!
!
International!Scientific!Committee!
!
President!
Prof.!Nicola!Cabibbo!(University!of!Roma!La!Sapienza!and!INFN!Roma,!Italy)!
!
Chairman!
Prof.!Wolfango!Plastino!(University!of!Roma!Tre!and!INFN!Roma!Tre,!Italy)!
!
Co"Chairman!
Prof.!Pavel!P.!Povinec!(Comenius!University!of!Bratislava,!Slovakia)!
!
Dr!Pradeep!Aggarwal!(IAEA!"!Isotope!Hydrology!Section,!Vienna,!Austria)!
Prof.!Maria!Betti!(IAEA!"!Marine!Environment!Laboratories,!Monaco)!
Prof.!Manuel!Garcia"León!(University!of!Sevilla,!Spain)!
Dr!Katsumi!Hirose!(Sophia!University!of!Tokyo,!Japan)!
Dr!Mike!Hotchkis!(Australian!Nuclear!Science!and!Technology!Organization,!Australia)!
Dr!Mikael!Hult!(EC!Institute!for!Reference!Materials!and!Measurements,!Belgium)!
Prof.!Timothy!Jull!(University!of!Arizona,!USA)!
Prof.!Martin!Kalinowski!(University!of!Hamburg,!Germany)!
Prof.!William!E.!Kieser!(University!of!Ottawa,!Canada)!
Dr!Uwe!Morgenstern!(Institute!of!Nuclear!and!Geological!Sciences,!New!Zealand)!
Dr!Sven!Nielsen!(Risoe!National!Laboratory,!Roskilde,!Denmark)!
Prof.!John!E.!Noakes!(University!of!Georgia,!Athens,!USA)!
Prof.!Shaoming!Pan!(Nanjing!University,!China)!
Prof.!Constantin!Papastefanou!(University!of!Thessaloniki,!Greece)!
Dr!Jean!L.!Reyss!(Lab.!de!Sciences!du!Climat!et!de!Environnement,!Gif!sur!Yvette,!France)!
Prof.!Kazimierz!Rozanski!(University!of!Krakow,!Poland)!
Dr!Umberto!Sansone!(IAEA!–!Seibersdorf!Laboratories,!Vienna,!Austria)!
Dr!Pavol!Vojtyla!(CERN,!Geneva,!Switzerland)!
!
!
Local!Organising!Committee!
!
President!
Prof.!Nicola!Cabibbo!(University!of!Roma!La!Sapienza!and!INFN!Roma,!Italy)!
!
Chairman!
Prof.!Wolfango!Plastino!(University!of!Roma!Tre!and!INFN!Roma!Tre,!Italy)!
!
Co"Chairman!
Dr!Giacomo!Cuttone!(INFN!Laboratori!Nazionali!del!Sud,!Italy)!
!
Prof.!Cesare!Bacci!(University!of!Roma!Tre!and!INFN!Roma!Tre,!Italy)!
Prof.!Francesco!Bella!(University!of!Roma!Tre,!Italy)!
Prof.!Michele!Caputo!(University!of!Roma!La!Sapienza!"!Accademia!Nazionale!dei!Lincei,!Italy)!
Prof.!Filippo!Ceradini!(University!of!Roma!Tre!and!INFN!Roma!Tre,!Italy)!
Prof.!Mario!De!Vincenzi!(University!of!Roma!Tre!and!INFN!Roma!Tre,!Italy)!
Prof.!Carlo!Doglioni!(University!of!Roma!La!Sapienza!"!Accademia!Nazionale!dei!Lincei,!Italy)!
Prof.!Mario!Greco!(University!of!Roma!Tre!and!INFN!Roma!Tre,!Italy)!
Prof.!Settimio!Mobilio!(University!of!Roma!Tre!"!INFN!Laboratori!Nazionali!di!Frascati,!Italy)!
Prof.!Giuliano!F.!Panza!(University!of!Trieste!"!ICTP!"!Accademia!Nazionale!dei!Lincei,!Italy)!
Prof.!Fernanda!Pastore!(University!of!Roma!Tre!and!INFN!Roma!Tre,!Italy)!
Prof.!Roberto!Petronzio!(University!of!Rome!Tor!Vergata!–!President!of!INFN,!Italy)!
