SETTING STANDARDS FOR THE SAFE LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION OF WATER AND BOTTOM SEDIMENTS IN BODIES OF WATER

In this paper, we propose standards which can be used to simply and reliably monitor the content of technogenic radioactive substances in rivers and other bodies of water. We introduce the concept of “maximum safe concentration” and “reference monitored concentration” of radionuclides in water, and also the “maximum concentration of radionuclides in bottom sediments.” To determine the maximum safe concentration of radionuclides in water, we have used the basic public health principle established in NRB-96: to not exceed the limit of an effective dose of 1 mSv/y for external and internal radiation exposure for a critical population group, considering overall water use. To define the degree of radioactive contamination of the bottom of bodies of water, we propose using the maximum concentration of radionuclides in bottom sediments: a concentration less than that for which the bottom sediments may be classified in the category of “low activity solid radioactive wastes” according to OSP-72/87. We offer a calculation scheme and numerical values for the proposed standards for some radionuclides most frequently encountered in practice and examples of their use.