N. Laverov Federal Centre for Integrated Arctic Research of Russian Academy of Sciences, 109 Severnoj Dviny Emb., Arkhangelsk 163000, Russia.
N. Laverov Federal Centre for Integrated Arctic Research of Russian Academy of Sciences, 109 Severnoj Dviny Emb., Arkhangelsk 163000, Russia.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Nov;172:112765. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112765. Epub 2021 Aug 4.
This paper studies the activity of natural and technogenic radionuclides in bottom sediments and surface water of the Pechora River estuary, which is the largest Arctic river within the European part of Russia. The relevance of conducting radioecological studies of this region is associated with active oil and gas activities in the Pechora basin and the presence of potential sources of radiation hazard. The average activities of Cs, Ra, Th, and K in bottom sediments were 0.16, 18.72, 13.36, and 373.59 Bq·kg, respectively. The average activity of Ra in the bottom sediments of the Pechora delta was two times higher than in other rivers of the Arctic basin of the European part of Russia, which is associated with oil and gas activities that are carried out in the Pechora basin. This is due to the fact that the decay products of uranium are the main by-products of oil and gas production. The specific activity of technogenic Cs in bottom sediments of the Pechora River delta was low and did not exceed 2.2 Bq·kg-1. We did not detect any radioactive Sr in bottom sediments. The low Cs activity in the bottom sediments of the Pechora delta was associated with both the larger granulometric composition of the sediments in comparison with the estuaries of the Siberian rivers, and with low concentrations of Cs in the terrigenous material (soil) entering the river from the catchment area. This was due to the low levels of Cs contamination in the soil of the Pechora river basin. We did not find any negative radiation effects of the underground nuclear explosion "Pyrite" carried out in the northern part of the delta, since there were no other technogenic radionuclides. The values of the radionuclides H, Cs, Ra, Th and K, as well as the total alpha activity in the surface waters of the Pechora River delta, turned out to be below the detection limit. In surface waters, we were able to determine only the total beta activity, which varied over a range from 19.6 to 59.6 Bq·m with an average value of 33.9 Bq·m, which was significantly lower than the radiation safety standards. The values of the radiation hazard parameters were below the world average levels and were not significantly hazardous to the health of people living in the area of the Pechora River delta. We concluded that at present, in the Pechora River delta, there are pastures for reindeer with low levels of natural and man-made radioactivity. These conducted studies are the source material in a series of comprehensive studies of the current radioecological state of the tundra territories of the European part of Russia.
本文研究了位于俄罗斯欧洲部分的最大北极河流——佩乔拉河河口的底泥和地表水的天然和人为放射性核素活性。对该地区进行放射性生态学研究的相关性与佩乔拉盆地的石油和天然气活动以及潜在辐射危害源有关。底泥中 Cs、Ra、Th 和 K 的平均活度分别为 0.16、18.72、13.36 和 373.59 Bq·kg。与在该盆地进行的石油和天然气活动有关，佩乔拉三角洲底泥中的 Ra 平均活度比俄罗斯欧洲部分北极流域的其他河流高出两倍。这是因为铀的衰变产物是石油和天然气生产的主要副产品。佩乔拉河三角洲底泥中人为 Cs 的比活度较低，不超过 2.2 Bq·kg-1。我们没有在底泥中检测到任何放射性 Sr。佩乔拉三角洲底泥中 Cs 的低活度与底泥的粒度组成与西伯利亚河流的河口相比更大，以及进入河流的陆源物质（土壤）中 Cs 的浓度较低有关。这是由于佩乔拉河流域土壤中 Cs 的污染水平较低。我们没有发现北方三角洲进行的地下核爆炸“Pyrite”的任何负面辐射影响，因为没有其他人为放射性核素。在佩乔拉河三角洲的地表水，H、Cs、Ra、Th 和 K 放射性核素以及总α活度值均低于检测限。在地表水中，我们只能测定总β活度，其范围从 19.6 到 59.6 Bq·m，平均值为 33.9 Bq·m，明显低于辐射安全标准。辐射危害参数值低于世界平均水平，对生活在佩乔拉河三角洲地区的人的健康没有显著危害。我们得出结论，目前在佩乔拉河三角洲，有低天然和人为放射性的驯鹿牧场。这些研究是俄罗斯欧洲部分苔原生态区当前放射性生态状况综合研究系列的原始资料。