Dr!Federico!Ruggieri!(INFN!Roma!Tre,!Italy)!
Dr!Ludovico!Tortora!(INFN!Roma!Tre,!Italy)!
Dr!Andrea!Vacchi!(INFN!Trieste,!Italy)!
Dr!Lucia!Votano!(INFN!Gran!Sasso!National!Laboratory,!Italy)!
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!
CONFERENCE!PROGRAMME!
!
!
25th!October!2010!
!
9:00am"9:30am!!
!
9:30am"9:45am!
!
Keynote!Lectures!I!
!
9:45am"10:30am!
!
10:30am"11:15am!
!
Session!I!
!
11:45am"12:15pm!
!
12:15pm"12:30pm!
!
Prof.!Luciano!Maiani
President!of!the!Italian!National!
Research!Council!
Prof.!Lamberto!Maffei
President!of!the!Accademia!Nazionale!
dei!Lincei!
!
Prof.!Roberto!Petronzio!
President!of!the!Italian!National!
Institute!of!Nuclear!Physics!
!
Frontiers!in!Science
!
Prof. Carlo!Rubbia
CERN!and!National!Institute!of!Nuclear!
Physics,!Italy!
!
Prof. Werner!Burkart
International!Atomic!Energy!Agency,!
Vienna,!Austria!
!
Underground!Physics
!
Prof.!Gianpaolo!Bellini!(Invited)
University!of!Milano!and!INFN!Milano,!
Italy!
!
Prof.!Wolfango!Plastino
University!of!Roma!Tre!and!INFN!Roma!
Tre,!Italy!
!
!
!
Nicola!Cabibbo,!Physicist!and!Science!
Manager!
!
!
Welcome!Speeches!
The!future!of!fission!breeding!reactors
Nuclear!Sciences:!sustainable!
contribution!to!the!United!Nations!
millennium!development!goals!
Geoneutrinos!
Uranium!groundwater!anomalies!at!
LNGS:!from!the!neutron!flux!
background!to!the!geodynamic!
processes!
!
!
!
Session!II!
!
!
2:00pm"2:30pm!
!
!
Accelerator!Mass!Spectrometry!
!
2:30pm"2:45pm!
!
Dr!Alfredo!Galindo"Uribarri
Oak!Ridge!National!Laboratory,!USA!
!
2:45pm"3:00pm!
!
Prof.!Manuel!Garcia"Leon
University!of!Sevilla,!Spain!
!
3:00pm"3:15pm!
!
Dr!Mariaelena!Fedi
University!of!Florence!and!INFN!
Florence,!Italy!
!
Poster!Session!I!
!
Environmental!Physics
!
Prof.!Herbert!Lettner!(Invited)
University!of!Salzburg,!Austria!
!
Dr!Abdulghani!Shakhashiro
International!Atomic!Energy!Agency!
Vienna,!Austria!
!
3:15pm"4:30pm!
!
Session!III!
!
4:30pm"5:00pm!
!
5:00pm"5:15pm!
!
5:15pm"5:30pm!
!
Prof.!William!E.!Kieser (Invited)
University!of!Ottawa,!Canada!
!
Dr!Matthias!Laubenstein
INFN!Gran!Sasso!National!Laboratory,!
Italy!
Fluoride!sample!matrices!and!reaction!
cells!–!new!capabilities!for!isotope!
measurements!in!Accelerator!Mass!
Spectrometry!
Pushing!the!detection!limits!of!rare!
isotopes!using!Accelerator!Mass!
Spectrometry!
Environmental!radioactivity!
measurements!with!accelerators:!AMS!
at!CNA!
Applications!of!radiocarbon!
measurements!in!environmental!
studies!at!LABEC,!Florence!
Age!determination!in!cryoconites!with!
artificial!and!natural!radionuclides!
Environmental!radioactivity!
measurements:!challenges!and!lessons!
learned!from!the!IAEA!analytical!
proficiency!testing!2005"2010!
Environmental!radioactivity!
measurements!within!the!ERMES!
experiment!at!the!ultra!low!
background!facility!STELLA!
!
!
!
!
5:30pm"5:45pm!
!
5:45pm"6:00pm!
!
Prof.!Giuseppina!Immè
University!of!Catania!and!INFN,!
