Radioecological studies of urban soils in the Arkhangelsk region

• Main Authors: Баженов, Александр Викторович, Яковлев, Евгений Юрьевич, Игловский, Станислав Анатольевич, Дружинин, Сергей Валерьевич
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Russian
• Published: ФГБУН Институт почвоведения и агрохимии СО РАН 2022
• Subjects: радиоактивность; городские почвы; 137Cs; 40К; 226R; 232Th; город Мезень; посёлок Каменка; Мезенский район; Архангельская область; radioactivity; urban soils; 40K; 226Ra; Mezen city; Kamenka village; Mezensky district; Arkhangelsk region; Marinelli; Arkhangelsk; Архангельск*; Мезень
• Online Access: https://soils-journal.ru/index.php/POS/article/view/182

The aim of the study: to analyze the radioecological status of soils in the Mezen city and the Kamenka village (Mezensky district of the Arkhangelsk region) and to identify low-intensity anomalies in soil 137Cs, 226Ra, 232Th and 40K specific content on the studied territory. Location and time of the study. Field work was carried out in the summer of 2021 on the territory of the Mezen city and Kamenka village and their environs (Mezensky district of the Arkhangelsk region). Methodology. To accomplish the task, the soil from the upper 5 cm layer of Urbikvizems, Culturozems and Replantozems at 68 sites was sampled in the study area. Under laboratory conditions, the samples were air-dried and placed in Marinelli vessels to measure specific activity of isotopes by gamma spectrometry. The registration of gamma radiation from a soil sample, as well as the processing of the spectra, was carried out using the Progress-gamma software and hardware complex FVKM.412131.002-03. The energy calibration of the gamma spectrometer was carried out after each measurement using a combined control source OISN-137-1 in a 1-liter Marinelli vessel. The minimum exposure time for the counting sample was 3600 seconds. Results. The specific activity of 137Cs in the upper 5 cm layer varied from 1,6 to 24,2 Bq/kg in Mezen and from 2,4 to 26,1 Bq/kg in Kamenka, with an average value of 5,88 and 8,27 Bq/kg, respectively; higher specific activities of this radionuclide was observed in the Kamenka soils as compared with the Mezen soils. For 226Ra and 232Th higher activity was also observed in the Kamenka soils. The 40K specific content in the urban soils of the studied area was almost uniform. The specific activity of technogenic 137Cs and natural radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in the upper 5 cm of soil layer on pastures and grasslands was comparable to the urban soils in Mezen and Kamenka. In forest soils the 137Cs specific activity was more than three times higher, reaching 65,4 Bq/kg. Analysis of the spatial distribution of the specific ...