Radionuclides 137Cs and 90Sr in Components of the Black Sea Ecosystems: Contemporary Status and Prognosis

Does Salinity Affect the Distribution of the Artificial Radionuclides 90Sr and 137Cs in Water of the Saline Lakes? A Case of the Crimean Peninsula

“…The results of our radioecological monitoring showed that the concentration of 90 Sr in 1987 in the surface water of the Kakhovskaya reservoir was at order higher (645.7-991.6 Bq/m 3 ) than that after the atmospheric precipitation of this radionuclides in 1986 (19.6-98.1 Bq/m 3 ) and in 43-66 times higher than the pre-accident levels concentration of 90 Sr in water of the Black Sea (15 Bq/m 3 ) [16]. The concentration of 90 Sr in water of the NCC changed as follows: 59.3 Bq/m 3 -in 1986, 522.2 Bq/m 3 -in 1987, 105.6 Bq/m 3 -in 1995 [11], 54.9 Bq/m 3 -in 2011 [17]. At the same time in 2011, the 90 Sr concentration was 3.7 Bq/m 3 in water of the Chernorechenskoe reservoir, to which water came from the slopes of the Crimean mountains [17].…”

“…The concentration of 90 Sr in water of the NCC changed as follows: 59.3 Bq/m 3 -in 1986, 522.2 Bq/m 3 -in 1987, 105.6 Bq/m 3 -in 1995 [11], 54.9 Bq/m 3 -in 2011 [17]. At the same time in 2011, the 90 Sr concentration was 3.7 Bq/m 3 in water of the Chernorechenskoe reservoir, to which water came from the slopes of the Crimean mountains [17]. All above indicate on the secondary entry of the dissolved radionuclides from the Chernobyl NPP accident region through the cascade of the Dnieper reservoirs and the NCC into such remote areas as the Crimea and the Black Sea.…”