Catania,!Italy!
!
Dr!Maria!A.!Wasserman
Institute!of!Radioprotection!and!
Dosimetry"CNEN,!Rio!de!Janeiro,!Brasil!
Radioactivity!measurements!in!
volcano"tectonic!area!for!geodynamic!
process!study!
The!application!of!geotechnological!
tools!for!the!construction!of!137Cs!
vulnerability!maps!in!Brazilian!soils!
!
!
26th!October!2010!
!
Keynote!Lectures!II!
!
9:00am!"!9:45am!
!
9:45am!"!10:30am!
!
Session!IV!
!
11:00am"11:30am!
!
11:30am"11:45am!
!
11:45am"12:00pm!
!
12:00pm"12:15pm!
!
12:15pm"12:30pm!
!
Frontiers!in!Science
!
Prospects!of!nuclear!proliferation,!or!of!
Prof.!Francesco!Calogero!
University!of!Roma!La!Sapienza!and!INFN! transition!to!a!nuclear"weapon"free!
Roma,!Italy!
world!
!
Prof.!William!C.!Burnett
Natural!radon!and!radium!isotopes!as!
Florida!State!University,!Tallahassee,!USA tracers!in!the!environment!
!
Groundwater"Seawater!Interactions
!
Dr!Matthew!A.!Charette!(Invited)
Radionuclide!tracers!of!submarine!
Woods!Hole!Oceanographic!Institution,!
groundwater!discharge!on!an!ocean!
USA!
island!(Guam)!
!
Dr!Michael!Schubert
The!kinetics!of!the!water/air!phase!
Helmholtz!Centre!for!Environmental!
transition!of!radon!and!its!implication!
Research"UFZ,!Leipzig,!Germany!
on!on"site!radon"in"water!detection!
!
Dr!Christos!Tsabaris
Study!of!submarine!groundwater!
Hellenic!Centre!for!Marine!Research,!
discharge!by!radio"tracer!techniques!at!
Anavyssos,!Greece!
Kalogria!bay,!SW!Peloponnissos,!
Greece!
!
Prof.!Yasunori!Mahara
Groundwater!residence!time!
Kyoto!University,!Japan!
estimated!from!4He!accumulated!rate!
calibrated!by!using!cosmogenic!and!
subsurface!produced!36Cl!
!
Dr!Rachid!El!Mrabet
A!new!technologic!development!for!
National!Center!for!Energy,!Sciences!and! remote!radiological!monitoring!and!
Nuclear!Techniques!(CNESTEN),!Rabat,!
early!detection!of!environmental!risks!
Morocco!
in!the!Strait!of!Gibraltar!
!
!
!
Session!V!
!
!
2:00pm"2:30pm!
!
2:30pm"2:45pm!
!
2:45pm"3:00pm!
!
3:00pm"3:15pm!
!
3:15pm"4:30pm!
!
Session!VI!
!
4:30pm"5:00pm!
!
5:00pm"5:15pm!
!
5:15pm"5:30pm!
!
!
Marine!Radioactivity
!
!
Dr!Hartmut!Nies!(Invited)
International!Atomic!Energy!Agency,!
Monaco!
!
Dr!Galina!Lujaniené
SRI!Center!for!Physical!Sciences!and!
Technology,!Vilnius,!Lithuania!
!
Dr!Fernando!P.!Carvalho
Nuclear!and!Technological!Institute,!
Sacavém,!Portugal!
!
Dr!Nikolaos!Evangeliou
NCSR!Institute!of!Nuclear!Technology"
Radiation!Protection,!Athens,!Greece!
!
Poster!Session!II!
!
New!Analytical!Technologies
!
Prof.!Xiaolin!Hou!(Invited)
Risø!National!Laboratory!for!Sustainable!
Energy,!Roskilde,!Denmark!
!
Dr!Salvatore!Frullani
National!Institute!of!Health,!Rome,!Italy!
!
Dr!Mikael!Hult!
EC"JRC!Institute!for!Reference!Materials!
and!Measurements,!Geel,!Belgium!
Nuclear!analytical!techniques!in!
marine!studies!at!the!IAEA!Marine!
Environment!Laboratories!!
