On-site gamma dose rates at the Andreeva Bay shore technical base, northwest Russia

The spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and radioactive waste (RAW) storage facility at Andreeva Bay shore technical base (STB) is one of the largest and most hazardous nuclear legacy sites in northwest Russia. Originally commissioned in the 1960s the facility now stores large amounts of SNF and RAW associated with the Russian Northern Fleet of nuclear powered submarines. The objective of the present study was to map ambient gamma dose rates throughout the facility, in particular at a number of specific sites where SNF and RAW are stored. The data presented here are taken from a Norwegian-Russian collaboration enabling the first publication in the scientific literature of the complete survey of on-site dose rates. Results indicate that elevated gamma dose rates are found primarily at discrete sites within the facility; maximum dose rates of up to 1000 microSv/h close to the ground (0.1m) and up to 3000 microSv/h at 1m above ground were recorded, higher doses at the 1m height being indicative primarily of the presence of contaminated equipment as opposed to ground contamination. Highest dose rates were measured at sites located in the immediate vicinity of buildings used for storing SNF and sites associated with storage of solid and liquid radioactive wastes. Elevated dose rates were also observed near the former channel of a small brook that became heavily contaminated as a result of radioactive leaks from the SNF storage at Building 5 starting in 1982. Isolated patches of elevated dose rates were also observed throughout the STB. A second paper detailing the radioactive soil contamination at the site is published in this issue of Journal of Environmental Radioactivity.     

On-site radioactive soil contamination at the Andreeva Bay shore technical base, Northwest Russia

The radioactive waste (RAW) storage site at Andreeva Bay in the Russian Northwest has experienced radioactive contamination both as a result of activities carried out at the site and due to incidents that have occurred there in the past such as accidental releases of radioactive materials. The site is an interesting case study for decommissioning due to the extremely large amounts of radioactivity present at the site and the conditions under which it is stored; very little has been previously published in the scientific literature about this site. This paper complements the paper describing dose rates at Andreeva Bay which is published in this issue of Journal of Environmental Radioactivity by the same authors. This study presents new data related to the activity concentrations of (137)Cs and (90)Sr in surface soils and measurements of alpha- and beta-particle fluxes taken at different areas around the site. Limited data on 60Co is also presented. The results of the study indicate that the main areas of site contamination are associated with the former spent nuclear fuel storage facility at Building 5, due to accidental discharges which began in 1982. Substantial contamination is also observed at the solid radioactive waste storage facilities, probably due to the ingress of water into these facilities. More than 240 samples were measured: maximum contamination levels were 1 x 10(6)Bq/kg (137)Cs (mean value 4.1 x 10(5)Bq/kg) and 4 x 10(6)Bq/kg (90)Sr (mean value 1.2 x1 0(5)Bq/kg). Localised patches of alpha and beta contamination were also observed throughout the site.     

Radioisotope contaminations from releases of the Tomsk-Seversk nuclear facility (Siberia, Russia)

Soils have been sampled in the vicinity of the Tomsk-Seversk facility (Siberia, Russia) that allows us to measure radioactive contaminations due to atmospheric and aquatic releases. Indeed soils exhibit large inventories of man-made fission products including 137Cs (ranging from 33,000 to 68,500 Bq m(-2)) and actinides such as plutonium (i.e. 239+240Pu from 420 to 5900 Bq m(-2)) or 241Am (160-1220 Bq m(-2)). Among all sampling sites, the bank of the Romashka channel exhibits the highest radioisotope concentrations. At this site, some short half-life gamma emitters were detected as well indicating recent aquatic discharge in the channel. In comparison, soils that underwent atmospheric depositions like peat and forest soils exhibit lower activities of actinides and 137Cs. Soil activities are too high to be related solely to global fallout and thus the source of plutonium must be discharges from the Siberian Chemical Combine (SCC) plant. This is confirmed by plutonium isotopic ratios measured by ICP-MS; the low 241Pu/239Pu and 240Pu/239Pu atomic ratios with respect to global fallout ratio or civil nuclear fuel are consistent with weapons grade signatures. Up to now, the influence of Tomsk-Seversk plutonium discharges was speculated in the Ob River and its estuary. Isotopic data from the present study show that plutonium measured in SCC probably constitutes a significant source of plutonium in the aquatic environment, together with plutonium from global fallout and other contaminated sites including Tomsk, Mayak (Russia) and Semipalatinsk (Republic of Kazakhstan). It is estimated that the proportion of plutonium from SCC source can reach 45% for 239Pu and 60% for 241Pu in the sediments.     

