Characteristics of phytoplankton in Lake Karachay, a storage reservoir of medium-level radioactive waste.
The status of the phytoplankton community in Lake Karachay, a storage reservoir of liquid medium-level radioactive waste from the Mayak Production Association, Chelyabinsk Region, Russia, is reviewed. In 2010, the concentration of Sr in water of this reservoir was found to be 6.5 × 10(6) Bq L, the concentration of 137Cs was 1.6 × 10(7) Bq L, and total alpha activity amounted to 3.0 × 10(3) Bq L. An increased level of nitrates was observed in the reservoir-4.4 g L. It has been demonstrated that in this reservoir under the conditions of the maximum contamination levels known for aquatic ecosystems in the entire biosphere, a phytoplankton community exists that has a pronounced decline in species diversity, almost to the extent of a monoculture of widely-spread thread eurytopic cyanobacteria Geitlerinema amphibium.
Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine, 68-A Vorovsky Street, Chelyabinsk, 454076, Russia. vita_pulhra@mail.ru
Natalia I
NI
Atamanyuk
Denis I
DI
Osipov
Galina A
GA
Tryapitsina
Larisa V
LV
Deryabina
Pavel M
PM
Stukalov
Ivan A
IA
Ivanov
Evgeny A
EA
Pryakhin
D044822:Biodiversity; D060106:Lakes; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011850:Radioactive Waste / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*; D012426:Russia; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*
D011850:Radioactive Waste; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive