Radionuclides Distribution and Associated Ecological Risk in the Environment of Armenian Mountains

• Published in: Physics of particles and nuclei letters 2022-06, Vol.19 (3), p.302-305
• Main Authors: Movsisyan, N., Pyuskyulyan, K., Belyaeva, O.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ecological risk assessment; Ecology and Nuclear Medicine; Massifs; Mountain environments; Particle and Nuclear Physics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Radiobiology; Radioisotopes; Radium 226; Risk analysis; Sea level; Statistical methods
• ISSN: 1547-4771; 1531-8567
• DOI: 10.1134/S1547477122030165

The paper summarizes the results of radioecological monitoring in the mountainous regions of Armenia in order to identify the distribution of radionuclides (natural Ra-226, Th-232 and artificial Cs-137) and the associated environmental risks in the mountainous environment of Armenia. Soil samples from the surface of eight mountain ridges and massifs were collected along altitude (900–3200 m above sea level). Gamma spectrometry has been used to identify radionuclides and measure activity concentration. A significant correlation was found between Ra-226 and Th-232, no statistically significant correlation was observed between Cs-137 and natural radionuclides. The results of the Kruskal-Wallis test reveal the height-dependent pattern of the studied radionuclides in the soil: the concentration of Cs-137 activity increases with height, the variances of the average values of the Ra-226 and Th-232 activity concentrations do not change in absolute height. An assessment of the ecological risk to non-human biota using the ERICA Tool identified risk factors (RQs) and limiting reference organisms in the mountain environment is presented.