The current state of the soil cover of arable lands contaminated with radionuclides in the Mogilev region

Abstract

   This article presents an analysis of the current state of radionuclide-contaminated soils in arable land in the Mogilev Region. The studies revealed that arable land contaminated with ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr in the Mogilev Region is dominated by sod-podzolic and sod-podzolic boggy soils in terms of typical composition, sandy loam soils in terms of particle size distribution, and automorphic soils in terms of hydromorphism. An analysis of the qualitative condition of the soils revealed that the average weighted soil quality rating of arable land contaminated with radionuclides is higher than the district average only in the Bobruisk, Klimovichsky, Kostyukovich, Krichevsky, and Slavgorod districts. The lowest score was recorded in the Belynichisky district (42,8), and the highest in the Krichevsky district (63,6). It was established that the weighted average ¹³⁷Cs contamination of arable land in most districts of the Mogilev Region is less than 5.00 Ci/kmІ, while ⁹⁰Sr-contaminated arable land is located in the Bykhov, Kostyukovich, Krasnopolsky, Slavgorod, and Cherikov districts. Considering the soil structure of the contaminated lands and the level of cesium-137 and strontium-90 contamination, as well as the maximum permissible radionuclide contamination densities for agricultural crop cultivation, the Kostyukovich, Cherikov, and Slavgorod districts are the most likely districts to produce produce with exceeding radionuclide levels.