Water released into Crimea was checked for radiation contamination
The expedition of the Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas re-analyzed the water quality in the North Crimean Canal.
Employees of the Department of Radiation and Chemical Biology recorded a significant concentration of dissolved strontium-90 corresponding to the concentration level of this radionuclide in the Lower Dnieper in the spring of 1988, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The research data is still preliminary. More accurate results take time. At this stage, scientists state that the concentrations of artificial radionuclides (137Cs, 90Sr) and chemical pollutants (organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, copper, cadmium, zinc, lead, mercury) do not exceed permissible levels.
Water for samples was taken near Armyansk and in the Dzhankoy region, and irrigated soils and plants in the area of the main channel of the North Crimean Canal were also added to the study.
“All this will make it possible to assess the dynamics of the distribution of pollutants in the canal ecosystem and determine the level of their transfer from water to irrigated soils and agricultural crops,” the Institute noted.
Researchers are faced with the task of not only determining the current ecological state of the water ecosystem of the North Crimean Canal, but also assessing the possibility of safe use of water flowing through the canal in the economic activities of the peninsula.
The result of the research will be the content of hazardous substances identified in water in agricultural crops.
Let us remind you that this year water from the canal is supplied to the fields free of charge. Starting next year, the price will be 28 kopecks per cubic meter of water. Many agricultural farms have dismantled reclamation systems and are waiting for a subsidy from the state for new irrigation units and mechanisms. Applications for 400 million rubles have already been submitted.
Water released into Crimea was tested for radiation contamination.