TOMSK POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L.V. Nadeina,  L.P. Rikhvanov 
 
 
 
 

INTRODUCTION TO RADIOECOLOGY 

Recommended by the Board of Educational Methodological Association  
on linguistics of Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation  
as English language manual for master students making  
special study of geoecology, radioecology and radioactive raw materials development 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tomsk Polytechnic University Publishing House  
2014 

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ И НАУКИ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ  
Федеральное государственное автономное образовательное учреждение высшего образования 
«НАЦИОНАЛЬНЫЙ ИССЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬСКИЙ 
ТОМСКИЙ ПОЛИТЕХНИЧЕСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ» 

 

 
 
 
 
 
Л.В. Надеина, Л.П. Рихванов  
 
 
 
 
ВВЕДЕНИЕ В РАДИОЭКОЛОГИЮ 
 
 
Рекомендовано Учебно-методическим объединением по образованию  
в области лингвистики Министерства образования и науки  
Российской Федерации в качестве учебного пособия по английскому языку  
для магистрантов, специализирующихся в области геоэкологии,  
радиоэкологии и освоения месторождений радиоактивного сырья 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Издательство 
Томского политехнического университета 
2014 

УДК 539.19(075.8) 
ББК  22.383я73 
Н17 
 
Надеина Л.В. 
Н17 
 
Введение в радиоэкологию: учебное пособие / Л.В. Надеина, 
Л.П. Рихванов; Томский политехнический университет. – Томск: 
Изд-во Томского политехнического университета, 2014. – 356 с. 

ISBN 978-5-4387-0429-4 

Цель пособия – подготовить магистрантов к активному общению на 
профессионально ориентированные темы в рамках направления подготовки. 
Большое внимание уделяется развитию умений и навыков говорения и 
аудирования на темы, связанные с историей изучения радиоактивности, с 
проблемой распространения радионуклидов и радиологическим состоянием 
окружающей среды. Тексты составлены на основе аутентичной учебной и 
научной литературы.  
Предназначено для магистрантов ИПР с уровнем языковой подготовки  
Intermediate, специализирующихся в области геоэкологии, радиоэкологии и 
освоения месторождений радиоактивного сырья. Может использоваться как 
для аудиторной, так и для самостоятельной работы. 
 
УДК 539.19(075.8) 
ББК  22.383я73 
 
Рецензенты 
 
Доктор философских наук, доцент ТГУ 
В.М. Смокотин 
 
 
Кандидат филологических наук, доцент ТГПУ 
Е.А. Крюкова 
 
Доктор технических наук, профессор ТПУ 
В.И. Косинцев 
 
 
 
 
 
ISBN 978-5-4387-0429-4 
© ФГАОУ ВО НИ ТПУ, 2014 
© Надеина Л.В., Рихванов Л.П., 2014 
© Оформление. Издательство Томского  
политехнического университета, 2014 

UNIT I 

INTRODUCTION TO RADIO`ECOLOGY 

 

I. 
WARMING-UP 
 
Look at the picture and answer the following questions: 
 
The interest in radioecology increased after the Chernobyl accident in 
1986 when large parts of some countries were contaminated with radioactive 
fallout. 
a) 
What is the man doing now? 
b) 
Why is he doing this? 
c) 
How often does he do this? 
 

Fig. 1. Collecting water for testing in laboratory 

 
 
 
 
 

II. PRE-READING TASK 
 
1. Guess the meaning of the words and remember the pronunciation. 

 
ecology         [ı:ĸɔǀəʤı] 
radioactive    [̗reıdıəu´æĸtıv] 

substance      [´sʌbst₍ə₎ns] 
migration      [maı´greıʃ₍ə₎n] 

ecosystem     [͵ı:kəu´sıstəm] 
aspect            [´æspekt] 

concept         [´kɔnsept] 
radiation        [͵reıdı´eıʃ₍ə₎n] 

protection      [prə´tekʃ₍ə₎n] 
dose               [dəus] 

human           [´hju:mən] 
radionuclide   [ˏreıdıəu´nju:klaıd] 

ion                 [´aıən] 
discipline       [´dısəplın] 

effect             [ı´fekt] 
risk                 [rısk] 

bomb             [bɔm] 
stratosphere    [´strætə͵sfıə] 

