Radiological Screening of Bottom Sediments of The Tisza River

sources of the Tisza River in the highlands of the Carpathians are
presented. For the first time, data were obtained on the structure of
sediments' natural activity and its transformation during the altitude
lowering of the riverbed lowering for 400 m. The sediment samples
were taken from 12 sampling points and investigated under lowbackground gamma spectrometry experiments. The content of
natural, in particular, daughter isotopes of the U / Th series, 40K, and
artificial (137Cs) radionuclides in the sludge was controlled. They can
serve as markers of the studied areas' spatial, geochemical, and
anthropogenic characteristics. Standards of the content of the
radionuclides - marks along the Tisza riverbed and in the vicinity of
its tributary rivers have been established. Significant changes in the
range of U/Th components under the lowering of the Tisza riverbed
are shown, indicating geochemical anomalies in these areas. The
cluster and factor analysis methods were used to study the stability of
statistical indicators based on the radionuclide content in the
highlands of the Tisza River and the nature of latent factors that
determine their statistical equivalency and grouping conditions. The
radiological research data in the sediments' samples allows for
estimating the abundance of chemical elements U, Th, and K as
important geochemical and geothermal characteristics of its
catchment area. The importance and prospects of radiological
monitoring from the origin and in all the Carpathian basins of the
Tisza River are discussed, given its importance for the formation of
water resources in Eastern Europe.