Pu,!Am!and!Cs!sorption!behaviour!in!
the!Baltic!Sea!
210
Po!as!a!tracer!of!energy!transfer in!
marine!food!chains!
The!dispersion!of!137Cs!in!a!shallow!
Mediterranean!embayment!(Saronikos!
Gulf!–!Elefsis!Bay)!in!seasonal!scale,!
estimated!inventories!and!residence!
times!
ICP"MS!for!low"level!radionuclide!
analysis!
SNIFFER:!an!aerial!platform!for!real!
time!measurements!of!contamination!
in!the!plume!phase!of!a!nuclear!
emergency!
Quantification!of!238U!in!environmental!
samples!using!gamma"ray!
spectrometry!
!
!
5:30pm"5:45pm!
!
5:45pm"6:00pm!
!
!
!
Dr!Yasunori!Hamajima
Kanazawa!University,!Japan!
!
Prof.!Lucio!Calcagnile
University!of!Salento!and!CEDAD!
Laboratory,!Italy!
Reduction!of!cosmic!ray!components!
on!Ge!detector!utilizing!thin!plastic!
scintillators!and!wavelength!shifting!
fibers!for!anticoincidence!
Studies!of!industrial!emissions!by!
accelerator"based!techniques!at!
CEDAD!
!
!
27th!October!2010!
!
Keynote!Lectures!III!
!
9:00am!"!9:45am!
Frontiers!in!Science
!
Prof.!Walter!Kutschera!!
University!of!Vienna,!Austria!
!
9:45am!"!10:30am!!
!
Dr!Francois!Bréchignac
Institute!for!Radioprotection!and!Nuclear!
Safety,!France!
!
Isotope!Oceanography
!
Prof.!Katsumi!Hirose!(Invited)
Sophia!University,!Tokyo,!Japan!
!
Session!VII!
!
11:00am"11:30am!
!
11:30am"11:45am!
!
11:45am"12:00pm!
!
12:00pm"12:15pm!
!
12:15pm"12:30pm!
!
!
Dr!Marcus!Christl!
ETH,!Zürich,!Switzerland!
!
Dr!Roberta!Delfanti
ENEA,!La!Spezia,!Italy!
!
Prof.!Pavel!P.!Povinec
Comenius!University!of!Bratislava,!
Slovakia!
!
Dr!Alexandra!Ioannidou
Aristotle!University!of!Thessaloniki,!
Greece!
!
!
!
Counting!atoms!rather!than!decays!"
the!power!of!Accelerator!Mass!
Spectrometry!to!study!environmental!
radioactivity!
Environment! protection:! the! current
challenge!in!radioecology!
Distribution!of!137Cs!in!the!South!Pacific!
and!Indian!Ocean!waters:!results!of!the!
SHOTS!project!
236
Uranium!in!ocean!water!samples
Anthropogenic!radionuclides!in!the!
Mediterranean!Sea:!space!and!time"
distribution,!mass"balance!and!future!
trends!
Investigation!of!circulation!of!water!
masses!in!the!southern!Indian!Ocean!
using!radionuclide!tracers!
Activity!size!distribution!of!7Be!in!
association!with!trace!metals!and!their!
deposition!on!the!sea!
!
Session!VIII!
!
!
2:00pm"2:30pm!
!
2:30pm"2:45pm!
!
2:45pm"3:00pm!
!
3:00pm"3:15pm!
!
3:15pm"4:30pm!
!
Session!IX!
!
4:30pm"4:45pm!
!
4:45pm"5:00pm!
!
5:00pm"5:15pm!
!
5:15pm"5:30pm!
!
!
Radioecology!
!
Prof.!Pier!R.!Danesi!(Invited)
IUSS,!University!of!Pavia,!Italy!
!
Dr!Pavol!Vojtyla!
CERN,!Geneva,!Switzerland!
!
Dr!Mikhail!Iosjpe!
Norwegian!Radiation!Protection!
Authority,!Østerås,!Norway!
!
Dr!Borut!Smodiš!
Jožef!Stefan!Institute,!Ljubljana,!Slovenia!
!
Poster!Session!III!
!
Radioecology!
!
Dr!Alexander!Nikitin
SI!Research!and!Production!Association!"!
Typhoon,!Obninsk,!Russia!
!
