Artificial Radionuclides in the System: Water, Irrigated Soils, and Agricultural Plants of the Crimea Region

Abstract

In the frame of the radioecological monitoring after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, the features of migration and distribution of artificial radionuclides in the North Crimean Canal (NCC) irrigation system were studied. Standard methods of radiochemical analyzes and modern radiospectrometric equipment were used. It was determined that the irrigation system of the NCC retains 43–59% 90Sr, 59–60% 239+240Pu, and 66–70% 137Cs of the concentration radionuclides entering to irrigated fields with the Dnieper waters. The NCC irrigation system plays the role of a buffer against the radionuclide pollution of the Karkinitsky Bay (the Black Sea). Differences in the accumulation of radionuclides by agricultural crops were revealed. The 90Sr and 239+240Pu transfer factors (TF) for alfalfa were n × 10−2 and n × 10−1, respectively. The TF for wheat, corn, and rice for 90Sr were n × 10−3, and for 239+240Pu—n × 10−2. A radioecological assessment on the safety agriculture along the NCC was made: in the absence of an increase in the entry of the Chernobyl origin radionuclides with the Dnieper river waters to the NCC, the levels of activity concentration of artificial radionuclides in cultivated crops will not exceed the maximum permissible concentration for food raw materials in the coming years.