The inflow of uranium 234U and 238U from the Vistula River catchment area to the Baltic Sea

Abstract

Abstract In the study, the activities of uranium 234U and 238U in the Vistula River water samples which were collected from November 2002 to October 2003, were measured using alpha spectrometry. In winter, the highest concentration of uranium isotopes and total uranium was in the Vistula River water from Malbork (13.13±0.22 Bq m−3 for 234U, 12.45±0.21 Bq m−3 for 238U and 1.02±0.30 mg m−3 for total uranium), and the lowest was in water from Dęblin (1.73±0.07 Bq m−3 for 234U, 1.55±0.07 Bq m−3 for 238U and 0.13±0.09 mg m−3 for total uranium). In analyzed river samples uranium isotopes 234U and 238U are not in the radioactive equilibrium state. The values of 234U/238U activity ratio lie between 1.05–1.70. During spring, the highest concentration of uranium isotopes and total uranium was found in the Vistula River water from Malbork (12.36±0.19 Bq m−3 for 234U, 10.77±0.17 Bq m−3 for 238U and 0.88±0.25 mg m−3 for total uranium), and the lowest was in water taken from Sandomierz (5.77±0.14 Bq m−3 for 234U) and Kraków (4.08±0.11 Bq m`−3 for 238U and 0.33±0.18 mg m−3 for total uranium). The values of 234U/238U activity ratio lie between 1.15–1.64. In summer, the highest concentration of uranium isotopes and total uranium was found in the Vistula River water samples taken from Malbork (8.22±0.21 Bq m−3 for 234U, 7.60±0.21 Bq m−3 for 238U and 0.62±0.29 mg m−3 for total uranium), and the lowest was in water from Sandomierz (6.37±0.12 Bq m−3 for 234U) and Kraków (3.56±0.19 Bq m−3 for 238U and 0.29±0.33 mg m−3 for total uranium). The values of 234U/238U activity ratio lie between 1.08–1.95. In autumn the highest concentration of uranium isotopes and total uranium was in the Vistula River water from Malbork (17.80±0.25 Bq m−3 for 234U, 15.12±0.23 Bq m−3 for 238U and 1.23±0.34 mg m−3 for total uranium) and the lowest was in water from Toruń (8.15±0.49 Bq m−3 for 234U) and Kraków (6.34±0.47 Bq m−3 for 238U and 0.52±0.78 mg m−3 for total uranium). The values of 234U/238U activity ratio lie between 1.10–1.74. Annually, the southern Baltic Sea is enriched by about 507 GBq uranium isotopes 234U and 238U, with 490 GBq going to the Gdańsk Bay and 16.5 GBq to Vistula Lagoon. The highest surface 238U runoff was observed in spring (to 1200 kBq km−2 quarter−1 for catchment´s area), the lowest in summer for Bug with Narew catchment´s area to 20 kBq km−2 quarter−1). These studies are very important for the inflow estimation of natural and anthropogenic alpha radionuclides to the Baltic Sea.