doctoral candidate from 01.01.1999 to 01.01.2025
graduate student from 01.01.2022 to 01.01.2025
VAK Russia 4.1.1
VAK Russia 4.1.2
VAK Russia 4.1.3
VAK Russia 4.1.4
VAK Russia 4.1.5
VAK Russia 4.2.1
VAK Russia 4.2.2
VAK Russia 4.2.3
VAK Russia 4.2.4
VAK Russia 4.2.5
VAK Russia 4.3.3
VAK Russia 4.3.5
UDC 504.054
UDC 631.4
UDC 539.16
The objective of the study is to investigate the accumulation of radionuclides in common forest plant species, including herbaceous plants, within a 30-km zone of the Mining and Chemical Combine (MCC) after the shutdown of the reactor plant and to assess the radiation safety of plants for public use. The ob-jects of the study were soil, herbaceous and shrubby plants of the forests of the Yenisei River basin, loca-ted near the MCC of the Rosatom State Corporation (Zheleznogorsk). Measurements of the specific activi-ty of 7Be, 40K and technogenic 137Cs in samples were carried out using Canberra and Ortec semiconductor γ-spectrometers (USA). The specific activities of 7Be, 40K and technogenic 137Cs were determined in the aboveground phytomass of herbaceous and shrubby plants, as well as in the soil profile at different sites within the MCC influence zone. The content of technogenic 137Cs in soils in flooded areas of the river floodplain. The Yenisei River remains high (up to 1060 Bq/kg) despite continued water discharges from the Mining and Chemical Combine. In flood-free and control areas, 137Cs levels in soils are one to two orders of magnitude lower. The identified linear relationship between 137Cs levels in plants and soils results in the highest levels of 137Cs specific activity (up to 34 Bq/kg) observed in the studied forest plant species for plants from flooded areas of the Yenisei River floodplain. The calculated 137Cs accumulation factors are highest for rose hips and herbaceous plants and range from 0.05 to 0.17. The obtained maximum 137Cs values for rose hips and herbaceous plants do not exceed the maximum standard values for 137Cs estab-lished by sanitary standards for food products and do not pose a radiation hazard when consumed by the population.
radionuclides, soil, herbaceous plants, shrubs, forest ecosystems, radionuclide accumulation coefficient, Yenisei River
1. Radiatsionnaya obstanovka na territorii Rossii i sopredel'nykh gosudarstv v 2024 godu. Obninsk: Tay-fun; 2025. 345 p.
2. Otchet po ekologicheskoi bezopasnosti FGUP “GKhK”. (In Russ.). Available at: https://sibghk.ru/sta-tic-page/view?id_category=8&id=395. Accessed: 11.11.2025.
3. Bolsunovsky AY, Dementyev DV, Vakhrushev VI. Transport of artificial radionuclides over long dis-tances downstream along the Yenisei River during the 1966 extreme flood event. Doklady Earth Sciences. 2021;498(2):514-518. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1134/S1028334X21060052.
4. Shcheglov AI. Biogeokhimiya tekhnogennykh radionuklidov v lesnykh ekosistemakh. In: materialy10-letnikh issledovanii v zone vliyaniya avarii na ChAES, Moscow: Nauka; 1999. 268 p.
5. Dementyev D, Bolsunovsky A. A long-term study of radionuclide concentrations in mushrooms in the 30-km zone around the Mining-and-Chemical Combine (Russia). Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies. 2020;56(1):83-92. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/10256016.2020.1718124.
6. Bolsunovsky A, Dementyev D. Radioactive contamination of pine (Pinus sylvestris) in Krasnoyarsk (Russia) following fallout from the Fukushima accident. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. 2014;138:87-91. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2014.08.003.
7. Dementyev DV, Bolsunovskii AYa. Radionuclides accumulation by berry bushes in forest ecosystems of yenisei river basin. Izvestiya Samarskogo nauchnogo tsentra Rossiiskoi akademii nauk, 2011;13(1):990-992. (In Russ.).
8. Paramonova TA, Mamikhin SV. Root uptake of 137Cs and its distribution between aboveand under-ground biomass of plants: analysis of the literature. Radiatsionnaya biologiya. Radioekologiya. 2017;57(6):646-662. (In Russ.). DOI:https://doi.org/10.7868/S0869803117060091.
9. Shcheglov AI, Tsvetnova OB, Stolbova VV. Bioindication of radioactive contamination of natural eco-systems. Moscow University Soil Science Bulletin. 2013;4:43-49. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.3103/ S0147687413040066.
10. Lipatov DN, Shcheglov AI, Manakhov DV. Spatial distribution of heavy metals and 137Cs in spruce forest soil under conditions of regional pollution. Russian Journal of Ecology. 2018;49(4):312-319. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1134/S1067413618040100.
11. Tsvetnova OB, Kononets OP, Shcheglov AI. Modern radioecological situation in forest and fallow ecosystems of Kaluga Oblast. Moscow University Soil Science Bulletin. 2020;75(4-5):176-183. DOI:https://doi.org/10.3103/S0147687420040067.
12. Shcheglov AI, Tsvetnova OB, Manakhov DV, at al. Forms of 137Cs in forest ecosystems soils of the Bryansk Polesie contaminated territories during a long period after the Chernobyl fallout. Problemy agrokhimii i ekologii. 2021;3-4:61-68. (In Russ.). DOI:https://doi.org/10.26178/AE.2021.32.98.005.
13. Absalom JP, Young SD, Crout NMJ, et al. Predicting the transfer of radiocaesium from organic soils to plants using soil characteristics. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. 2001;52:31-43. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0265-931X(00)00098-9.
14. Carini F. Radionuclide transfer from soil to fruit. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. 2001;52:237-279. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0265-931X(00)00035-7.
15. Ehlken S, Kirchner G. Environmental processes affecting plant root uptake of radioactive trace ele-ments and variability of transfer factor data: a review. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. 2002;58:97-112. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0265-931X(01)00060-1.
16. Uematsu S, Smolders E, Sweeck L, et al. Predicting radiocaesium sorption characteristics with soil chemical properties for Japanese soils // Science of the Total Environment. 2015;524-525:148-156. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.028.
