Distribution of the ambient dose equivalent rate of gamma radiation in specially protected natural areas of the Rostov region

To monitor the ambient dose equivalent rate of gamma radiation in the ecosytems of the specially protected natural areas is necessary for identification of the areas with high radiation background and estimation of the background level of radiation contamination in the adjacent territories. The paper presents results of the study of ambient dose equivalent rate of gamma radiation in the dry and semi-dry steppes ecosystems. For these purposes six specially protected natural areas located in the Rostov Region were used as research objects. The ambient dose equivalent rate of gamma radiation was estimated with dosimeters-radiometers by the field method of pedestrian gamma ray shooting. For the analysis of the obtained results statistical methods were used. It was found that the distribution of the ambient dose equivalent rate of gamma radiation in the specially protected natural areas varied from 0.01 to 0.32 mSv/h. Arithmetic mean, geometric mean, modal and median values of the ambient dose equivalent rate of gamma radiation for all studied specially protected natural areas are 0.128 µSv/h; 0.120 µSv/h; 0.135 µSv/h and 0.135 µSv/h, respectively. It was found that the ambient dose equivalent rate of gamma radiation in the specially protected natural areas in the Rostov Region did not depend on soil types. The study results allow us to make the following conclusion: insignificant differences in the arithmetic mean values of the ambient dose equivalent rate of gamma radiation in the territories under consideration may be due to the peculiarities of their protection and use regimes, as well as due to the radioactive fallout released by the Chernobyl accident and the uncertainty in radioactivity measurement.