This article is devoted to the study of the impact of the development of the Lomonosov diamond deposit on the pollution of watercourses with trace metals. The high water cut of the exposed rock strata and the presence of groundwater require the constant pumping of wastewater into the filtration fields, and then to the nearby river. This work shows a significant contribution of discharge processes and drainage waters to the trace metal contents in the surface waters of the Zolotitsa river; an increase in the concentrations of Mg, Sr, Zn, Cu, Cd, As , and Se was noted. The seasonal variations of physicochemical parameters, the trace metal contents, as well as the total uranium and U isotope 234U, 238U, and 235U were analysed. Calculations of water quality indices (HMEI, HMPI, and HMTL) and public health risks (HI and CR) revealed a high level of pollution of certain sections of watercourses. Radiological studies of polluted rivers in the area showed a satisfactory situation. The results of this study can provide a basis for the subsequent monitoring of the impact of anthropogenic activities on nearby watercourses in the development of diamond deposits.

Severodvinsk city is the largest industrial center for the construction and repair of naval vessels in the NW Russia. The purpose of the presented study was to identify the main sources of pollution of the Severodvinsk industrial region and assess the ecological situation based on analysis of toxic metals in water and snow. Heavy metals content in water, melt snow filtrate and solid residue was measured using ICP-MS. On the urban area, there were high concentrations of Fe (up to 2843 MPC) in soluble form of snow, Al (up to 4680 MPC), Fe (up to 2807 MPC), Ni (up to 66.5 MPC), Pb (up to 44.7 MPC), Cd (up to 43.3 MPC), Cr (up to 43.2 MPC), Mn (up to 13.3 MPC), Co (up to 7.3 MPC), and As (up to 3.4 MPC) in insoluble form of snow, Fe (up to 56213 MPC) in water from wells. There were high values of mineralization (598 mg/L) and low pH values (to 5.21) in sites most susceptible to anthropogenic pollution. Statistical analysis showed that most of the metals in snow cover were linked with each other by strong correlation (r>0.9). Calculation of toxicological indices HMEI, HMPI, HMTL, HI and CR showed extremely high and dangerous for public health level of heavy metal pollution in the Severodvinsk industrial district. Studied radiation parameters of water from wells were within acceptable limits. Results obtained indicate the need to change the type of fuel in thermal power plant and reduce toxic emissions from the shipbuilding enterprises.

Uranyl carbonate (UC(VI)) is a stable form of uranyl (U(VI)) that widely coexists with amorphous colloidal silica (ACSi) and humic acid (HA) in carbonate-rich U-contaminated areas. In this context, the cotransport behavior and mechanism of UC(VI) with ACSi (100 mg L⁻¹) and HA colloids in saturated porous media were systematically investigated. It was found that the ACSi and strip-shaped HA have a strong adsorption capacity for UC(VI), and their adsorption distribution coefficient (Kd) is 4–5 orders of magnitude higher than that of quartz sand (QS). In the ternary system, UC(VI) was mainly existing in the colloid-associated form at low UC(VI) concentration (4.2 × 10⁻⁶ M). Compared with the individual transport of UC(VI), the presence of ACSi and strip-shaped HA in the binary system promotes the transport of low-concentration UC(VI) (4.2 × 10⁻⁶ M) but shows a hindering effect when UC(VI) = 2.1 × 10⁻⁵ M. When ionic strength (IS) increased from 0 to 100 mM, the individual transport of UC(VI) and ACSi was weakened owing to the masking effect and the compression of the electrical double layer, respectively; this weakening effect is more pronounced in the binary (UC(VI)–ACSi) system. Notably, the transport of UC(VI) and ACSi in the ternary system is independent of the changes in IS due to the surface charge homogeneity strengthening the electrostatic repulsion between HA and QS. The Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek theory and retention profiles reveal the co-deposition mechanism of ACSi and UC(VI) in the column under different hydrochemical conditions. The nonequilibrium two-site model and the mathematical colloidal model successfully described the breakthrough data of UC(VI) and ACSi, respectively. These results are helpful for evaluating the pollution caused by UC(VI) migration in an environment rich in HA and formulating corresponding effective control strategies.

