Modern Radioecological Situation in Forest and Fallow Ecosystems of Kaluga Oblast
2020
Tsvetnova, O. B. | Kononets, O. P. | Shcheglov, A. I.
This paper presents an assessment of the modern radioecological situation in forest (pine, spruce, and birch forests) and fallow ecosystems in contaminated areas of Kaluga oblast, Russian Federation. The densities of soil contamination with natural radionuclides (²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K) in the study area conform to the background levels; while the soil contamination with the technogenic radionuclide (¹³⁷Cs) significantly exceeds the background level (3 kBq/m²) varying from 60.8 to 273.8 kBq/m². Forest ecosystems (especially coniferous ones) are contaminated with ¹³⁷Cs to the highest extent, while fallow ecosystems are least contaminated. The ¹³⁷Cs contamination density in the soils has decreased by more than 3 times in comparison with the initial period after the fallout (1986); however, it still significantly exceeds the permissible level (37 kBq/m²). The total specific activity of soils and equivalent absorbed dose rates in ecosystems of contaminated areas are primarily determined by the ¹³⁷Cs contribution; while, in background areas, it is determined by the ⁴⁰K contribution.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by National Agricultural Library