Contamination of terrestrial ecosystem components with 90Sr, 137Cs, and 226Ra caused by the deterioration of the multibarrier protection of radioactive waste storages

The spatial-temporal features of the radioactive contamination of terrestrial ecosystem components caused by the deterioration of the multibarrier protection of regional radioactive waste storages of the State Research Center of the Russian Federation-Leipunskii Institute of Physics and Power Engineering at the input of radionuclides into the soil and ground water were studied. The composition of the radioactive contamination was determined, and the hydrological and geochemical processes resulting in the formation of large radioactive sources were described. The natural features of the radioactive waste storage areas favoring the entry of 90 Sr, 137 Cs, and 226 Ra into the soils and their inclusion in the biological turnover were characterized. The directions of the horizontal migration of 90 Sr, 137 Cs, and 226 Ra and the sites of their accumulation within the superaquatic and aquatic landscapes of a near-terrace depression were studied; the factors of the 90 Sr accumulation in plants and cockles were calculated. The results of the studies expand the theoretical concepts of the mechanisms, processes, and factors controlling the behavior of radionuclides at the deterioration of the multibarrier protection of radioactive waste storages. The presented experimental data can be used for solving practical problems related to environmental protection in the areas of industrial nuclear complexes.