Natural Radionuclides ²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, and ²²²Rn in the Surface Water of the El’konskii Uranium Ore Region, Southern Yakutia

Abstract—Surface water chemistry and content of radionuclides ²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, and ²²²Rn were studied in both natural and technogenic landscapes of Southern Yakutia. The technogenically disturbed landscapes of the El’konskii Uranium Ore Region showed intense migration of these radionuclides in water from dumps of radioactive rocks that had formed during large-scale exploration works for radioactive ore in the late XX century. A dispersion halo of ²³⁸U and ²²⁶Ra in water was detected in groundwater over a distance of more than 2 km downstream of the radioactive pollution sources.