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Biogeochemical Assessment of Toxicity and Radioecological Danger of the Transboundary Kara-Balta River

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Abstract—The paper presents the results of researches of the concentration of chemical elements and natural radionuclide in the environmental objects of the Kara-Balta transboundary river basin (adjacent territories of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan). The level of contamination of floodplain soils and bottom sediments of the Kara-Balta River with such chemical elements as U, Sb, As, Th, Pb, Sc, Co, Cu, Mo, Zn, V, Sr, Ba, Cs was established. Based on the calculated indicators of the contamination factor (CF), enrichment factor (EF), and index of geoaccumulation (Igeo), it was found that Sb, As and Br make the largest contribution to soil and bottom sediment pollution in the Kara-Balta water basin. At three checkpoints, an increased concentrations of U, B, Li, Sr, Mo were found in the water samples of the region’s reservoirs, which is related to the influence of the tailings of the Kara-Balta mining plant. The elevated concentrations of As, B, Ba, Co, Mn, Sb, V, and Zn were also established around the mouth of the Kara-Balta River, which flows into the Tasotkel reservoir (Kazakhstan). The results of the research can be explained by the fact that a significant part of the Kara-Balta transboundary river basin is located in the zone of a uranium natural–technogenic province.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to the scientific editor, Professor V.V. Ermakov, and reviewers for comments and correction of manuscript.

Funding

The work was financially supported by the International Project ISTC No. TJ-2409 “Hydrochemical Monitoring and Assessment of Risks in Mineral Mining and Uranium Tailings in the Transboudnary Basins of the Central Asian Countries: Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biology, National Academy of Sciences, Kyrgyz Republic, 720071, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

    B. M. Djenbaev, B. T. Zholboldiev & W. J. Karmysheva

  2. Institute of Nuclear Physics, Ministry of Energy, Republic of Kazakhstan, 050032, Almaty, Kazakhstan

    V. P. Solodukhin, S. G. Lennik & M. A. Severinenko

  3. Issyk-Kul State University, Ministry of Education and Science, Kyrgyz Republic, 722200, Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

    B. K. Kaldybaev

Authors
  1. B. M. Djenbaev
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  2. V. P. Solodukhin
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  3. B. K. Kaldybaev
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  4. B. T. Zholboldiev
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  5. S. G. Lennik
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  6. M. A. Severinenko
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  7. W. J. Karmysheva
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Correspondence to B. M. Djenbaev or B. K. Kaldybaev.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Translated by M. Bogina

The paper continues a previous issue of the journal devoted to biogeochemistry and the 160th anniversary of its founder Academician V.I. Vernadsky (Geochemistry International, 2023, Vol. 61, No. 10).

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Djenbaev, B.M., Solodukhin, V.P., Kaldybaev, B.K. et al. Biogeochemical Assessment of Toxicity and Radioecological Danger of the Transboundary Kara-Balta River. Geochem. Int. 61, 1205–1215 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016702923100038

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016702923100038

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