Temporal Variability of Bismuth-214 Activity Concentration in the Atmospheric Surface Layer of Sevastopol Region

D. A. Kremenchutskii*, G. F. Batrakov, Y. S. Kurinnaya

Marine Hydrophysical Institute of RAS, Sevastopol, Russia

* e-mail: d.kremenchutskii@mhi-ras.ru

Abstract

The article presents the results of monitoring of bismuth-214 activity concentration in atmospheric aerosols in the atmospheric surface layer of the Sevastopol region in 2007–2020. Bismuth-214 is a daughter product of the decay of radon-222. It is one of the main radionuclides that form the natural gamma background of the surface atmosphere. The aim of this work is to obtain quantitative characteristics of the temporal variability of the concentration of bismuth-214 in the atmospheric surface layer of the Sevastopol region and to estimate the annual effective dose due to outdoor radon-222 exposure. During the study period, 2701 aerosol samples were taken and processed. Measurements of the activity of bismuth-214 in atmospheric aerosol samples were performed using a low-background gamma-spectrometer with a NaI (Tl) scintillation detector. The concentration of the radionuclide in individual samples varied from 0.1 to 11.4 Bq·m–3, the average value was 2.7 ± 1.5 Bq·m–3. There is periodicity of 29, 66, 110 days and 1 year in the temporal variability of the activity concentration of bismuth-214. Higher values of bismuth-214 activity concentration are typical for the period from July to October (3.1–3.5 Bq·m–3), lower values are typical for the period from December to April (2.1–2.2 Bq·m–3). It is shown that the seasonal variation in the origin of atmospheric aerosol in the region under study can be the factor determining the change in the seasonal cycle of bismuth-214 concentration in comparison with the expected cycle of radon-222. In the last year of observations, there is an increase in the concentration of bismuth-214 by an average of 22% compared with the average long-term value of its concentration and a change in its annual cycle, which is probably associated with construction work carried out in the central part of the city. Quantitative estimates of the effective dose due to outdoor radon-222 exposure have been obtained.

Keywords

bismuth-214, radon-222, Sevastopol region, atmospheric aerosols, surface layer of the atmosphere, temporal variability

Acknowledgments

Collection of data for this study was funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, project no. 0827-2020-0004. Data analysis was funded by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the city of Sevastopol, project no. 20-45-920007.

For citation

Kremenchutskii, D.A., Batrakov, G.F. and Kurinnaya, Y.S., 2020. Temporal Variability of Bismuth-214 Activity Concentration in the Atmospheric Surface Layer of Sevastopol Region. Ecological Safety of Coastal and Shelf Zones of Sea, (4), pp. 103–116. doi:10.22449/2413-5577-2020-4-103-116 (in Russian).