Genetic effects and radioactive contamination of large mammals, including wild boar (Sus scrofa), have been studied in Japan because of dispersal of radionuclides from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011. Such studies have generally demonstrated a declining trend in measured radiocesium body burdens in wildlife. Estimating radiation exposure to wildlife is important to understand possible long-term impacts. Here, radiation exposure was evaluated in 307 wild boar inhabiting radioactively contaminated areas (50–8000 kBq m⁻²) in Fukushima Prefecture from 2016 to 2019, and genetic markers were examined to assess possible germline mutations caused by chronic radiation exposures to several generations of wild boar. Internal Cs activity concentrations in boar remained high in areas near the power plant with the highest concentration of 54 kBq kg⁻¹ measured in 2019. Total dose rates to wild boar ranged from 0.02 to 36 μGy h⁻¹, which was primarily attributed to external radiation exposure, and dose rates to the maximally exposed animals were above the generic no-effects benchmark of 10 μGy h⁻¹. Using the estimated age of each animal, lifetime radiation doses ranged from <0.1 mGy to 700 mGy. Despite chronic exposures, the genetic analyses showed no significant accumulation of mutation events. Because wild boar is an occasional human dietary item in Japan, effective dose to humans from ingesting contaminated wild boar meat was calculated. Hypothetical consumption of contaminated wild boar meat from radioactively contaminated areas in Fukushima, at the per capita pork consumption rate (12.9 kg y⁻¹), would result in an average effective annual dose of 0.9 mSv y⁻¹, which is below the annual ingestion limit of 1 mSv y⁻¹. Additionally, a consumption rate of about 1.4 kg y⁻¹ of the most contaminated meat in this study would not exceed annual ingestion limits.

Radioactive pollution comes on the top of pollution types that affect human life directly through damaging the human genome or indirectly via his food web. The current study focused on the evaluation of radiation effects of Assiut Thermal Power Plant (ATPP) ashes on two crop plants, potato and squash, in terms of morphological and molecular levels. More particularly, the specific activity concentrations were measured in Bq/kg, of the ²³⁸U (²²⁶Ra) and ²³²Th series, and ⁴⁰K-isotope for the untreated soil sample (control) and ATPP ash sample (represents the radioactive source with 100% concentration). Different concentrations of ATPP ash (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8%) were mixed with soil sample to study the effect of radioactively contaminated soil on potato and squash plants. The results of the present investigation revealed that the morphological characteristics of both potato and squash plants were changed, which reflected a steep regression in the values of all vegetative growth and yield traits. The alterations of the characteristic values were directly proportional to the radioactive ash concentration in the soil. In the same context, the molecular evaluation using PCR-based markers, e.g., ISSR and SCoT helps in understanding and explaining experimental observations at morphological level. ISSR/SCoT bands confirmed the toxicity and mutagenicity of radioactive ash samples at their present dose on both potato and squash plants. The present findings clearly explained the morphometric and genetic abnormalities in two of the main consumed crops by a human. Thus, the green area around the ATPP may disappear in the future due to increasing the pollution in terms of the radioactive component that directly attached to plants or indirectly by mixing with soil.

Plutonium in the environment has drawn significant attentions due to its radiotoxicity in high concentration and source term linked with nuclear accidents and contaminations. The isotopic ratio of plutonium is source dependent and can be used as a fingerprint to discriminate the sources of radioactive contaminant. ²³⁹Pu, ²⁴⁰Pu and ¹³⁷Cs in surface soil and soil cores collected from Northern Xinjiang were determined in this work. The concentrations of ²³⁹,²⁴⁰Pu and ¹³⁷Cs are in the range of 0.06–1.20 Bq kg⁻¹, and <1.0–31.4 Bq kg⁻¹ (decay corrected to Sep. 2017), respectively, falling in the ranges of global fallout in this latitude zone. The ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu atomic ratios of 0.118–0.209 and ²³⁹,²⁴⁰Pu/¹³⁷Cs activity ratios of 0.039–0.215 were measured. Among the investigated sites, distinctly lower ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu atomic ratios of 0.118–0.133 and higher ²³⁹,²⁴⁰Pu/¹³⁷Cs activity ratios of 0.065–0.215 compared to the global fallout values were observed in the northwest part, indicating a significant contribution from other source besides the global fallout. This extra source is mainly attributed to the releases of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing at Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, which was transported by the west and northwest wind through the river valley among mountains in this region. This contribution is estimated to account for 28–43% of the global fallout in the northwest part of Northern Xinjiang. The contribution from the Chinese atmospheric nuclear weapons testing to this region is negligible due to the lack of appropriate wind direction to transport the radioactive releases to this region.