Dr!Sergey!N.!Lukašenko
National!Nuclear!Center!of!the!Republic!of!
Kazakhstan,!Kurchatov,!Kazakhstan!
!
Dr!Sang"Han!Lee!
Korea!Research!Institute!of!Standards!and!
Science,!Daejeon,!Korea!
!
Dr!Ashraf!E.M.!Khater
King!Saud!University,!Riyadh,!Saudi!Arabia
Radiological!conditions!in!South!Iraq!
where!depleted!uranium!munitions!
were!used!
Environmental!challenges!of!high!
energy/intensity!hadron!accelerators!
Evaluation!of!environmental!sensitivity!
of!the!marine!regions!
Radioecology!studies!in!the!vicinity!of!
closed!uranium!mine!
Up"to"date!content!of!long"lived!
artificial!radionuclides!in!the!Tom!and!
Ob!rivers!in!the!area!influenced!by!
discharges!from!Siberian!chemical!
combine!
Semipalatinsk!Nuclear!Test!Site.!
Current!state!and!prospects!
Distribution!of!plutonium and!
americium!in!the!soils!from!Korea!
Radioecological!impacts!of!agricultural!
activities!on!sandy!soil!in!arid!
environment!!
!
!
5:30pm"5:45pm!
!
5:45pm"6:00pm!
!
Prof.!Madan!M.!Sharma
Kuwait!University,!Kuwait!
!
Dr!Alexander!Kryšev
SI!Research!and!Production!Association!"!
Typhoon,!Obninsk,!Russia!
!
!
Radiological!impact!of!Gulf!wars!on!
agricultural!areas!in!Kuwait!!
Comparative!analysis!of!doses!to!
aquatic!biota!in!water!bodies!impacted!
to!radioactive!contamination!
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!
ORAL!PROGRAMME!
!
ABSTRACTS!
!
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!
!
FRONTIERS!IN!SCIENCE!
!
!
THE!FUTURE!OF!FISSION!BREEDING!REACTORS!
C.!RUBBIA!
CERN!and!National!Institute!of!Nuclear!Physics,!Italy!
!
!
!
NUCLEAR!SCIENCES:!SUSTAINABLE!CONTRIBUTION!TO!THE!UNITED!NATIONS!
MILLENNIUM!DEVELOPMENT!GOALS!
W.!BURKART!
International!Atomic!Energy!Agency,!Vienna,!Austria!
!
!
!
PROSPECTS!OF!NUCLEAR!PROLIFERATION,!OR!OF!TRANSITION!TO!A!NUCLEAR"
WEAPON"FREE!WORLD!
F.!CALOGERO!
University!of!Roma!La!Sapienza!and!INFN!Roma,!Italy!
!
!
!
NATURAL!RADON!AND!RADIUM!ISOTOPES!AS!TRACERS!IN!THE!ENVIRONMENT!
W.!C.!BURNETT!
Florida!State!University,!USA!
!
While! environmental! radioactivity! is! often! most! concerned! with! radiation! protection,! the!
existence! of! low"level! non"equilibrium! activities! of! naturally"occurring! radioisotopes! in! the!
environment!can!be!exploited!to!help!understand!how!the!world!works.!Geophysical!applications!
using!such!isotopes!in!the!past!have!included!earthquake!prediction,!horizontal!and!vertical!mixing!
rate! studies! in! the! ocean,! air"sea! gas! exchange! fluxes,! and! many! more.! Over! the! past! decade,!
there!has!been!a!marked!increase!(often!driven!by!technological!advances)!in!the!application!of!
short"lived!radium!isotopes!(223Ra!and!224Ra),!radon!(222Rn),!and!thoron!(220Rn)!in!marine!and!fresh!
!
water! systems.! This! presentation! will! demonstrate! and! provide! examples! of! how! these!
radioisotopes!can!be!used!as!tracers!to!determine:!(1)!residence!times!and!mixing!rates!in!coastal!
areas! and! embayments;! (2)! experimental! determination! of! gas! exchange! from! the! sea! to! the!
atmosphere;! and! (3)! evaluation! of! groundwater! discharge! into! both! coastal! marine! and! aquatic!
systems.!