 
2. Match the English word combinations to the Russian equivalents.  

 
1. key event     
a) взаимодействовать с природой 

2. to interact with nature   
b) перемещение веществ 

3. huge amounts of radionuclides с) прогнозирующая имитационная  
модель 

4. substances migration 
d) основные, традиционные  области 

5. the first test of nuclear bombs   е) радиационная защита  
6. the predictive simulation model f) основание для оценки доз 
7. to be concerned with        
g) последствия радиоактивного  
загрязнения    

8. basic traditional fields  
h )взаимодействие  
организмов с радионуклидами 

9. risk assessment  
i) источники ионизирующего излучения 

10. radiation protection  
j) влияние радиации 

11. man-made radioactive 
pollution  
k) радиоактивное загрязнение среды, 
вызванное деятельностью человека  

12. basis for estimating doses    
l) оценка риска 

13. impacts of radiation  
m) иметь дело с чем-либо 

14. the consequences of  
radioactive pollution 
n) первое испытание  атомных бомб 

15. sources of ionizing radiation   о) огромные количества радионуклидов 
16. interaction of organisms 
with radionuclides 
p) ключевое событие 

3. Read the text «What is radioecology?» and pay attention to the terms in bold. 
 
What is radioecology? 
Radioecology is a branch of ecology which studies how radioactive 
substances interact with nature, how different mechanisms affect the sub-
stances migration and uptake in food chain and ecosystems.  
Investigations in radioecology might include aspects of field sampling, 
designed field and laboratory experiments and the development of predictive 
simulation models. This science combines techniques from some of the more 
basic traditional fields, such as physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology and 
ecology, with applied concepts in radiation protection. Radioecological stud-
ies form the basis for estimating doses and assessing the consequences of ra-
dioactive pollution for human health and the environment. 
This particular branch of ecology studies interactions of organisms and 
ecosystems with radionuclides and ionizing radiation. Such a study focuses 
on pathways of radionuclides in the environment and it also investigates 
sources and strength of ionizing radiation in natural ecosystems. 
So this scientific discipline includes everything that matters as to envi-
ronmental and biological impacts of radiation. The fields of application are 
broad; they range from natural radiation to man-made radioactive pollution. 
The study of natural processes, such as the incorporation of radionuclides in-
to body mass, community webs and  community food chains, and technolog-
ical applications, such as those that deals with radioprotection and risk as-
sessment are both important for the development of the field. 
Radioecology is related to radiobiology. But in radiobiology one stud-
ies the biological effects of radiation on organisms.  
The ecosystem concept suggests that radioecologists should be con-
cerned with that affect whole ecosystems. Their concern is not only with 
risks for human health. They are searching for protection in a broader sense, 
considering whole ecosystems. Radioecology is a science that came up after 
the first tests of nuclear bombs. One wanted to know how this discharge of 
huge amounts of radionuclides into the stratosphere would affect ecosystems 
and their communities and food chains. The Chernobyl Disaster 1986 was 
another key event that sparked new studies in the field of radioecology.     
 
(Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia. 
http://www.wikipedia.org/) 
 
 
 
 

III. TERMINOLOGY  DEVELOPMEMT 
 
1. Fill in the gaps with the correct prepositions.  
       
1) radioactive substances interact _____ nature;  2) the consequences ___  ra-
dioactive pollution _____ human health;  3) study focuses _____ pathways of 
radionuclides; 4) sources and strength _____ ionizing radiation ______ natu-
ral ecosystems; 5) range ______ natural radiation _____ man-made radioac-
tive pollution; 6) the incorporation ______ radionuclides _____ body mass; 
7) deals ______ radioprotection and risk assessment; 8) the biological effects 
_____ radiation ______ organisms; 9) be concerned ______; 10) important 
______ the development _____ the field; 11) this discharge ______ huge 
amounts _____ radionuclides _____ the stratosphere; 12) new studies 
_______ the field _____ radioecology. 
 
