The article describes the results of experimental studies on the development of new active electrocatalysts for their use in the electrodes of the membrane-electrode block of a solid-oxide hydrogen-air fuel cell. Since the composition of the synthesized catalysts has a significant effect on its electrokinetic activity (electrical conductivity), the synthesis of nanoscale bimetallic catalysts of various qualitative and quantitative compositions is carried out. The choice of metal for the synthesis of the catalyst was determined by its electronic structure. The electrocatalytic activity of the developed catalysts was evaluated by studying the activity of the catalysts with respect to the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. The developed bimetallic PVPD-Pt/ZnO/C catalysts exhibit activity with respect to the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide at 40–50 °C.

To replenish a specific consumable material, experimental samples of transport capsules were made, intended for neutron activation analysis for short-lived isotopes. The correspondence of the manufactured capsules to the real conditions of their transportation has been studied. The study of the elemental composition of the capsule material has been carried out. Analysis of the spectra of induced activity showed the presence of metal impurities in polyethylene, which must be taken into account when performing neutron activation analysis.

The paper considers the issues in design and development of databases for storage and processing gamma-spectrometric information. A model is presented that allows one to describe the conceptual schemes for storing and processing data obtained during field gamma-spectrometric surveys in principle and, in particular, on the territory of the Semipalatinsk test site. The possibilities of the database of field spectrometry are described. The interface for interaction between the user and the database management system has been implemented.

The article presents the results of monitoring the waters of the Shagan river on the change in the specific activity of tritium for 2016–2020. The Shagan river is the longest surface watercourse on the territory of the Semipalatinsk Test Site, flowing along the eastern part of the Balapan site, where, together with the tributary, the Ashisu, flows into the “Atomic Lake”. Further, at a distance of 110 km downstream, the river forms a left-bank tributary of the Irtysh river. Previous studies have revealed and repeatedly confirmed the fact of radioactive contamination of the surface and ground waters of the Shagan river technogenic radionuclide ³H. It was revealed that the main source of pollution is groundwater entering the surface waters of the river. In this regard, in order to ensure long-term monitoring of ³H pollution of river waters, seasonal monitoring was carried out in three sections of the river located along its channel, starting from the outlet from the “Atomic Lake” heap and further downstream to the confluence with the Irtysh river.

As a result of the observations, it was found that the specific activity of 3H in surface and ground waters, depending on the observation time, varies in a wide range of values. So, in the area of maximum pollution, the content of ³H changes from the minimum – 8 Bq/kg in the spring, to the maximum 370 000 Bq/kg in the summer-autumn period. At the exit points of the Shagan river outside the landfill, the concentration of ³H varies from 90 Bq/kg to 12 400 Bq/kg. In the area of the confluence of the Shagan river in Irtysh river content of 3H does not exceed 110 Bq/kg.

The article provides a brief overview of industrial technologies and scientific research of the silicon carbide production process. Research on the production of finely dispersed, porous and nano-sized silicon carbide is carried out in leading scientific institutions of the world. The main scientific tasks currently facing researchers are to reduce energy consumption, increase the environmental safety of industrial technologies, improve purity of the finished product. One of the promising methods for producing silicon carbide is the carbothermal reduction of silica encapsulated with pyrocarbon in reactors with an electrothermal fluidized bed.

The article represents the bibliometric analysis of the documentary corpus devoted to studying the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site selected of the database Russian Science Citation Index. It shows the publication dynamics over a thirty-year period, the specific structure of the documentary corpus; revels that the documents are thematically structured as follows: research of the medical and biological consequences of radiation exposure (genetic consequences of ionizing radiation exposure; diseases induced by radiation exposure); assessment of the consequences of nuclear tests for the environment (environmental monitoring, radiation situation, pollution of separate environment elements), historical and socio-legal aspects of investigating the test site activity consequences.

During the Cold War of the 20th century and the classification of information between the largest nuclear states the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States of America (USA), data on the registration of nuclear explosions were not published in the reports of the Unitied Seismic Observation Service. However, underground nuclear explosions were recorded. For example, underground nuclear explosions, produced by the United States on Amchitka island, were recorded by more than 30 stations of the USSR at epicentral distances Δ ~ 8–160°. Tests at the Nevada Test Site were found especially well throughout the USSR seismic stations. As a result of processing the bulletins of registered events, checking the values with the time service, the registration parameters for the Soviet stations were destroyed. However, thanks to an employee of the laboratory 5-s of the Institute of Physics of the Earth named after O.Yu. Schmidt of the USSR Academy of Sciences Kh.D. Rubinstein is kept at the Institute for the Dynamics of Geospheres of the Russian Academy of Sciences named after Academician M.A. Sadovsky. Only after 1985 messages from some seismic stations of the former USSR began to be published in the operational reports of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This material is intended to publish that layer of invaluable information on the registration of underground nuclear explosions, made by the United States, which has been so carefully created for decades, and has not been published anywhere at the moment.

In the given paper were investigated structure and electrophysical properties of PVDF+PbS/CdS nanocomposites. Distribution and the size of PbS and CdS nanoparticles in the polymer matrix has been studied by scanning electron microscopy (JEOL JSM-7600 F). The structure of the nanocomposite samples was investigated by the X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. The dependence of dielectric permittivity at frequency and temperature was investigated. It was shown that the dielectric permittivity of PVDF+PbS/CdS nanocomposite samples was increase in small nanoparticles content. Further increase in the concentration of the filler leads to decrease in the dielectric permittivity. The subsequent decrease in dielectric permittivity at higher nanoparticles content can be explained by the increase in defects in the structure of the nanocomposite.

The proposed paper provides a review of recommendations, methodic instructions and software for evaluation of exposure doses to population domiciling radioactive contaminated territories. There is a review of dose calculation methods which are most common in neighbouring countries and beyond. The paper presents basic approaches, factors required for dose assessment with review of main pathways for artificial radionuclides intake. It addresses the need to develop methodic instructions and software for the cases of people living at Semipalatinsk test site area.