Evolution of the regulation of the environmental radiation protection and monitoring in the Russian Federation

The evolution of the Russian Federation legislation and regulation concerning the radiation protection of the population, the environment and the monitoring is presented. The main federal laws--"On the Environmental Protection", "On the Atomic Energy Use", "On the Radiation Safety of Population", etc. as well as standards of radiation safety, sanitary and hygienic norms, international agreements and conventions are briefly summarized. Main directions towards further improvement of the environmental radioprotection regulation in Russia are pointed out.     

A mass budget of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in San Francisco Bay, CA

A mass budget of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in San Francisco Bay is developed as a first step towards understanding the local sources and transport processes controlling PBDE fate in a highly urbanized estuary. Extensive monitoring of PBDEs in estuarine water and sediment, freshwater tributaries, air, and wastewater effluents and sludges were integrated with a mass budget model to provide a synthetic view of these emerging contaminants. The Bay inventories of BDE 47 and BDE 209 in 2006 were estimated to be 33+/-3 kg and 153+/-45 kg, respectively. Empirically derived estimates of annual inputs of BDE 47 and BDE 209 from all quantifiable external sources ranged from 11 to 28 kg/y and 22 to 24 kg/y, respectively. BDE 47 loads were dominated by wastewater while runoff from local tributaries represented the largest contributor to BDE 209 loads. Model results suggest the Bay PBDE inventory is highly sensitive to changes in external loads, with degradation and outflow being the major processes governing PBDE fate. The mass budget presented provides a framework for integrating future monitoring and modeling efforts.     

Relationships between sea-bed radionuclide activities and some sedimentological variables

Natural radionuclides (232Th, 226Ra, 40K) and 137Cs, coming from atmospheric radioactive fallout, have been measured in sea-bed sediments of the Bay of Cádiz (South Western Spain). In this report, multivariate analysis methods have been employed to study the relationships between the activities of the radionuclides and some sedimentological variables like granulometric facies, organic content and apparent density. The correlation functions found show that it is possible to determine, with a satisfactory degree of approximation, the granulometric facies of the sediments using only radiometric information.     

Radioecological investigations in shallow bays of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago in 2002-2005

The results of a survey of underwater disposal sites of potentially hazardous objects in the Kara Sea and Oga, Tsivolky, Stepovoy and Abrosimov Bays are presented. Radionuclide levels were determined, using gamma-spectrometric and radiochemical methods, in zones near to and remote from buried solid radioactive waste in the outer and inner parts of the Bays. At the repository of the solid radioactive waste containers in the inner part of the Stepovoy Bay and Abrosimov Bay, higher than background concentrations of (137)Cs were determined in samples of bottom sediments. At one of the sites located in the Stepovoy Bay (137)Cs and (60)Co were detected.     

Radioactive contamination in the marine environment adjacent to the outfall of the radioactive waste treatment plant at ATOMFLOT,northern Russia

RTP "ATOMFLOT" is a civilian nuclear icebreaker base located on the Kola Bay of northwest Russia. The objectives of this study were to determine the distributions of man-made radionuclides in the marine environment adjacent to the base, to explain the form of the distributions in sediments and to derive information concerning the fate of radionuclides discharged from ATOMFLOT. Mean activity concentrations (d.w.) for surface sediment, of 63 Bq kg(-1 137Cs, 5.8 Bq kg(-1) 90Sr and 0.45 Bq kg(-1 239,240)Pu were measured. Filtered seawater activity levels were in the range of 3--6.9 Bq m(-3) 137Cs, 2.0-11.2 Bq m(-3) 90Sr, and 16-40 m Bq m(-3), 239,240Pu. Short-lived radionuclides were present at sediment depths in excess of 10cm indicating a high degree of sediment mixing. Correlations of radionuclide activity concentrations with grain-size appear to be absent; instead, the presence of relatively contaminated sediment appears to be related to the existence of radioactive particles.     

