Publication of the Laboratory of Radiation Monitoring on 90Sr migration with groundwater

The Institute of Geology of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, with the support of the European Association of Geologists and Engineers (EAGE), held the Monitoring 2025 conference (URL: https://eage.in.ua/?page_id=5039) on April 14-17, 2025, dedicated to the monitoring of natural disasters, which includes both geological hazards and the study of factors that can lead to environmental disasters.

Within the framework of the conference, a report was presented with the participation of the Laboratory of Radiation Monitoring of the State Institution «Marzieiev Institute for Public Health of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine» «Analysis of increasing 90Sr migration with groundwater from the Chornobyl NPP.»

URL: https://eage.in.ua/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mon25-080.pdf

Summary:

Paper shows the conditions for the formation of high 90Sr concentrations in the interval of neutral or close to neutral (pH = 6.5-7.5) groundwater of the industrial site of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, based on samples from well 21-1A.

It is shown that high volumetric activities of 90Sr in the range of 50-2550 Bq/L in groundwater are formed under the influence of ionic strength (IS). According to long-term monitoring observations at the ChNPP industrial site, the dynamics of 90Sr activity concentration increase in observation wells almost coincides with the dynamics of groundwater IS increase from “background” values of 2-5 mmol/L to maximum values of 18.2 mmol/L.

High volumetric 90Sr activities of groundwater simultaneously or with some advance accompanied by high values of ionic strength, as well as concentrations of chlorine, nitrate, sulfate, bicarbonate, potassium and sodium ions. The concentrations of calcium ions also fluctuate in synchrony with the dynamics of 90Sr distribution. Such dynamics indicates that 90Sr and anions and cations move with groundwater at the same speed, i.e., practically without being sorbed, as is typical for chloride ion (Cl-), nitrate ion (NO3–), sulfate ion (SO42-), bicarbonate ion (HCO3-) and other anions. Reduction of sorption properties of soils occurs due to the influence of groundwater ionic strength, which exceeds the value of 10-12 mmol/L.

Conference materials are indexed in Scopus.

Head of the Laboratory of Radiation Monitoring
Doctor of Biological Sciences Mykhailo Buzynnyi

(date of publication on the website 05.05.2025)