Next to the city of Huelva (SW of Spain), around 100 Mt of phosphogypsum (PG) are stored in stacks on the salt-marshes of the Tinto River estuary covering a surface of about 1000 ha. Due to the high content of ²³⁸U series natural radionuclides of the PG, its acidic nature (pH about 3), and the fact that PG stacks were disposed without any kind of isolation from the substrate, they could produce a potential radioactive impact into the underlying sediments.The aim of this work is to assess the pollution of the underlying sediments by natural radionuclides coming from the PG stacks. To this end, seven cores were taken, and PG and sediments samples collected at different depths were analysed. The activity concentrations of the main long half-live natural radionuclides of interest were determined by applying both gamma-ray and alpha-particle spectrometry radiometric techniques.The results of this study showed that the first decimeters of salt-marsh sediment act as a “barrier” for the radionuclides coming from the PG stacks decreasing rapidly its activity concentration in depth, affecting mainly sediments located in the first 20 cm below the contact due to mixing processes. While ²³⁰Th, ²²⁶Ra and ²¹⁰Pb pollution is mainly restricted to the first 20 cm of sediments, U-isotopes can reach higher depths (up to around 50 cm) by leaching processes due to their lower reactivity and higher concentration in the polluted leachates. The obtained results have high relevance for the design of the perimeter channel which is projected to build in the restoration project, suggesting that should has around 1 m deep under the base of the PG stacks, to ensure the full collection of polluting leachates, and to prevent their release into the estuary of the Tinto River.

Potential nuclear accidents propel serious environmental pollution, and the resultant radionuclide release devastates severely the environment severely and threatens aquatic organism survival. Likewise, ongoing climate change coupled with the gradual increase in global surface temperatures can also adversely impact the aquatic ecosystems. In the present study, we preconditioned zebrafish (Danio rerio) at three different temperatures (18 °C, 26 °C and 34 °C) to investigate the effects of a temperature profile on their radiosensitivity (exposure to 20 Gy of gamma rays) to identify the potential biochemical mechanism responsible for influencing radiosensitivity. We found that preconditioning of zebrafish at different temperatures moulded specific gut microbiota configurations and impacted hepatic glycometabolism and sensitivity to subsequent radiation. Following antibiotic treatment to reduce gut bacteria, these observed differences in the expression of hepatic glycometabolism-related genes and radiation-induced intestinal toxicity were minimal, supporting the hypothesis that the gut bacteria reshaped by different ambient temperatures might be the key modulators of hepatic functions and radiosensitivity in zebrafish. Together, our findings provide novel insights into the connection of radiation injuries with temperature alterations in fish, and suggest that maintaining the stability of gram-positive bacteria may be efficacious to protect aquatic organisms against short or long-term radioactive contamination in the context of global climate change.

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake-tsunami and the subsequent nuclear accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) led to large-scale radionuclide contamination of the marine and freshwater environment. Monitoring studies of marine food products in the Fukushima region have generally demonstrated a declining trend in radiocaesium concentrations. However, the accumulation and elimination of radiocaesium and potential biological effects remain poorly understood for freshwater biota inhabiting highly contaminated areas at Fukushima. Consequently, the present study aimed to assess radiocaesium accumulation and developmental effects on the commercially important catadromous Japanese mitten crab, Eriocheir japonica. E. japonica were collected from four sites along a gradient of radionuclide contamination 4–44 km in distance from the FDNPS in 2017. To determine potential developmental effects, fluctuating asymmetry (FA) was used as a measure of developmental stability. Combined ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs values for whole E. japonica from highly contaminated sites 4 and 16 km in distance from the FDNPS were 3040 ± 521 and 2250 ± 908 Bq kg⁻¹ wet weight respectively, 30 and 22 times greater than the Japanese standard limit of 100 Bq kg⁻¹. Estimated total dose rates based on radiocaesium concentrations in whole crabs and sediment ranged from 0.016 to 37.7 μGy h⁻¹. No significant relationship between radiocaesium accumulation and FA was recorded, suggesting that chronic radiation exposure at Fukushima is not inducing developmental effects in E. japonica as measured using fluctuating asymmetry. Furthermore, estimated dose rates were below proposed regulatory limits where significant deleterious effects are expected. The present study will aid in the understanding of the long-term consequences of radiation exposure for non-human biota and the management of radioactively contaminated environments.

Despite being one of the most expensive gourmet foods, it remains unclear if the iconic White Truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico; hereinafter WT) accumulates radioactivity at harmful levels comparable to other fungal species. Here, we measure the active radiocaesium-137 concentration (137Cs) in ten hypogeous WT fruitbodies from southern Hungary, and the soils in which they were growing. All WTs reveal non-significant 137Cs values, thus providing an ‘all clear’ for WT hunters in the species' northernmost habitats, where corresponding soil samples occasionally exhibit slight 137Cs concentrations. Our results are particularly relevant in the light of a rapidly increasing global demand for WTs and their subsequent trading extent and price inflation, because up to 600 kg of fresh fruitbodies are harvested each year in southern Hungary. Moreover, some of Europe's forest ecosystems, in which mushroom picking is common practise, are still contaminated with 137Cs from the Chernobyl fallout more than 30 years ago, posing a serious threat to human health.