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0QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION OF RADIUM AND RADON CONTENTS IN NATURAL WATERS OF THE URANIUM-BEARING REGION
1Kutbeddinov A.K., 2Allaberganova G.M., 3Muzafarov A.M.
1Associate professor of NGGTU, Navoi, Uzbekistan 2Professor of NSPI, Navoi, Uzbekistan https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13925998
Abstract. This article presents the results of a study on the quantitative determination of radium and radon content in natural waters of uranium-bearing region. The results of the studies showed that the radium and radon content in natural waters in the area of influence of the uranium industry differed from the established standards.
Keywords: man-made objects, radioactive radionuclides, isotope quantity, volumetric activity, traditional method of emanation, radon emission, radon degassing, radionuclide decay.
Relevance. Among radioactive radionuclides, radon-222Rn is the most dangerous. When entering the human body, radon accelerates processes that lead to diseases of various organs of living beings, especially lung cancer. Due to the fact that almost all the energy of alpha particles is absorbed at the decay point, the decay of radon nuclei and its isotopes of radionuclides leads to microdeposition in the lungs [1-4].
Radon can also enter the body through damaged skin. When radon decays, non-volatile radioactive products (isotopes Po, Bi and Pb) are formed, which are excreted from the body with great difficulty.
Studies of radium and radon isotopes in natural waters in the zone of influence of the uranium industry are carried out to determine the level of influence of man-made objects on them. Studying the dependence of the radon isotope on the initial nuclear radium in various groundwater requires determining the dependence of the amount of radon isotope 222Rn on the amount of radium isotope 226Ra [5-8].
Based on the above, the development of methods for determining and assessing the specific characteristics of radon emissions from various man-made objects is an urgent task of analytical chemistry, applied nuclear physics and radioecology [9-12].
The aim of the work is obtaining results on the distribution of radium and radon in natural waters in the zone of influence of the uranium industry, their relationship with the radiation situation of the area and establishing a genetic link between them.
Experimental technique and methods. The concentration of radioisotopes in water samples was determined by an instrumental method in the "Chamber" device, which allows express measurements to be carried out faster than the traditional emanation method. The determined value of the concentration of radioisotopes indicates the possibility of geochemical behavior of radioisotopes during joint storage of different wastes of different compositions.
The results obtained and their discussion. In uranium-bearing areas, where there is a certain influence of uranium production processes, natural waters are polluted with toxic chemical elements and radionuclides of the uranium decay chain - U238, U234, Th230, Ra226, Rn222, Bi214, Pb214, Po210. Natural waters around these objects were studied, in which radiation
indicators were determined - total specific alpha and beta activity, radionuclide composition -U238, U234, Th230, Ra226, Rn222, Bi214, Pb214, Po210, dry residue, pH values, anions - Cl-, NO2-, NO3-, CO32-, HCO3-, SO42-, and their sum, cations - Ca+, Mg+, Na++K+, Fe3+, NH4 and their sum. The results of the analysis to determine the anionic and cationic composition of the selected samples of natural waters are presented in Table 1.
Table 1
Results of analysis to determine the anionic and cationic composition of natural water
samples
Sam ple No. C A T I O N S, (mg/dm3) A N I O N S, (mg/dm3)
Ca2+ Mg2+ Na++K+ Fe3+ NH„+ I CO32" HCO3" SO42" Cl" NO2" NO3" I
1 152,2 54,7 143,2+7,3 0,25 1,24 328,9 7,5 228,8 505,8 244,6 <0,02 0,6 807,3
2 167,2 71,8 169,0+7,7 0,27 1,37 411,3 4,5 228,8 510,3 173,7 <0,02 13,0 930,4
3 182,2 103,4 134,4+6,0 0,31 0,33 428,9 <20,0 314,2 600,5 108,1 51,1 <0,1 987,3
4 162,3 74,2 142,9+6,5 0,34 0,27 472,3 <20,0 338,6 637,2 108,1 53,3 <0,1 998,4
5 111,2 42,3 124,6+7,3 0,17 0,27 289,3 5,5 120,7 411,6 1200,5 <0,02 1,3 671,3
6 122,2 52,3 244,6+7,3 0,25 0,67 427,3 7,5 222,7 511,6 237,5 <0,02 1,3 805,6
From the above results of Table 1 it is evident that the lowest concentration of cations -Ca2+, Mg2+, Na++K+, Fe3+, NH4+ and the sum of cations, the concentration of anions C032-, HC03-, SO42-, Cl-, NO2-, NO3-, and the sum of anions was found in sample 5. And the highest concentration of cations - Ca2+, Mg2+, Na++K+, Fe3+, NH4+ and the sum of cations, the concentration of anions C032-, HC03-, SO42-, Cl-, NO2-, NO3- and the sum of anions was found in sample 4.
