PATTERNS OF THE REGIONAL URANIUM STATUS FORMATION ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BASHKORTOSTAN

Abstract

Link for citation: Zlobina A.N., Farkhutdinova L.M., Farkhutdinov I.M., Belyanovskaya N.V., Baranovskaya N.V., Chesalova E.I., Farkhutdinov A.M., Khayrulina L.A., Krestyannikova E.V.  Patterns of the regional uranium status formation on the example of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Аssets Engineering, 2023, vol. 334, no. 10, рр. 153-168. In Rus. The relevance of the research. Uranium is a radioactive, carcinogenic, toxic element that can be accumulated in human body and cause various pathologies (the risk of kidney dysfunction, the development of leukemia, colorectal cancer etc.). This determines the relevance of studying the patterns of distribution of this chemical element in the living environment. Drinking water is the main source of uranium for the human body. This fact can be confirmed by calculating the accumulation coefficient and correlation analysis, which showed a high dependence of the concentration of uranium in hair on its content in the scale of drinking water. The method for assessing the uranium status of a territory, including geochemical, lithological, hydrogeological, tectonic analyses, and the study of technogenic factors, makes it possible to fairly accurately determine the main sources of uranium feeding of drinking water. The main aim: to assess the significance of geoecological factors on the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan in the formation of the regional uranium status based on the study of the uranium content in drinking water and hair of residents. Methods. Uranium concentration in the scale of drinking water and the hair of children was studied using instrumental neutron activation analysis applying the research nuclear reactor IRT-T TPU. For data processing, the Statistica 10 and Microsoft Excel 2013 software packages were used. A map of uranium spatial distribution was built using the ArcGIS 10.2 software in the Geostatistical Analyst module applying the inverse distance weighting method. Results. On the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan, there is a wide range of uranium values both in the scale of drinking water (range from 0,01 to 61,0 mg/kg) and in hair of residents (range from 0,001 to 0,411 mg/kg). The average content of uranium in the scale of drinking water (515 samples) was 5,4 mg/kg and in hair (182 samples) was 0,04 mg/kg. Uranium spatial distribution is in clear agreement with the geoecological conditions of the area. Zones of increased uranium concentration in scale and hair are distinguished, where the uranium content is higher than the background value in the republic: the western platform and southern mountain zones. Along with positive anomalies, there are negative ones, where the level of the element is below the average: the northern platform and northern mountain zones. Uneven uranium distribution is explained by both natural (a wide variety of rocks, hydrogeological and tectonic factors) and technogenic factors (development of oil and ore deposits). The conducted correlation analysis showed a direct dependence of U content in children's hair on its concentration in the scale of drinking water (R2=0,8), which indicates the leading role of drinking water in uranium intake into human body. Considering the revealed higher level of uranium in hair of the inhabitants of Bashkortostan compared to a number of other regions of the Russian Federation and the world, as well as the ability of this chemical element to be accumulated in the body, the study of the uranium status influence on health of the population is of particular relevance. The results obtained can serve as a theoretical basis for elucidating the biological role of uranium and solving the fundamental problem of the relationship between geoecology and human health.