Biomass

The Biological Investigations of Marine Antarctic Systems and Stocks (BIOMASS) is a ten-year programme organized by various nongovernmental international organisations with the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research being the key sponsors. The programme was initiated in 1976; its continuation beyond 1986 is presently under consideration. The general scope of BIOMASS is broadly directed towards a deeper understanding of the Antarctic marine ecosystem, but is focussed mainly on the krill populations. The most important achievement of BIOMASS is the development of international cooperation in the biological investigation of the Southern Ocean. The orientation towards quantitative assessments of krill stocks has led to multiship surveys and multinational efforts in data handling. BIOMASS contributed greatly to the development, standardisation, intercalibration and dissemination of methods and instrumentation. The communication within the BIOMASS programme by a wide range of meetings, workshops, and various types of publications helped to establish an international marine science community which has become the backbone for the work of the Scientific Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).     

Carrying Capacity:An Overview

The concept of carrying capacity is derived from ecology, with widespread contentions of its theoretical connotations and applications in the international academic community, especially the impact of human activities on the environment. Disputes on carrying capacity have been occurring not only among biologists and ecologists, but also among mainstream economists. Based on their efforts, the author makes an attempt to describe its origin, connotations, problems, measurement, and at the same time note the latest international progress in this field.     

Carrying Capacity: An Overview

Abstract

The concept of carrying capacity is derived from ecology, with widespread contentions of its theoretical connotations and applications in the international academic community, especially the impact of human activities on the environment. Disputes on carrying capacity have been occurring not only among biologists and ecologists, but also among mainstream economists. Based on their efforts, the author makes an attempt to describe its origin, connotations, problems, measurement, and at the same time note the latest international progress in this field.     

Restoring ecosystems,restoring community: socioeconomic and cultural dimensions of a community-based coral reef restoration project

Environmental restoration projects are commonly touted for their ecological positives, but such projects can also provide significant socioeconomic and cultural benefits to local communities. We assessed the social dimensions of a large-scale coral reef restoration project in Maunalua Bay, O‘ahu, where >1.32 million kg of invasive marine macroalgae was removed from 11 hectares (90,000 m²; 23 acres) of impacted coral reef in an urbanized setting. We interviewed 131 community stakeholders and analyzed both quantitative and qualitative data to assess human uses of the environment, assess perceptions of environmental health, and characterize social dimensions (+/?) associated with the invasive algae removal effort. Results indicate substantial direct economic benefits, including the creation of more than 60+ jobs, benefiting more than 250 individuals and 81 households. The project helped develop a skilled workforce in a local business dedicated to environmental restoration and increased the capacity of community organizations to address other threats to reefs and watersheds. Other major benefits include revitalization of Native Hawaiian cultural practices and traditions and the successful use of harvested invasive algae as compost by local farmers. Our results show the project heightened community awareness and a broader sense of stewardship in the area, creating enabling conditions for collective community action. Our findings show that restoration projects that explicitly incorporate efforts to build community awareness, involvement, and a shared responsibility for a site may ultimately create the long-term capacity for sustainable stewardship programs. We conclude by discussing lessons learned for engaging productively with communities in environmental restoration and stewardship, which remains a central focus in conservation worldwide.     

Evidence of the radioactive fallout in the center of Asia (Russia) following the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

It was recently reported that radioactive fallout due to the Fukushima Nuclear Accident was detected in environmental samples collected in the USA and Greece, which are very far away from Japan. In April-May 2011, fallout radionuclides (¹³⁴Cs, ¹³⁷Cs, ¹³¹I) released in the Fukushima Nuclear Accident were detected in environmental samples at the city of Krasnoyarsk (Russia), situated in the center of Asia. Similar maximum levels of ¹³¹I and ¹³⁷Cs/¹³⁴Cs and ¹³¹I/¹³⁷Cs ratios in water samples collected in Russia and Greece suggest the high-velocity movement of the radioactive contamination from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident and the global effects of this accident, similar to those caused by the Chernobyl accident.     

