Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING OF LEACHED BLACK SOILS IN THE REPUBLIC OF MORDOVIA

Vasily Ivanovich Kargin, Regina Alexandrovna Zaharkina and Mikhail Mikhailovich Geraskin

Abstract

As a result of the Chernobyl accident, 6.3% of the territory of the Republic of Mordovia was subjected to radioactive contamination. The highest density of contamination with cesium-137 in the village of Nikolaevka of the Republic of Mordovia in 1995-1998 was 192-260 and in SUE “Teplichnoe” – 148-244 Bq/kg. Variability of this indicator is quite high. The coefficient of variation was 47.4 to 64.9%. The trend of radionuclides indicates a gradual decrease in their activity during the studied period. The trend of this indicator testifies that the pollution with caesium annually decreases by 10-12 units. Over the years of observation, the content of strontium-90 decreased by years 2009-2012 3.5–8.4 times, as compared to the initial value. The detected level of pollution with cesium-137 and strontium-90 at the reference areas on black soils does not exceed the set level of background radiation defined for the territory of the Russian Federation, and does not preclude using them in agricultural production.