidosimetric effectiveness of BPA. Fresh cuttings of BNL 4430 were treated with BPA solutions of 0 to 4 mM for 6 hours for the absorption of the solution through the stem of the plant cuttings. Other groups of the cuttings were irradiated with 0 to 1.0 Gy of gamma rays. The frequencies of micronucleus showed a positive dose-response relationship in the range of 0 to 0.5 Gy, and a clear concentration-response relationship in the experimental range of BPA concentrations. By comparing the two experimental results, it is possible to estimate the BPA concentration and its equivalent radiation dose for a fixed value of MCN frequency. BPA of 11.8 mM can give rise to 53.3 MCN/100 tetrads, the same frequency that is induced by 25 cGy of gamma rays. It is of biological importance that clinical symptoms start to develop after a whole body exposure to radiation higher than 25 cGy. The results indicated that the pollen mother cells were an excellent biological end-point for measuring toxicity of endocrine disrupting chemical bisphenol A. In addition, Trad-MCN assay can be easily applied to measure the biological effects of suspected endocrine disruptors such as octylphenol and nonylphenol.

It follows from the presented results that models, being used now for the estimation of biological effects of low-level radiation and combined effects of low doses and concentrations of factors of different nature, are founded on the linear nothreshold concept. A hypothesis on additivity of effects, allowing even extrapolation, has no strong biological substantiation and is in contradiction with available experimental data. The regularities in the formation of cytogenetic effects of low doses are characterised by vital non-linearity and have a universal character, differing for various objects in dose values at which there are changes of the dependency character. Chronic exposure at doses above a certain value can be an ecological factor altering the genetic structure of a population. The further development of this problem should result in a determination of levels of biological organisation, test-objects and test-systems which can become a basis for ecologically substantiated estimates of biological consequences for biota and human from habitation in areas where radiation-dangerous objects are located or which experienced heavy radiation accidents.

The present radiation situation in Ukraine officially refers as difficult. Radiation safety includes a component which is formed by military activity. This component is very important. Special attention to this radiation safety component is necessary because of significant specificity of military activity. In the article separate problems of radiating safety on military objects are considered. Also ways of the decision of problems to Armed Forces of Ukraine are discussed in the article.

The methods of military object ecological inspection are proposed and the scheme of interaction between state structures, systems and objects in general system of national ecological safety is developed. The necessity of conducting ecological inspections during solving ecological problems including the problem of radioactive security of military objects of Ukraine is emphasized.

The ecological inspection of military objects is essentially the audit of profitability, efficiency and productivity of usage of resources allocated for nature protection measures by bodies of the Ministry of Defense.

The ecological inspection is organized under the initiative of the supervisor of an object or activity and is ecological self testing or ecological self estimation in character. It is carried out irrespective of state ecological expertise and includes ecological audit. The ecological audit is conducted by specialized auditor organizations having the appropriate qualifying certificate (license). The ecological audit of military - administrative activity is directed on accomplishment of independent checks of the bookkeeping (financial) accountability, operating documentation, tax returns and ecological obligations from the point of view of their conformity to the existing ecological legislation in the field of an environmental protection and using of natural resources.