Radon in water and soil cover in the coastal zone of Issyk-Kul

The article summarizes the results of the study of the Issyk-Kul coastal zone - exposure dose, total alpha- and beta-activity, radon in the lake water, and soil cover. Our studies have established that radionuclide contamination is mainly natural in some coastal areas (thorium sands of Zhenish and Ak-Terek) and of natural-technogenic nature in the area of Kadzhi-Sai tailing dump. The nature of contamination is spotty, where rocks are enriched and located closer to the soil cover. Gamma-radiation exposure dose rates of the coastal zone of Lake Issyk-Kul by soil types showed that in general at the background level (from 19 ± 3 to 34 ± 6 µR/h) and below the accepted norm. On separate natural-technogenic sites (Kadzhi-Sai tailing dump, thorium sands Zhenish and Ak-Terek) gamma radiation exposure dose rate, total alpha-activity, and isotopic composition are increased from 2 to 8 times compared to background sites.