DISTRIBUTION OF GASEOUS TRITIUM AT UNDERGROUND NUCLEAR EXPLOSION SITES OF SEMIPALATINSK TEST SITE

Abstract

According to the results of an area survey of tritium exhalation in a number of sites at the Semipalatinsk Test Site, three main types of increased tritium activity distribution have been established: 1 – linear-mosaic at the sites of weak and virtually absent disturbances of geological structures by nuclear explosions outside the sites of explosions; 2 – mostly linear, connected with the natural faults, intensely renewed by the explosions at the sites of explosions; 3 – ring ones, connected with technogenic (ring) structures, occurred directly by the explosions. Usually the distributions of tritium of the second and the third types are detected together. A great stability of results and the depth of the survey of tritium exhalation has been noted in comparison with the results of radon exhalation measures. A spatial connection of abnormal increases of tritium activity with hydrodynamic structures detected by the structural geophysics methods has been established. The advantage of using the method of gaseous survey of tritium activity to confirm the connection of hydrodynamic structures with the foci of underground nuclear explosions has been proved.