Uranium, thorium, and potassium in soils along the shore of Lake Issyk-Kyol in the Kyrghyz Republic

The Kyrghyz Republic, located in the southeastern region of the former Soviet Union, maintains a population of more than one-half-million persons and is heavily dependent on Lake Issyk-Kyol, both to draw tourists to the area and for its utilization by some as a food and recreation source. Historical surveys, conducted primarily for geological exploration, have indicated that localized areas of shoreline on Lake Issyk-Kyol have relative radiation levels in excess of ambient background by as much as a factor of ten. Uranium mining operations in the mountains bordering the lake to the south may have resulted in the contamination of a number of areas on the lake's southern shore. Concentrations of naturally occurring uranium, thorium, and potassium are present in these soils in elevated quantities. This paper presents the results of an investigation of soil concentrations along the shoreline of Lake Issyk-Kyol relative to previously discovered areas of high exposure rate.