DOI

10.22449/2413-5577-2020-4-103-116

References

  1. UNSC, 2000. Exposures from natural radiation sources. In: UNSC, 2000. Sources and effects of ionizing radiation : UNSCEAR 2000 Report to the General Assembly, with Scientific Annexes. Vol. I. New York: UN, 2000, pp. 84–156. Available at: https://www.unscear.org/docs/publications/2000/UNSCEAR_2000_Report_Vol.I.pdf [Accessed: 9 December 2020].
  2. Sisigina, T.I., 1972. [Assessment of Radon Exhalation from the Surface of Large Territories]. In: S. G. Malakhov and K. P. Makhonko, eds., 1965. [Nuclear Meteorology]. Moscow: Atomizdat, pp. 59–64 (in Russian).
  3. Pearson, J.E. and Jones, G.E., 1966. Soil Concentrations of “Emanating Radium‐226” and the Emanation of Radon‐222 from Soils and Plants. Tellus, 18(2–3), pp. 655–662. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2153-3490.1966.tb00282.x
  4. Kobayashi, Y., Yasuoka, Y., Omori, Y., Nagahama, H., Sanada, T., Muto, J., Suzuki, T., Homma, Y., Ihara, H. [et al.], 2015. Annual Variation in the Atmospheric Radon Concentration in Japan. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 146, pp. 110–118. doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2015.04.007
  5. Deb, A., Gazi, M., Ghosh, J., Chowdhury, S. and Barman, Ch., 2018. Monitoring of Soil Radon by SSNTD in Eastern India in Search of Possible Earthquake Precursor. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 184–185, pp. 63–70. doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2018.01.009
  6. Botha, R., Labuschagne, C., Williams, A.G., Bosman, G., Brunke, E.-G., Rossouw, A. and Lindsay, R., 2018. Characterising Fifteen Years of Continuous Atmospheric Radon Activity Observations at Cape Point (South Africa). Atmospheric Environment, 176, pp. 30–39. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2017.12.010
  7. Gutiérrez-Álvarez, I., Guerrero, J.L., Martín, J.E., Adame, J.A., Vargas, A. and Bolívar, J.P., 2019. Radon Behavior Investigation based on Cluster Analysis and Atmospheric Modeling. Atmospheric Environment, 201, pp. 50–61. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2018.12.010
  8. Bender, M.L., Kinter, S., Cassar, N. and Wanninkhof, R., 2011. Evaluating Gas Transfer Velocity Parameterizations Using Upper Ocean Radon Distributions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 116(C2), C02010. doi:10.1029/2009JC005805
  9. Zahorowski, W., Griffiths, A.D., Chambers, S.D., Williams, A.G., Law, R.M., Crawford, J. and Werczynski, S., 2013. Constraining Annual and Seasonal Radon-222 Flux Density from the Southern Ocean Using Radon-222 Concentrations in the Boundary Layer at Cape Grim. _Tellus B: Chemical and physical meteorolog_y, 65(1), pp. 19622. https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v65i0.19622
  10. Batrakov, G.F., Zemlyanoy, A.D. and Karpov, V.S., 1988. Radon-222 in the Near-Water Atmosphere of the Mediterranean Sea and the East Atlantic. _Morskoy Gidrofizicheskiy Zhurna_l, (2), pp. 59–61 (in Russian).
  11. Tchorz-Trzeciakiewicz, D.E. and Kłos, M., 2017. Factors Affecting Atmospheric Radon Concentration, Human Health. Science of the Total Environment, 584–585, pp. 911–920. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.01.137
  12. Rangarajan, C. and Eapen, C.D., 1981. 214Bi/214Pb Activity Ratios in the Atmosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 86(C4), pp. 3194–3198. doi:10.1029/JC086iC04p03194
  13. Shapiro, M.H. and Forbes-Resha, J.L., 1975. 214Bi/ 214Pb Ratios in Air at a Height of 20 m // Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 80(12), pp. 1605–1613. doi:10.1029/JC080i012p01605
  14. Zhao, T., Zhang, L., Guo, Q. and Dong, W., 2017. Field Measurement of the 218Po, 214Pb and 214Bi Concentrations in Typical Indoor and Outdoor Environments in Beijing. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 313, pp. 379–384. doi:10.1007/s10967-017-5309-8
  15. Porstendorfer, J., Buterweck, G. and Reineking, A., 1991. Diurnal Variation of the Concentrations of Radon and its Short-Lived Daughters in the Atmosphere near the Ground. Atmospheric Environment, 25(3–4), pp. 709–713. doi:10.1016/0960-1686(91)90069-J
  16. Turekian, V.C., Graustein, W.C. and Turekian, K.K., 1999. The 214Bi to 214Pb Ratio in Lower Boundary Layer Aerosols and Aerosol Residence Times at New Haven, Connecticut. Journal of Geophysical Research, 104(D9), pp. 11593–11598. doi:10.1029/1999JD900031
  17. Stoulos, S. and Ioannidou, A., 2020. Radon and its Progenies Variation in the Urban Polluted Atmosphere of the Mediterranean City of Thessaloniki, Greece. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27, pp. 1160–1166. doi:10.1007/s11356-019-07051-4
  18. Batrakov, G.F. and Zemlyanoy, A.D., 2008. [On the Method of Calculating the Concentrations of RaA (Pb-214), RaB (Bi-214) in the Surface Atmosphere from Gamma Spectra]. In: MHI, 2008. Monitoring Systems of Environment. Sevastopol: MHI NAS of Ukraine, pp. 357–363 (in Russian).
  19. Shemyizade, A.E., 1992. Transformation of the Solar-Geomagnetic Activity Impulses on Ecological Effective Disturbances of the Radon and Aeroion Fields of the Earth. Biofizika, 37(4), pp. 690–699.
  20. Atsikhovskaya, G.M. and Bogdanova, T.A., 2004. Variability of Wind Regime near Sevastopol. In: MHI, 2004. Ekologicheskaya Bezopasnost' Pribrezhnykh i Shel'fo- vykh Zon i Kompleksnoe Ispol'zovanie Resursov Shel'fa [Ecological Safety of Coastal and Shelf Zones and Comprehensive Use of Shelf Resources], 10, pp. 103–108 (in Russian).

Full text

English version (PDF)

Russian version (PDF)