Assessment of radon manifestation at hydrothermal deposits of the Bystrinsky district, Kamchatka

The Kamchatka area has significant hydrothermal resources — according to some estimates, up to 80% of the total mineral water in Russia. The main thermal mineral resources have been developed near the regional center of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. At the same time, many hydrothermal resources located at a considerable distance from the regional center in ecologically clean areas are insufficiently studied. One of these areas is Bystrinsky district, located in the center of Kamchatka, where three hydrothermal fields have been explored and used for heating needs, i.e., Anavgayskoye (82°C), Bystrinsky (48°C), Essovskoye (78°C). According to the chemical composition of water in these field, calcium-sodium sulfate waters are similar in composition and mineralization (1.0-2.6 g/dm³). The purpose of the study was to search for radon in these fields. Information about the presence of radon in these fields was not previously found in publications. A preliminary assessment of the radon presence in the associated gas in the wells of Anavgaysky, Bystrinsky and Essovsky geothermal fields was carried out using the measuring complex “CAMERA-01” (NTC “Niton”) for monitoring radon. Sampling was carried out on coal sorption columns directly on the heads of production wells. The sampling time, the number of columns and the gas flow rate from the top of the wellhead were selected taking into account the maximum radon capture. As a result of measurements in the associated gas of production wells of geothermal fields, significant concentrations of radon were found somewhere. The measured radon activity at the coal of the “CAMERA-01” complex ranged from 0.4 to 233 Bq. The analysis of the micro-component composition (device — ICPE-9000 laboratory of the RGTC FEB RAS) showed an increased content of boron — 7.97 mg/l, strontium — 0.83 mg/l and molybdenum — 0.017 mg/l in the deposits. No dependence of radon activity in production wells on the chemical composition, depth of wells, etc., was found in the fields. The presence of radon in the wells of hydrothermal fields opens up prospects for the development of resort and sanatorium complexes in the Bystrinsky district, Kamchatka, Russia.