A radiation safety assessment in aquatic ecosystems formed by self-discharging wells: a case study of the watercourse: the well No. 36-RG — a stream — the Aremzyanka River

Abstract

This article investigates the impact of geothermal water from the Cherkashinskaya No. 36-RG self-injection exploration well on ecosystem watercourses. The well was drilled in 1965 to investigate deposits of iodine-bromine water. This article presents estimations of the acceptable levels of radiation hazard content in the water and near-bottom sediments of gravity-flow hydrogeological wells. The radiation safety of working with these materials for personnel in geological exploration and national economic enterprises is also evaluated. The article provides information on the study of the natural radiation background, as well as results on the natural radioactivity of the bottom sediments and the volumetric radium content of the water. Natural radioactivity in the bottom sediments of potassium (40K) and thorium (232Th) is analyzed in this study. The relevance of this research originates from over fifty years of pollution by highly mineralised iodine-bromine water within the catchment area of one of Western Siberia's largest transboundary rivers, the Irtysh River. The Aremzyanka River is first-order tributary of the Irtysh River, and it receives water from a stream originating from exploration well No. 36-RG.