Tritium in the snow cover at mid-taiga landscapes in central Yakutia

Abstract

The paper presents data on the distribution of tritium, a hydrogen radioactive isotope, in the snow cover of mid-taiga landscapes in central Yakutia. Regional tritium escape to the atmosphere in the late 20th century and its accumulation in the snow cover resulted from regional atmospheric transfer and corresponded to the concentration of this isotope in the snow cover at the South Pole. Tritium concentration in the snow cover had almost tripled by 2013. Tritium concentration in the snow cover is correlated with the human population of the settlement zone. The long-term anthropogenic contamination in the area is caused first of all by atmospheric fallouts of radioactive products of the 2011 Fukushima accident.