Contemporary radioecological state of the North-western Black Sea and the problems of environment conservation

Review is devoted to the analysis of a radioecological situation in the North-western Black Sea and concerns the levels of contamination of the components of an ecosystem by the main artificial radioactive isotopes (90Sr, 137Cs, 239,240Pu). The long-term accumulation trends of these radionuclides were analyzed in components of the Black Sea ecosystem after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. Zones that have an increased ability to accumulate these radioisotopes were revealed. The assessment of irradiation dose rates formed by 90Sr, 137Cs and 239,240Pu in Black Sea hydrobionts was obtained. The strategy for biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of natural resources should include monitoring of the radioecological state of the marine ecosystems, and the formation of a complex of biogeochemical criteria for assessment of an ecological situation in the sea. This approach is important for marine protected areas, since it allows the formation of a basis for scientific and practical function.