Artificial (90Sr, 137Cs) and Natural (40K, 232Th and 238U) Radionuclides in the Dnieper Water of the North Crimean Canal and the Irrigated Agricultural Lands along It (2022–2023)
摘要
Based on the results of the 2022–2023 studies, the radioecological state of the aquatic ecosystem of the North Crimean Canal (NCC) was assessed in terms of long-lived artificial (90Sr, 137Cs) and natural (40K, 238U, 232Th) radionuclides. The role of Dnieper water, which again entered Crimea along the NCC bed in 2022, in the transfer of technogenic and natural radionuclides to irrigated agricultural lands in this region was also studied. Standard methods of radiochemical sample processing, as well as beta and gamma spectrometry, adopted in global practice, were used. It has been determined that 37 years after the Chernobyl accident, the Dnieper water remains a source of secondary ingress of 90Sr (up to 427.2 Bq/m3 in dissolved form) and 137Cs (up to 521.9 Bq/kg dry mass on suspended matter) through the NCC into the territory of Crimea. The forecast has shown that, at least for 10 years after the ingress of Dnieper water with the same levels of specific activity of 90Sr and 137Cs, which were determined in 2022–2023, the development of irrigated agriculture in Crimea will be radiation safe.