Iodine in Soils and Potatoes Produced in Private Farms of Bryansk and Gomel Regions Located in the Impact Zone of the Chernobyl Accident

Abstract

Among residents of the Bryansk and Gomel regions of Russia and Belarus, who were exposed to the so-called “iodine attack” as a result of the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, there was a sharp increase in thyroid disease. Therefore, the natural iodine deficiency in soils was an important additional risk factor that could cause adverse reactions primarily among children, for whom the incidence of thyroid cancer in Belarus increased by 76 times. Potatoes belong to one of the main ration-forming foods for local population. In this regard, in 2007–2017, 97 settlements were surveyed in the affected areas, in which samples of local arable soils and potatoes were taken from 138 private subsidence farms (PFs).The iodine content in the studied soils of the private farms of the Bryansk region ranged from 0.11 to 3.5 mg/kg (air-dry weight). The content of iodine in potatoes grown on these soils varied within a considerably wider interval: from 0.002 to 0.119 mg/kg (wet weight), averaging 0.033 mg/kg, which indicates a generally low iodine transfer to this particular product. The data obtained deserve attention when organizing monitoring and carrying out measures for the prevention of iodine deficiency.