In addition to these, the content of radionuclides 222Rn and 226Ra and the total volumetric activity were determined in the selected samples.
Table 2
Results of determination of the content of radionuclides 222Rn and 226Ra and total volumetric activity in groundwater sampled from natural waters in the zone of influence of the
uranium industry
Sample No. Sample name Ra, (Bk/l) Rn (Bk/l) Total volumetric activity
alpha beta
1 U 55 130 0,17±0,05 0,56±0,14
2 N 16 213 0,19±0,08 0,76±0,18
3 K 23 115 0,18±0,06 0,73±0,16
4 Z 11 230 0,19±0,11 0,91±0,14
5 Sh 282 74 0,15±0,04 0,95±0,21
6 Nk 381 120 0,22±0,12 0,82±0,16
7 S"9 124 516 0,20±0,10 0,72±0,14
The results in Table 2 show that the contents of the radionuclides 222Rn and 226Ra in groundwater sampled from natural waters in the uranium industry impact zone are not related to each other.
These results show that groundwater is saturated with radon, which escapes through capillary cracks in the earth. As a result of contact between groundwater and atmospheric air, radon dissolved in water is released into the air. Radon always moves from a higher density environment to a lower density environment. The main factor here is the time of contact of radon water with atmospheric air. It was noted in the experiments that the volumetric activity of radon in groundwater in these areas does not depend on the concentration of the parent nucleus - radium. The total volumetric alpha and beta activity is interconnected with the concentration of the parent nucleus - radium. To clearly demonstrate this fact, we plotted the change in the specific activity of the radionuclides 222Rn and 226Ra in the same sample (Fig. 1.)
Radon volume activity was measured in groundwater samples taken from a 260 m deep underground well located in the territorial zone of Nurabad district of Samarkand region, groundwater samples taken from a 280 m deep underground well located in the territorial zone of Zafarabad district, groundwater samples taken from a 230 m deep underground well located in the territorial zone of Ketmenchi district, in groundwater samples taken from a 250 m deep well located in Uchkuduk district of Navoi region.
Fig. 1. Change in the specific activity of the radionuclides 222Rn and 226Ra in the same
sample of groundwater taken from 7 sources The volumetric activity of radon in the extracted water samples was measured in the period from 2 to 14 hours after the water extraction time. The basic measurement error of the volumetric activity of radon in water samples in the BDB-13 detection unit is more than 30%. The optimal value of the time required for the degassing of the harmful gas 222Rn in samples taken from groundwater, differing in chemical composition of K+, Sa+, Mg+, Na+, Mn+, Cl-, NO- in the uranium-bearing regions of Navoi region, was determined experimentally. The results are presented in Table 3.
The results obtained show that in Fig. 3. on average, 8-14 hours are required for the volumetric activity of radon to reach the norm of groundwater consumption, i.e. to reach the established value of 60 Bq/l. During the experiment, it was established that the optimal degassing time for each water is different, depending on the concentration of uranium deposits in each technogenic region.
Table 3
Results of experimentally determined degassing time of222Rn in groundwater of man-made
areas
Time of measurements Name of sampling location
Zafarobod Ketmenchi Uchkuduk Nurobod
0 400 500 550 600
2 300 400 450 500
4 150 200 250 300
6 80 120 150 180
8 60 80 100 120
10 30 60 70 100
12 20 30 60 70
14 18 28 48 60
Fig. 2. The process of degassing 222Rn in underground samples taken from man-made
regions
The time of groundwater degassing to the normal level in Zafarabad district was 8 hours, in Ketmenchi - 10 hours, in Uchkuduk - 12 hours, in Nurabad district - 14 hours. Optimum degassing times for all districts were experimentally determined and recommendations for the use of groundwater for low-water desert areas were developed. Thus, in conclusion, it can be noted that based on the conducted research to determine in uranium-bearing areas, where there is an influence of uranium production processes to a certain extent, natural waters are also polluted with toxic chemical elements and radionuclides of the uranium decay chain. The study of natural waters around these objects - the concentration of anions - Cl-, NO2-, NO3-, CO32-, HCO3-, SO42- and cations - Ca+, Mg+, Na++K+, Fe3+, NH4 showed that their level does not exceed the established norm. Specific activity of radionuclides 222Rn and 226Ra in samples taken from natural waters in the uranium-bearing region is directly proportional to the relationship between these radionuclides 222Rn and 226Ra in the samples taken. The results obtained show that radon always passes from a high-density environment (i.e. from the soil) to a low-density environment (to water), in the open air it is subject to constant degassing, and this time can be determined experimentally.
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