The Environmental State of Soils in the Epicentre of the Underground Nuclear Explosion “Tavda”

About the authors:

Leonid N. Skipin, Dr. Sci. (Agricult.), Professor, Department of Technosphere Safety, Tyumen State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering; bgd@tgasu.ru

Yelena V. Zakharova, Cand. Sci. (Biol.), Associate Professor, Department of Technosphere Safety, Tyumen State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering; elena72.78@mail.ru

Vasilia Z. Burlaenko, Post-Graduate Student, Department of Technosphere Safety, Tyumen State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering; burlaenko@yandex.ru

Abstract:

One of the sources of environment components radioactive contamination is underground nuclear explosions that were conducted for “peaceful” purposes in the second half of the XX century. 
The main source of radionuclides intake into surface food chains is soil. As a result of underground explosions, radionuclides infilter soil, enter biogeochemical migration cycles, and become new soil components.
The authors of the article have carried out a research of the content of the technogenic radionuclides in the soil of the underground nuclear explosion called area “Tavda”. The authors have presented the analysis of the technogenic radionuclides contamination according to compass points within the distance of 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 meters from the epicentre of the explosion, patterns of vertical distribution of strontium-90 and cesium-137 are also considered.
The obtained data, taking into account radionuclides half-life, show that the radiation situation in the epicentre of the explosion remains high.

References:

1. GOST 28168-98. “Pochvy. Otbor pochv” [“Soils. Soil Selection”].
2. Ivanov, V. K., V. V. Kascheev, S. Yu. Chekin, A. M. Korelo, A. N. Menyaylo, M. A. Maksyutov, A. I. Gorskiy, K. A. Tumanov, and Ye. A. Pryahin. 2011. “Uroki Chernobylya i Fukusima: prognoz radiologicheskih posledstviy” [The lesion of Chernobyl and Fukushima: Forecast of radiological consequences]. Radiatsiya i risk [Radiation and Risk], vol. 20, no. 3.
3. Klevezal, G. A. 1998. “Issledovanie istorii zhizni osobey i struktury populyatsiy mlekopitayuschih i reptiliy na osnove analiza registriruyuschih struktur organizma” [The Study of Animal Units Life Cycles and Mammals and Reptiles Population Structure on the Basis of the Registering Body Structures Analysis]. Otchet o NIR/NIOKR No. 96-04-48734 [Research Report No. 96-04-48734].
4. Larionova, N. V., and S. N. Lukashenko. 2013. “Postuplenie radionuklidov iz pochvy v rastenie v zone radioaktivnyh vypadeniy na territorii byvshego Semipalatinskogo poligona” [Radionuclides Intake from Soil into the Plant in the Zone of Radioactive Fallout on the Territory of the Former Semipalatinsk Testing Area]. Radiatsiya i risk [Radiation and Risk], vol. 22, no. 3.
5. Larionova, N. V., S. N. Lukashenko, and N. I. Sanzhariva. 2013. “Parametry nakopleniya radionuklidov rasteniyami v mestah ispytaniya boevyh radioaktivnyh veschestv na territorii byvshego Semipalatinskogo poligona” [Parameters of Radionuclide Accumulation in Plants on the Radioactive Warfare Agents Test Sites on the Territory of the Former Semipalatinsk Testing Area]. Radiatsiya i risk [Radiation and Risk], vol. 22, no. 4. 
6. Panatsky, A. V., and S. N. Lukashenko. 2013. “Kharakter pereraspredeleniya radionuklidov v sisteme voda-pochva v ekosistemah, sopryazhennyh s radioaktivno-zagryaznennymi vodotokami iz shtolen, na ispytatelnoy ploschadke ‘Degelen’ Semipalatinskogo ispytatelnogo poligona” [The Nature of Radionuclides Redistribution in the Water-Soil System in the Ecosystems Associated with Radioactively-Contaminated Waterways from Tunnels on the Test Site “Delegen” of the Semipalatinsk Testing Area]. Radiatsiya i risk [Radiation and Risk], vol. 22, no. 4.
7. Peremyslova, L. M., I. Ya. Popova, V. A. Kostyuchenko, and N. N. Kazachyonok. 2012. “Radiatsionno-ekologicheskoe sostoyanie 30 km zony PO ‘Mayak’” [Radiation-Environmental Status of the 30 km Zone of the Production Enterprise “Mayak”]. Tyazhelye metally i radionuklidy v okruzhajuschey srede. Materialy VII Mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii [Heavy Metals and Radionuclides in the Environment. Proceedings of the VII International Scientific-Practical Conference], vol. II.
8. Sapozhnikov, Yu. A., R. A. Aliev, and S. N. Kalmykov. 2006. Radioaktivnost okruzhajuschey sredy. Teoriya i praktika [Environment Radioactivity. Theory and Practice]. Moscow: BINOM. Laboratoriya znaniy [Knowledge Laboratory].
9. Starkov, V. D., V. I. Migunov. 2007. Radiatsionnaya ekologiya [Radiation Ecology]. Tyumen: OAO “Tyumenskiy dom pechati” [JSC “Tyumen Publishing House”].
10. Sych, Yu. G., and L. V. Dubinko. 2012. “Radioekologicheskaya obstanovka na arhipelage Novaya Zemlya” [Radioecological Situation in the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago]. Arktika: Ekologiya i ekonomika [The Arctic: Ecology and Economy], no. 1(5), pp. 48-59.
11. Yablokov, A. V. 2003. Mif o bezopasnosti i effektivnosti mirnyh podzemnyh yadernyh vzryvov [The Myth of the Safety and Efficiency of Peaceful Underground Nuclear Explosions]. Moscow.
12. Zakharova, Ye. V., Ye. V. Gaevaya, and L. N. Skipin. 2013. “Ekologicheskaya otsenka radiatsionnoy obstanovki avtonomnyh okrugov v sledstvii vliyaniya Vostochno-Chernobylskogo sleda” [Environmental Assessment of the Autonomous Regions Radiation Situation as a Consequence of the East Chernobyl Trace Influence]. Agroprodovolstvennaya politika Rossii [Agrofood Policy of Russia], no 9, pp. 88-92.