A!recent!application!of!the!use!of!thoron!(t1/2!=!56s)!has!shown!that!it!can!be!used!to!prospect!for!
and! locate! areas! of! enriched! natural! radioactivity! (NORM)! in! water! supply! systems.! Thus,! these!
radionuclides! can! also! serve! a! useful! purpose! in! the! field! of! radiation! protection! as! well! as!
geophysical!studies.!
!
!
!
COUNTING!ATOMS!RATHER!THAN!DECAYS!"!THE!POWER!OF!ACCELERATOR!MASS!
SPECTROMETRY!TO!STUDY!ENVIRONMENTAL!RADIOACTIVITY!
W.!KUTSCHERA!
University!of!Vienna,!Austria!
!
In!our!usual!perception,!radioactivity!is!connected!with!radiation.!While!it!is!true!that!radioactive!
atoms! eventually! decay! by! emitting! some! radiation! which! facilitates! their! detection,! radioactive!
atoms!can!also!be!detected!by!mass!spectrometry!–!before!they!decay.!
In! a! given! time! period,! the! longer! the! half"life! the! less! atoms! decay.! As! an! example,! in! one!
milligram!of!contemporary!organic!carbon!we!have!about!!60!million! 14C!atoms.!Due!to!the!half"
life! of! 5730! years,! only! about! one! 14C! atom! decays! per! hour.! On! the! other! hand,! we! can! easily!
collect!a!few!percent!of!all!the!14C!atoms!per!hour!with!Accelerator!Mass!Spectrometry!(AMS),!i.e.!
about!one!million! 14C!atoms.!Even!though!it!was!known!long!ago,!that!in!principle!counting!atoms!
rather!than!decays!would!be!a!much!more!sensitive!way!of!detecting!long"lived!radioisotopes,!the!
minute! isotope! ratios! to! be! measured! (e.g.! 14C/12C! =! 1.2x10"12)! did! not! allow! a! detection! by!
standard!mass!spectrometry.!AMS,!however,!provided!the!means!to!measure!isotope!ratios!down!
to!10"16,!thus!!opening!!the!possibility!to!study!many!cosmogenic!and!anthropogenic!radioisotopes!
at!these!ultra"low!abundances.!This!talk!will!attempt!to!convey!the!power!of!AMS!to!tackle!many!
interesting!question!in!different!domains!of!our!environment.!
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ENVIRONMENT!PROTECTION:!THE!CURRENT!CHALLENGE!IN!RADIOECOLOGY!
F.!BRÉCHIGNAC!
!
Institute!for!Radioprotection!and!Nuclear!Safety,!France!
!
Born! in! the! fifties! together! with! the! emergence! of! nuclear! technologies,! radioecology! is! a!
multifaceted! scientific! discipline! which! addresses! environmental! issues! relevant! to!
radioprotection.! For! a! long! time,! the! major! focus,! strengthened! by! the! occurrence! of! the!
Chernobyl! accident,! has! been! to! work! out! environmental! transfers! through! the! environment! to!
feed!the!needs!of!human!radioprotection.!This!quite!anthropocentric!initial!scope!of!radioecology!
is! now! under! profound! evolution,! especially! driven! by! the! growth! of! society’s! concern! over!
environmental!issues!as!arising!form!the!re"boost!of!nuclear!industry!meant!to!overcome!global!
warming!issues!and!to!face!the!future!energetic!demands.!The!new!focus!evolving!is!on!protection!
of! the! environment! per! se,! requiring! radioecology! to! move! towards! adopting! a! more! ecocentric!
view!capable!of!assessing!ecological!risk!mediated!by!ionising!radiation.!
The! central! issue! consists! in! reaching! an! ability! to! understand! the! effects! of! radiation! on! the!
environment! components,! from! individual! organisms! up! to! populations! of! species! and!
ecosystems,!together!with!their!interaction!with!the!abiotic!compartments.!Such!radiation!effects!
have! been! subjected! to! numerous! studies! in! the! past! decades,! but! essentially! focused! on!
individual! organisms! exposed! to! high! level! and! acute! dose! rates! of! external! #! irradiation.! The!
resulting!overall!knowledge!therefore!still!proves!to!be!very!fragmented,!with!poor!understanding!
of!1)!the!impact!of!chronic!exposures!to!internal!irradiation!accumulated!within!living!organisms!in!
the! long! run,! over! several! generations,! and! 2)! their! consequences! on! populations! in! terms! of!
disturbance! of! ecosystem! structure! and! functions.! Large! gaps! also! remain! with! respect! to! the!
diversity!of!animal!and!plant!species.!
