ASSESSMENT OF DOSE LOADS ON NATURAL LIZARD POPULATIONS INHABITING UNDER NATURAL CONDITIONS AT THE TECHNICAL SITES OF THE SEMIPALATINSK TEST SITE

This article presents results of dose loads on the natural population of sand lizards (Lacerta agilis Linnaeus) inhabiting under natural conditions of chronic exposure to various levels of ionizing radiation at the test locations of the Semipalatinsk Test Site. It was established that a sand lizard can be an essential indicator of radioactive contamination of biota at the STS sites with man-made radionuclides 137 Cs and 90 Sr. Calculations of dose loads on lizards indicate that at the different surveyed STS technical sites with historically various levels of radioactive contamination, depending on the type, yield and pattern of conducted tests, dose loads on lizards varies essentially. At the “Degelen” and “Balapan” technical sites, the bulk was formed solely due to external exposure to 137 Cs. At the “4A” site, where tests of radiological warfare agents (so–called “formulations”) were conducted at the time, the highest radiation dose rates for the sand lizard were recorded to be up to 2.2·10 −2 Gy/day. In addition, it is quite different from previous sites – only due to internal exposure to 90 Sr.