Tritium concentrations in coastal waters of the Far Eastern regions of the Russian Federation in the first year of controlled water discharge from the Fukushima–1 NPP (Preliminary results)
https://doi.org/10.21514/1998-426X-2024-17-4-27-34
Abstract
The article presents results of a study on the tritium concentrations in seawater samples collected from September 2023 to June 2024 in coastal waters of the Far Eastern regions of the Russian Federation, including Primorsky, Kamchatka, and Khabarovsk Krais; Sakhalin and Magadan Oblasts; and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The aim of the study is to determine the backgrounds values of tritium volume activity. The low-background liquid scintillation spectrometer-radiometer for alpha and beta radiation "Quantulus 1220” was used to determine the baseline tritium content in 185 seawater samples collected by specialists from the territorial bodies of Rospotrebnadzor in six subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District. The results indicate that the specific activity levels for the observation period from September 2023 to June 2024 were below 10.0 Bq/kg in samples collected from the coastal waters of the Far Eastern regions of the Russian Federation. The recorded tritium levels are significantly below the intervention level for drinking water (7600 Bq/L) as per NRB-99/2009, which applies to desalinated seawater.
Keywords
tritium,
specific activity,
seawater,
Pacific Ocean,
Sea of Japan,
Sea of Okhotsk,
subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District,
Fukushima–1 NPP
Supporting agencies: The authors express their gratitude to the specialists of the Rospotrebnadzor Centers for Hygiene and Epidemiology in Primorsky, Kamchatka and Khabarovsk Krais, Sakhalin and Magadan Oblasts and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug for collecting and sending seawater samples to the P.V. Ramzaev Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene. The work was carried out within the framework of the research work «Investigation of tritium levels in sea water of the Far Eastern regions of the Russian Federation».
About the Authors
V. S. Repin
Saint Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V. Ramzaev, Federal Service for Surveillance of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Viktor S. Repin – Doctor of Biological Sciences, Head of Ecology Laboratory of Saint Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V. Ramzaev, Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing.
Mira Str., 8, Saint Petersburg, 197101
K. V. Varfolomeeva
Saint Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V. Ramzaev, Federal Service for Surveillance of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Kseniya V. Varfolomeeva – Research Fellow, Laboratory of Ecology, Saint Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V Ramzaev, Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing.
Saint Petersburg
A. M. Biblin
Saint Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V. Ramzaev, Federal Service for Surveillance of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Artem M. Biblin – Head of the Information and Analytical Center, Senior Researcher, Saint Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V. Ramzaev, Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing.
Saint Petersburg
K. A. Sednev
Saint Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V. Ramzaev, Federal Service for Surveillance of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Konstantin A. Sednev –Junior Researcher, Saint Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V. Ramzaev, Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing.
Saint Petersburg
S. A. Zelentsova
Saint Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V. Ramzaev, Federal Service for Surveillance of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Svetlana A. Zelentsova – Research Fellow, Laboratory of Ecology, Saint Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V. Ramzaev, Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights and Human Wellbeing.
Saint Petersburg
G. V. Arkhangelskaya
Saint Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V. Ramzaev, Federal Service for Surveillance of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Genrietta V. Arkhangelskaya – Doctor of Medical Sciences, Chief Researcher, Laboratory of Ecology, Saint Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V. Ramzaev, Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights and Human Wellbeing.
Saint Petersburg
References
1. Fukushima-1” NPP Accident: radiological consequences and lessons. Ed. by acad. of RAS GG Onishenko and prof. AYu Popova. St. Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after prof. P.V. Ramzaev; 2021. 388 p. (In Russian).
2. International Atomic Energy Agency. The Fukushima Daiichi Accident. Report by the Director General. IAEA; 2015. 208 p.
3. Yamanishi T, Kakiuchi H, Tauchi H, Yamamoto T, Yamamoto I. Discussions on tritiated water treatment for Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Fusion Science and Technology. 2020;76(4): 430–438. DOI: 10.1080/15361055.2020.1716454.
4. Borovoy AA, Gavrilov SL, Khvoshchinsky VA. Fukushima. The water problem. Moscow: Kurchatov Institute; 2024. 44 p. (In Russian).
5. IAEA Comprehensive Report On The Safety Review Of The ALPS-Treated Water At The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. IAEA; 2023. 129 p.
6. Plan for the Stabilization and Treatment of Waste generated by Contaminated Water Purification and Treatment Facilities. Available from: https://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommission/progress/watertreatment/images/200619.pdf (Accessed: September 16, 2024).
7. Buesseler KO. Opening the floodgates at Fukushima. Science. 2020; 369(6504): 621–622. DOI: 10.1126/science.abc1507.
8. Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Completion of the Discharge from Measurement. Confirmation Facility Tank Group B (First Discharge). Available from: https://www.tepco.co.jp/en/hd/decommission/information/newsrelease/reference/pdf/2023/reference_20230911_01-e.pdf (Accessed: September 16, 2024).
