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Reconstruction of the contamination of the Techa River in 1949–1951 as a result of releases from the “MAYAK” Production Association

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Abstract

More accurate reconstruction of the radioactive contamination of the Techa River system in 1949–1951 has been made on the basis of refined data on the amounts and the rate of discharge of radionuclides into the Techa River from the Mayak Production Association; this has led to the development of a modified Techa River model that describes the transport of radionuclides through the up-river ponds and along the Techa River and deposition of radionuclides in the river-bottom sediments and flooded areas. The refined Techa River source-term data define more precisely the time-dependent rates of release and radionuclide composition of the releases that occurred during 1949–1951. The Techa River model takes into account the time-dependent characteristics of the releases and considers (a) the transport of radionuclides adsorbed on solid particles originally contained in the discharges or originating in the up-river ponds as a result of stirring up of contaminated bottom sediments and (b) the transport of radionuclides in soluble form. The output of the Techa River model provides concentrations of all source-term radionuclides in the river water, bottom sediments, and floodplain soils at different distances from the site of radioactive releases for the period of major contamination in 1950–1951. The outputs of the model show good agreement with historical measurements of water and sediment contamination. In addition, the river-model output for 90Sr concentration in the river water is harmonized with retrospective estimates derived from the measurements of 90Sr in the residents of the Techa Riverside villages. Modeled contamination of the floodplain soils by 137Cs is shown to be in agreement with the values reconstructed from late measurements of this radionuclide. Reconstructed estimates of the Techa River contamination are being used for the quantification of internal and external doses received by residents of the Techa Riverside communities.

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Notes

  1. “Gram-equivalent of radium” (g-e Ra) is an old unit used to specify the amount of gamma-emitting materials present in a sample. Thus, one g-e Ra corresponds to the amount of a gamma-emitting radionuclide (or mixture of radionuclides) that produces the same amount of ionizations as does one gram of radium in equilibrium with its short-lived progeny. One mg-e Ra is approximately equal to 0.5 nGy m2 s−1.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been funded by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Domestic and International Health Studies, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, and the Federal Medical-Biological Agency of the Russian Federation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine, 68a Vorovsky Street, 454076, Chelyabinsk, Russian Federation

    N. B. Shagina, M. I. Vorobiova, M. O. Degteva, L. M. Peremyslova & E. A. Shishkina

  2. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    L. R. Anspaugh

  3. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA

    B. A. Napier

Authors
  1. N. B. Shagina
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  2. M. I. Vorobiova
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  3. M. O. Degteva
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  4. L. M. Peremyslova
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  5. E. A. Shishkina
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  6. L. R. Anspaugh
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  7. B. A. Napier
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Correspondence to N. B. Shagina.

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Shagina, N.B., Vorobiova, M.I., Degteva, M.O. et al. Reconstruction of the contamination of the Techa River in 1949–1951 as a result of releases from the “MAYAK” Production Association. Radiat Environ Biophys 51, 349–366 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-012-0414-0

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