Ecological and Geochemical Features of the Underground Waters of the Semipalatinsk Test Site

Abstract

The results of the study of ecological and geochemical features and assessment of the water quality of water sources located on the territory of the Semipalatinsk test site are presented. The studied waters are diverse in chemical composition: 14 % of the samples had hydrocarbonate, 69 % – sulfate, and 17 % – chloride types of waters. On the basis of the revealed features of the elemental composition of the underground waters of the Semipalatinsk test site, decreasing series of excess of the average concentrations of elements in water in relation to the composition of waters of the zones of hypergenesis and continental salinization were constructed: U14> Mo8> Sr8> V3(hypergenesis zone), U5> Mo3> Sr3> V2(zone of continental salinization). For the groundwater of the Semipalatinsk test site, specific elements were identified, such as U, Mo, Sr and V. The water quality was assessed for the studied chemical components based on comparison with the standards of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the World Health Organization (SaNPiN No. 209, WHO 2011).