Assessment of the radionuclide and chemical composition of the Irtysh River water at the Republic of Kazakhstan territory

Abstract

The transboundary Irtysh River flows through the territory of three states: China, Kazakhstan and Russia. Industrial enterprises are located in the Irtysh River basin at the territory of Kazakhstan. Also, the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site can affect the state of the Irtysh River water. For this reason, researches were carried out to determine the content of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides, macro-, microcomponents and heavy metals in the Irtysh River water. According to the results, no anomalous deviations in the concentration of radionuclides have been established. Except the radionuclide ³H, which almost constantly inputs in small quantities to the various components of the Irtysh River ecosystem with the Shagan River waters. In terms of the macrocomponent composition, only the Cl⁻ content and the degree of water hardness exceed the standards of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In terms of heavy metals and microcomponents (a total of 16 elements were identified), near the Ust-Kamenogorsk city the Fe content is 1.2–2 times higher than the MPC. Results of the calculations of the comprehensive water pollution index (CWPI) of the Irtysh River water at the Kazakhstan territory correspond to standard clean water.