Abstract
Radiocaesium and radiostrontium contamination in the ‘soil – rhizosphere – plants (aerial parts)’ system was monitored in the floodplain ecosystem of the Yenisei River in the near impact zone of the Krasnoyarsk Mining and Chemical Combine (MCC). The monitored system included soil, rhizosphere, and sedge vegetation on islands and the river’s east bank. The 137Cs and 90Sr specific activities displayed intricate space and time patterns controlled by the river water level, including the time and duration of floods and their correlation with the sedge vegetation season. The specific activities of both radionuclides, especially 137Cs, were above the background in all years of observation, except in a few cases. The soil-to-plant transfer factor (TF) patterns showed continuous 137Cs and 90Sr influx into the system and annual variations in the shares of their bioavailable and fixed forms, especially for 90Sr. The 90Sr distribution in the ‘soil – rhizosphere – plants’ system observed in 2014–2016 provides evidence for possible local fallout.
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Acknowledgements
The study was performed on a government assignment to V.S. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy (Novosibirsk) and was partly supported by grant 18-05-00953 from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. The analytical measurements of 137Cs and 90Sr were performed at the Analytical Center for Multi-Element and Isotope Research, Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy (Novosibirsk, Russia).
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State assignment of IGM SB RAS and RFBR Grants 18–05-00953.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Samples collection was performed by Marya Kropacheva, Mikhail Melgunov, and Aleksey Chuguevsky; sample preparation was performed by Marya Kropacheva; analysis was performed by Mikhail Melgunov, Irina Makarova, and Aleksey Chuguevsky. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Marya Kropacheva and Yulia Vosel. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Kropacheva, M., Melgunov, M., Makarova, I. et al. Monitoring and assessment of 137Cs and 90Sr radioactive isotopes in the ‘soil – rhizosphere – sedge’ system of the Yenisei River floodplain (near impact zone of Krasnoyarsk MCC, Russia). Environ Monit Assess 193, 473 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09260-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09260-2