Ecological aspects of liquid radwaste confinement in the severnyi deep repository

The results of studies of the effect of low-level wastes on the ecosystem of the reservoir bed at the Severnyi site of the Mining-Chemical Works are presented. The technogenic action of the wastes is greatest on stratal liquid in the region of the injection wells. In all other sections of the site, the changes of the radiochemical, chemical, and microbiological parameters were either temporary or minimal, which shows that the effect of the wastes on the subterranean ecosystem is negligible. Microbial communities present in stratal water participate in the transformation of the macrocomponents of low-level wastes and in gas generation. The formation of an individual gas phase as a result of biogenic processes under the conditions of the repository is local and does not disrupt the site’s operating regime. The activity of denitrifying micro-organisms decreases the toxicity of the macrocomponents of the low-level wastes.