Composition, sources, and potential toxicological significance of PAHs in the surface sediments of the Meiliang Bay, Taihu Lake, China

Twenty-five surface sediment samples were collected from Meiliang Bay, Taihu Lake, China, in 2003. The concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), identified as priority pollutants by the USEPA, were determined by gas chromatography equipped with a mass spectrometry detector (GC-MS). Total concentrations of the PAHs ranged from 1207 to 4754 ng/g dry weight. Sediment samples with the highest PAH concentrations were from the northern site of the bay, which is in proximity to the incoming PAH source; the PAH levels in the southern part were relatively low. The observed PAH levels were higher than those in river sediments in China but were lower than those found in sediments of urban areas and harbors. According to the observed molecular indices, PAHs originated largely from the high-temperature pyrolytic process, whereas the petrogenic process was more commonly responsible for PAH contamination in harbors. A good correlation existed between the benzo[a]pyrene level and the total PAH concentration (r=0.97), making benzo[a]pyrene a potential molecular marker for PAH pollution. According to the numerical effect-based sediment quality guideline (SQGs) of the United States, the levels of PAHs at most studied sites in Meiliang Bay, except some sites in the northern part of the bay, should not exert adverse biological effects. In the northern part of the bay, the PAH levels at sites 21 and 22 exceed the effects range low (ERL) and could thus cause acute biological impairments, in comparison with the sediment quality guidelines. The total PAH levels were expressed as the B[a]P toxicity equivalents (TEQs(carc)) and compared to the contaminated sediments from Guba Pechenga, Barents Sea, Russia.     

Lake fish as the main contributor of internal dose to lakeshore residents in the Chernobyl contaminated area

Two field expeditions in 1996 studied 137Cs intake patterns and its content in the bodies of adult residents from the village Kozhany in the Bryansk region, Russia, located on the shore of a drainless peat lake in an area subjected to significant radioactive contamination after the 1986 Chernobyl accident. The 137Cs contents in lake water and fish were two orders of magnitude greater than in local rivers and flow-through lakes, 10 years after Chernobyl radioactive contamination, and remain stable. The 137Cs content in lake fish and a mixture of forest mushrooms was between approximately 10-20 kBq/kg, which exceeded the temporary Russian permissible levels for these products by a factor of 20-40. Consumption of lake fish gave the main contribution to internal doses (40-50%) for Kozhany village inhabitants Simple countermeasures, such as Prussian blue doses for dairy cows and pre-boiling mushrooms and fish before cooking, halved the 137Cs internal dose to inhabitants, even 10 years after the radioactive fallout.     

Environmental changes in Sepetiba Bay,SE Brazil

Sepetiba Bay is an example of an aquatic environment that has been severely impacted by human occupation and industrial activities in its basin. Some 400 industries including metallurgical, petrochemical and pyrometallurgical smelters, which emitted pollutants to air, soil and water, were established in Sepetiba Basin during the past 30 years. Apart from these point sources, changes in land use have also resulted in a large remobilization of pollutant deposition on Sepetiba Bay Basin. Studies have pointed out significant changes in sedimentation rates, concentrations of inorganic pollutants (Zn, Cd, Pb and Hg) and more recently, eutrophication, pointing to this area as an example of an impacted coastal zone. Notwithstanding local sources, Sepetiba Bay also suffers environmental impacts caused by diversion of river waters from adjacent basins, with some 30% of the total Hg flux to Sepetiba Bay and a 10-fold increase in water and sediment fluxes resulting from this. Decreasing environmental quality compromises both the large biodiversity and the potential economic uses of Sepetiba Bay, including fisheries and tourism. Monitoring of heavy metal levels in organisms (algae, mollusks, crustaceans and oysters) often shows concentrations well above the limits allowed following Brazilian legislation for food quality. Historical evolution of these concentrations suggests a worsening of the situation. Failure to monitor the effect of land-based activities, including those from other basins artificially associated with Sepetiba Bay has resulted in poor scenario construction and proper management planning.     