These! shortcomings! are! obviously! influencing! the! system! of! radiological! protection! of! the!
environment!which!is!currently!under!development.!Dominated!by!operational!goals,!it!is!driven!
by! simplification! and! emphasises! conceptual! and! methodological! approaches! that! are! readily!
accessible!today:!a!concept!based!upon!reference!organisms!supported!by!traditional!toxicological!
data! on! individual! organisms.! Whilst! there! are! immediate! advantages! to! this! approach!
(pragmatism,! consistency! with! other! approaches! in! use! for! man! and! biota),! there! are! also! clear!
limitations!which!need!to!be!acknowledged!and!further!considered.!The!first!probably,!is!to!rely!on!
effects!data!gathered!almost!exclusively!for!individual!organisms!to!meet!protection!goals!which!
are!usually!set!at!population!and!ecosystem!levels.!One!can!mention!a!few!others:!uncertainties!
generated! by! the! need! for! various! extrapolations! (from! lower! to! higher! levels! of! biological!
organisation,! …),! unability! to! grasp! impairments! of! ecosystem! processes,! trans"generational!
impacts!propagated!via!genomic!instability,!indirect!effects!mediated!through!trophic!interactions!
or!disruption!of!ecological!balances.!
!
!
!
Such!limitations!have!already!been!faced!in!other!fields!of!environmental!protection!against!other!
stressors,! pushing! a! number! of! environment! professionals! to! assign! stronger! emphasis! on! more!
systemic! approaches.! This! leads! in! particular! to! advocating! the! need! to! boost! scientific! and!
methodological!approaches!featuring!the!ecosystem!concept.!The!ecosystem!approach!indeed,!as!
illustrated! by! the! pioneer! work! under! the! international! convention! on! biodiversity,! will! provide!
more!efficient!ability!to!meet!the!objectives!of!environment!protection.!
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!
SESSION!I!
UNDERGROUND!PHYSICS!
!
!
GEONEUTRINOS!
G.!BELLINI*!
University!of!Milano!and!INFN!Milano,!Italy!
*on!behalf!of!BOREXINO!Collaboration!"!Gran!Sasso!National!Laboratory,!Italy!
!
The!heat!present!within!the!Earth!is!due!in!large!part!to!radioactive!decays.!The!only!way!to!detect!
their! presence! in! the! Earth! mantle! is! to! detect! the! antineutrinos! emitted! in! these! processes!
(geoneutrinos).!Their!rate!and!distribution!along!the!mantle!can!produce!important!insights!in!the!
Earth!models!and!in!the!study!of!the!heat!distribution!in!the!mantle.!
Due! to! the! low! energy! of! the! geoneutrino! spectrum,! the! detectors,! which! can! proceed! to! this!
study,!need!a!very!low!radioactive!level!in!the!all!components.!
The!Borexino!experiment,!at!Gran!Sasso!Laboratory!(Italy),!succeeded!in!reaching!unprecedented!
radioactive! purity! allowing! the! study! of! the! low! energy! neutrinos! from! the! Sun,! from! the! Earth,!
from!the!nuclear!reactors!and!from!other!possible!sources.!In!particular!Borexino!reached!the!first!
real!evidence!(4.2! )!of!geoneutrinos.!
Similar! evidence! has! been! reached! recently! by! Kamland! experiment! (Japan),! but! due! to! the!
presence!of!many!nuclear!reactors!in!Japan!and!to!the!relatively!relevant!radioactive!background!
in!the!detector,!the!geoneutrino!detection!is!more!difficult.!
Both!the!Borexino!and!Kamland!results!are!compared!with!the!Earth!models:!BSE,!minimum!and!
maximum!radiogenic.!
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!
!
URANIUM!GROUNDWATER!ANOMALIES!AT!LNGS:!FROM!THE!NEUTRON!FLUX!
BACKGROUND!TO!THE!GEODYNAMIC!PROCESSES!
W.!PLASTINO*!
