Assessment of the Area of Heavy Metals and Radionuclides Deposition on the Environment of the Household Waste Landfill on the 9th Km of Vilyuisky Tract in Yakutsk City

For the first time the deposition area of heavy metals and other trace elements (Al, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, S, Sr, Sb, V, Zn, and Hg) in the territory surrounding the landfill of domestic (municipal) waste at the 9th km of the Vilyuisky tract of Yakutsk within a radius of 150 km was estimated using the method of ICP-OES. Simultaneously, mosses, lichens and soil were analyzed for radionuclide content (40K, 137Cs, 212 Pb, 214Pb, 212Bi, 214Bi, 208Tl, 7Be, and 228Ac) in a number of selected samples by semiconductor gamma spectrometry. The results of examination of moss samples by ICP-OES indicate the presence of large amounts of toxic Ba and metal debris (Al, Co, Cr, Fe, S, and Pb) at the landfill. In addition, it is shown that the investigated samples contain elements such as: Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, V, Zn, and Hg. The method of gamma spectrometry revealed that the studied samples contain such radioactive element as 137Cs, daughter products of 238U and 232Th. Detection of the same heavy metals and radionuclides in the atmospheric air and soil of the city, as well as in the vegetation and soil near the landfill may indicate that one of the sources of environmental pollution may be products of incineration of the landfill contents at the 9th km of the Vilyuisky tract.