9. ALPS Treated Water Discharge Status Update. Available from: https://www.tepco.co.jp/en/hd/decommission/information/newsrelease/reference/pdf/2024/reference_20240926_02-e.pdf (Accessed: September 16, 2024).
10. Overarching Radiation monitoring data Browsing System around Japan. Available from: https://www.monitororbs.jp/en/qmap.html (Accessed: September 16, 2024).
11. IAEA. Technical Reports Series № 495. Tritium in the Environment. Preprint. 2024. 272 p.
12. National Nuclear Safety Administration. Available from: https://nnsa.mee.gov.cn/ztzl/haqbg/fshjzlbg/202407/P020240718535044630888.pdf (Accessed: September 16, 2024).
13. Hong Kong observatory. Available from: https://www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html (Accessed: September 16, 2024).
14. Ocean Radioactive Information System https://tworis.aec.gov.tw/monitorvalue.php (Accessed: September 16, 2024).
15. Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety. Available from: https://nsic.nssc.go.kr/marine/marineMonitoring.do (Accessed: September 16, 2024).
16. Radiation situation on the territory of Russia and neighboring countries in 2022. Yearbook. NPO “Typhoon”. Obninsk; 2023. Available from: https://www.rpatyphoon.ru/upload/medialibrary/ezhegodniki/ro/ezhegodnik_ro_2022.pdf (Accessed: July 8, 2024). (In Russian).
17. Lobanov VB, Goryachev VA., Sergeev AF, Budyansky MV. Is it necessary to be afraid of "Fukushima tritium"? Available from: https://www.poi.dvo.ru/sites/default/files/News/Нужно%20ли%20бояться%20-%20на%20сайт-mс.pdf (Accessed: October 3, 2024). (In Russian).
18. Bondareva LG, Chebotina MYa, Artamonova IG, Tananaev IG. Tritium. Theory, practice, consequences. Monograph. Apatity: Publishing house of the Kola Scientific Center; 2024. 359 p. (In Russian).
19. Antonova EV, Antonov KL, Vasyanovich ME, Panchenko SV. Tritium from a molecule to the biosphere. 1. Patterns of behavior in the environment. Ekologiya = Ecology. 2022;4: 255-288. (In Russian).
20. Investigation of the environmental fate of tritium in the atmosphere. Part of the Tritium Studies Project. Ottawa: CCNS; 2009. 104.
21. Momot OA, Silin II, Synzynis BI, Kozmin GV. Assessment of radiation risk to public health in the presence of tritium in drinking water. Hazard identification. Ekologiya energetiki = Ecology of energy. 2007; 84–91. (In Russian).
22. Management of waste containing tritium and carbon-14. Vienna: IAEA; 2004. 109 p.
23. Okada S, Momoshima N. Overview of tritium: characteristics, sources, and problems. Health Physics. 1993;65(6): 595–609.
24. Kessler G. Nuclear power engineering. Moscow: Energoatomizdat; 1986. 261 p.
25. Onischenko GG, Popova AYu, Romanovich IK, Ivanov SA, Biblin AM, Repin VS, et al. Results of the fourth combined scientific expedition for the radition monitoring in the Kurily-Kamchatka region of the Pacific ocean. Radiatsionnaya Gygiena = Radiation Hygiene. 2020;13(1): 6–15. DOI: 10.21514/1998-426X-2020-13-1-6-15. (In Russian).
26. Repin VS, Varfolomeeva KV, Zelentsova SA, Arkhangelskaya GV, Sednev KA. Methodological features of monitoring the long-term dynamics of low levels of tritium in the environment. Radiatsionnaya Gygiena = Radiation Hygiene. 2023;16(3): 91–100. DOI: 10.21514/1998-426X-2023-16-3-91-100 (In Russian).
27. Zhao C, Zhao C, Wang G, Zhang M, Wang G, de With G, et al. Transport and dispersion of tritium from the radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 2021;169(112515). DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112515
28. Budyansky MV, Udalov AA, Lebedeva MA, Belonenko TV. Assessment of pollution of the waters in the South Kuril fishing zone of Russia by radioactive waters from the Fukushima-1 NPP based on Lagrangian modeling. Doklady Rossiyskoy akademii nauk. Nauki o Zemle = Reports of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Earth sciences. 2024;515(1): 164–174. DOI: 10.31857/S2686739724030212 (In Russian).
Review
For citations:
Repin V.S., Varfolomeeva K.V., Biblin A.M., Sednev K.A., Zelentsova S.A., Arkhangelskaya G.V. Tritium concentrations in coastal waters of the Far Eastern regions of the Russian Federation in the first year of controlled water discharge from the Fukushima–1 NPP (Preliminary results). Radiatsionnaya Gygiena = Radiation Hygiene. 2024;17(4):27-34. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.21514/1998-426X-2024-17-4-27-34
Views:
270
Email this article 