2. Match the definition with the following terms. 
 
1. radioactive wastes 
a) is the uncontrolled distribution of radioactive 
material in a given environment 

2. acute radiation 
exposure 
b) is the distribution of radioactive contamination 
by a nuclear explosion 

3. chronic exposure 
c) is a form of damage to organ tissue due to ex-
cessive exposure to ionizing radiation 

4. radioecology 
d) is the study of the biological effects of radiation 
on organisms 

5. internal exposure 
e) is a unit of absorbed radiation dose defined in 
terms of the energy actually deposited in the tissue 

6. external exposure 
f) is exposure which occurs when the radioactive 
source is outside the organism which is exposed 

7. rad 
g) is when the radioactive material enters the or-
ganism, and the radioactive atoms become incor-
porated into the organism 

8. radiobiology 
h) is the study of the pathways of radionuclides in 
the environment and their impact on biota 

9. radiation poisoning 
i) is exposure to ionizing radiation over an extend-
ed period of time 

10. nuclear fallout 
j) is an exposure to ionizing radiation which occurs 
during a short period of time 

11. radioactive 
contamination 
k) are waste products containing radioactive  
materials 

3. Read the following text and fill in the missing words and word combina-
tions.  
 
approximately; global scale; contamination; radioactive isotopes; rotation of 
radionuclides; radiosensitivity; irradiated populations; agriculture, cardinal 
principles; natural background; long-lived radionuclides; stock-breeding 
 
Radiation ecology is a branch from two independent scientific discipline, 
such as general radiobiology and ecology. This is rather a young scientific 
direction, which has gained particular relevance after mass testing of atomic 
weapons. By then it was become comprehensible, that 1) ________ by radio-
nuclides was occurring not on the local level (nuclear test areas, industrial 
places of atomic industry enterprises), but brings to consequences of 
2) ________. By this, basically, are defined 3) _____________ of the given 
science, which is considered in studying of distribution, migration and 
4) ____________ in the biosphere as well as by influence of ionization radia-
tion on ecological systems. 
Certainly, in natural conditions organisms are irradiated for the account 
of natural background of ionization radiation, which is caused by radiation of 
5) ____________ in lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, and by cosmic 
radiation. Radiation rate is determined by the 6) ___________ in the bio-
sphere, so it is rather small, 7) ___________ 0,1 rad an year, and in most cas-
es it does not produce an observable influence upon alive organisms. As a re-
sult of appearance additional amount of radionuclides in the biosphere (radia-
tion sources) alive organisms were subjected both to irradiation, caused by 
the natural radioactive background and to artificial radioactive nuclides (not 
only external but also internal exposure from incorporated radionuclides).  
Because of different 8) ____________ of plant and animal species irra-
diation of natural biocenoses can bring to change ones species by others, to 
change of interspecific and intraspecific relations. Radiation and genetic 
changes appear in 9) _____________, natural mutative rate increases, it is 
occurring radiostability deviance on population level. 
Contamination of extensive territory by artificial radionuclides, both in 
Ukraine (Chernobyl exclusion zone and zone of the unconditional (obligato-
ry) eviction, Kiev, Zhitomir, Rovno region), and abroad (Belorus, Russia, 
Sweden, Finland etc) has attracted attention of radioecologists to study the 
ways of radionuclide migration in the biosphere. Radioactive materials, in-
cluding 10) ______________ of strontium and caesium are moving by cer-
tain biological chains, for instance soil − plant − animal − person. Study of 
artificial radioactive nuclide migration in biocenoses and in food chains is re-
quired for evaluation of their accumulation in separate sections of biological 

chains and for possible consequences of additional irradiation created by 
them in plant, animal and person. Practical interest are presented radioecolog-
ical studies that were carried out on these territory, which have allowed to re-
alize regularities of radionuclide accumulation in cultural plant and in animal 
organism, as 11) _____________ and 12) ____________ products are 
sources of radionuclide fluxes in organism of person.  
 
IV. READING FOCUS  
 
1. Read the text again. Which paragraphs contain the answers to these 
questions? 
 
1) What does radioecology study? 
2) What techniques does this science combine? 
3) What do radioecological studies form? 
4) What does such study focus on? 
5) How is radioecology related to radiobiology? 
6) What does this particular branch of ecology investigate? 
7) What do the fields of application of this scientific discipline range     
    from? 
8) What does the ecosystem concept suggest? 
9) What did radioecologists want to know after the first tests of nuclear    
     bombs?  
10) What sparked new studies in the field of radioecology? 
 
2. Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text? 
 
TRUE……………         if the statement agrees with the information. 
FALSE………….               if the statement contradicts with the information. 
NOT GIVEN…………….  if there is no information on this. 
 
 
1. Investigations in radioecology might include 
aspects of field sampling, designed field and la-
boratory experiments 
 

 

2. As a result of appearance additional amount 
of radionuclides in the biosphere, alive organ-
isms were subjected both to irradiation, caused 
by the natural radioactive background and to ar-
tificial radioactive nuclides