Emission of Radionuclides from the Destroyed Unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

Investigations of radionuclide emission resulting from the Chernobyl accident are briefly reviewed. Three ways to estimate emission are examined: direct investigations of radionuclides emitted from the destroyed unit; study of the quantity and composition of radionuclides emitted on the territory after the active stage of the accident was over; study of the quantity and composition of radionuclides remaining in the No. 4 unit. All three methods suffer from serious difficulties which are examined in the paper. New data are presented. These data concern estimates of the emission of fuel particles, 137Cs, and 131I. 6 tables, 17 references.