Disequilibrium between uranium and its progeny in the Lake Issyk-Kul system (Kyrgyzstan) under a combined effect of natural and manmade processes.

ABSTRACT

The Kadji-Sai abandoned field of U-bearing brown coal on the southern coast of Lake Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan) poses a threat of radioactive pollution to the world's fifth deepest and second largest pristine highland lake. The valleys of ephemeral streams in the lake catchment are filled with coarse-grained sand and clay, with a background U--Ra activity of 35--55 Bqkg(-1). High activity areas vs. this background come from three sources (1) scarce outcrops of uraniferous brown coal and mining wastes containing fragments of this coal with (238)U/(226)Ra ratios of 0.8 due to uranium losses through weathering; (2) manmade anomalies caused by a radioactive waste dump, where U was extracted from the ash of coal burnt at a coal-fired power plant. As a result, the (238)U/(226)Ra ratios become 0.15--0.25; (3) six catch pools terraced below the mine, where U activity decreases downslope, and (238)U/(226)Ra ratios reach 150--200. Uranium lost in the extraction process may have been retained on the terraces. The distribution pattern of radionuclides in the bottom sediments of the lake is controlled by water depth and offshore distance. The upper section of homogeneous limy--argillic deposits in the lake center remains undisturbed by currents, as indicated by regular sub-exponential distribution of atmospheric (137)Cs and (210)Pb(atm). Sedimentation rate in the lake center for the past century, found from (210)Pb, was 0.32 mmyr(-1). (238)U/(226)Ra in deep-water sediments was about 3. The activity of uranium adsorbed by sediments from the lake water was estimated by subtraction of the Ra-equilibrium component from the total U activity. Thus, the flux of dissolved U to the bottom sediments was as 2.07 x 10(-7)gcm(-2)yr(-1). The upper section of near-shore deposits was disturbed by currents, with (137)Cs and (210)Pb(atm) more or less uniformly distributed in this layer. Peaks of (226)Ra and (210)Pb occur at different depths from 5 to 20 cm below the sediment surface, with (238)U/(226)Ra ratios 0.28--0.44. The presence of mullite in these sediments indicated that radioactive ash penetrated into the lake in the past. At present, (226)Ra in the ash is buried under a non-radioactive cap.