The concentrations of (238)U, (234)U, (226)Ra, (210)Po and (210)Pb have been determined in surface waters collected along the course of the Shu River, lying on the border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. In the study area, the river runs through some of the largest uranium deposits worldwide, which were actively exploited during the nuclear weapons and nuclear energy programmes of the former Soviet Union. The data show an increasing trend in uranium concentrations downstream the river from the city of Tokmak to the city of Shu, with good correlation between total uranium concentrations and total dissolved solids. Data on uranium isotopes disequilibrium show the presence of technogenic uranium inputs into the Shu River downstream from the city of Karasu, evidenced by a decrease in the measured (234)U/(238)U isotopic ratio from 1.63 in uncontaminated sites to 1.29 in sites affected by past mining activities.

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Increased demand for agricultural products leads to soil depletion and increased use of mineral and organo-mineral fertilizers. Mineral fertilizers used in agriculture may contain contaminators such as heavy metals or radionuclides that can migrate and accumulate in plants. Although migration and accumulation abilities directly depend on species in which they are presented. Determination of species of heavy metals and radionuclides can be done by sequential extraction technique, which takes long time and a lot of reactants. Preliminary evaluation can be done on the basis of data of simultaneous thermal analysis. In the present study the simultaneous thermal analysis was used for investigation of mineral fertilizers, purchased in Almaty. “Fasko” with ammonia nitrate and “Bujskie udobreniya” fertilizers contain water-soluble fractions and “Ljubo zeleno” and “Fertika” contain organic soluble fractions.

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