Linking global drivers with local and regional change: a social-ecological system approach in Chilika Lagoon,Bay of Bengal

Global scale drivers such as international markets for shrimp can trigger large changes at local and regional scales. But there is also a poorly appreciated reverse process, operating from the bottom up, with potential for triggering changes at higher scales. Thus, effects of drivers can be seen as a two-way process in which global drivers and local and regional drivers can potentially impact each other. Here, we argue that not only can global drivers impact the sustainability of local and regional social-ecological systems, but sustainability at higher scales can also be impacted by changes at the scale of local and regional social-ecological systems. Using Chilika, a large lagoon on the Bay of Bengal, Odisha State in India as a case, we show that traditional small-scale capture fisheries supporting 150 fisher villages with some 400,000 people were marginalized by aquaculture development for tiger prawn and by state-driven hydrological interventions, with impacts on the ecology of the lagoon. These changes, in turn, contribute to global poverty and food insecurity, making it difficult for India to meet international targets such as millennium development goals. The marginalized fisherfolk become part of environmental justice and other social movements. With large parts of the lagoon converted into a virtual monoculture for the production of tiger prawn, changes in Chilika (a Ramsar site) contribute to wetland habitat loss at the global scale, and biodiversity losses, possibly including IUCN red-listed species.     

The use of DPSIR framework to evaluate sustainability in coastal areas. Case study: Guanabara Bay basin,Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

The Guanabara Bay basin, SE Brazil, is shown as an experimental site to evaluate development and sustainability in coastal areas. We developed a Driver–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) framework in a practical context to integrate natural and socio-economic indicators. Sustainability reflects public policies towards the utilization of natural resources. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) included in DPSIR evaluates losses and benefits resulting from such policies. CBA has some limitations due to the difficulty of valuating environmental goods and services. Instead of valuating them we propose to combine sustainability indicators and defensive expenditures for the implementation of public policies. This approach agrees with the environmental conservation paradigm implicit in sustainable development. It allows an estimation of the physical natural capital depreciation (PNCD), by using it to correct the gross domestic product (GDP) of the study area, and demonstrating the present non-sustainable characteristics of the current policies applied to the area.     

Radioactivity in trinitite six decades later

The first nuclear explosion test, named the Trinity test, was conducted on July 16, 1945 near Alamogordo, New Mexico. In the tremendous heat of the explosion, the radioactive debris fused with the local soil into a glassy material named Trinitite. Selected Trinitite samples from ground zero (GZ) of the test site were investigated in detail for radioactivity. The techniques used included alpha spectrometry, high-efficiency gamma-ray spectrometry, and low-background beta counting, following the radiochemistry for selected radionuclides. Specific activities were determined for fission products (90Sr, 137Cs), activation products (60Co, 133Ba, 152Eu, 154Eu, 238Pu, 241Pu), and the remnants of the nuclear fuel (239Pu, 240Pu). Additionally, specific activities of three natural radionuclides (40K, 232Th, 238U) and their progeny were measured. The determined specific activities of radionuclides and their relationships are interpreted in the context of the fission process, chemical behavior of the elements, as well as the nuclear explosion phenomenology.     

Radium isotopes in the Ulsan Bay

In order to estimate the fluxes of Ra isotopes, we measured 224Ra, 226Ra, and 228Ra activities in the Ulsan Bay mixing zone. The convex upwards curvature of the plot of Ra isotope activities versus salinity for the mixing zone suggests that Ra isotopes are supplied from particles entering the mixing zone from both the river and bottom sediments. This addition increases the estuarine flux of 226Ra and 228Ra to the outer sea by factors of 15 and 95 over the flux attributable to Ra dissolved in the riverine water alone. In order to estimate the residence time of the water in Ulsan Bay, we applied a mass balance model to the distribution of 224Ra and 226Ra activities in the Ulsan Bay mixing zone with the inflow from the Taehwa River. The obtained residence times of the waters in the Ulsan Bay were estimated to be 6.8-11.4 d. The waters in the upper part of the estuary have long residence times whereas those in the lower part, in contact with the open sea, have shorter residence times. The mean residence time of the water in the Ulsan Bay was estimated to be 9.1 d.