University!of!Roma!Tre!and!INFN!Roma!Tre,!Italy!
*on!behalf!of!ERMES!Collaboration!"!Gran!Sasso!National!Laboratory,!Italy!
!
The! possible! sources! analyzed! up! to! now! for! the! neutron! flux! background! at! the! Gran! Sasso!
National!Laboratory!are!the!natural!radioactivity!in!the!rock,!the!concrete,!as!well!as!the!induced!
part! coming! from! interaction! of! cosmic! ray! muons! with! the! rock! or! the! detector! material! itself.!
Water! was! considered! only! as! moderator! in! concrete,! due! to! its! variable! concentration! and! its!
radioactivity! as! additional! source! for! neutron! flux! modulation.! Therefore,! the! water"rock!
interaction! and! its! spatial"temporal! variation! induced! by! hydrological! pattern! of! the! Gran! Sasso!
aquifer!are!taken!into!account.!!
Furthermore,!monitoring!of!chemical!and!physical!groundwater!parameters!has!been!carried!out!
worldwide! in! seismogenic! areas! with! the! aim! to! test! possible! correlations! between! their! spatial!
and! temporal! variations! and! strain! processes.! Uranium! groundwater! anomalies! were! observed!
during! the! preparation! phases! of! the! recent! L’Aquila! earthquake! of! 6th! April! 2009! in! the!
cataclastic! rocks! near! the! overthrust! fault! crossing! the! deep! underground! Gran! Sasso! National!
Laboratory.!The!obtained!results!suggest!that!uranium!may!be!used!as!a!potential!strain!indicator!
of!geodynamical!processes!occurring!before!the!seismic!swarm!and!the!main!earthquake!shock.!
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!
SESSION!II!
ACCELERATOR!MASS!SPECTROMETRY!
!
!
FLUORIDE!SAMPLE!MATRICES!AND!REACTION!CELLS!–!NEW!CAPABILITIES!FOR!
ISOTOPE!MEASUREMENTS!IN!ACCELERATOR!MASS!SPECTROMETRY!
W.!E.!KIESER1,!X."L.!ZHAO1,!J.!ELIADES2!AND!A.!E.!LITHERLAND2!
1
IsoTrace!Laboratory,!University!of!Ottawa,!!Canada!
IsoTrace!Laboratory,!University!of!Toronto,!!Canada!
2
!
A!major!strength!of!Accelerator!Mass!Spectrometry!(AMS)!in!the!analysis!of!low!concentrations!of!
isotopes!and!rare!elements!is!the!ability!to!eliminate!molecular!isobar!interferences.!This!strength!
does!not!extend!universally!to!interferences!from!atomic!isobars,!except!in!the!well!know!cases!of!
14
C!–! 14N,! 26Al!–! 26Mg!and,!to!a!certain!extent,! 129I!–! 129Xe.!Furthermore,!the!universality!of!AMS!is!
limited!by!the!requirement!to!form!negative!ions!of!the!analyte!for!tandem!acceleration.!Two!new!
technologies!have!recently!been!developed!at!IsoTrace!which!provide!a!wide!range!of!solutions!to!
both!these!limitations:!
The! earlier! use! of! analyte"fluoride! compounds! in! the! ion! source! improved! the! analysis! of! 40Ca,!
with! simpler! sample! preparation,! good! ion! currents! and! some! degree! of! suppression! of! the! 40K!
isobar.!!However,!the!simple!addition!of!the!analyte!material!to!a!matrix!of!PbF2!in!the!ion!source!
target! results! in! large! ion! source! currents,! even! simpler! sample! preparation! and! an! intriguing!
isobar!selectivity!based!on!the!number!of!fluorine!atoms!in!the!molecular!anion!selected![1].!
The! use! of! radio"frequency! quadrupole! ion! guides! and! ion"gas! reaction! cells! in! the! path! of! the!
beam!of!rare!isotopes!provides!an!additional!range!of!highly!effective!analytical!strategies.!!This!
has!recently!been!demonstrated!for!the!reduction!of! 36S–!in!beams!of! 36Cl–!by!over!six!orders!of!
magnitude!and!for!the!reduction!of! 40KF3–!in!beams!of! 40CaF3–!by!three!orders!of!magnitude.!The!
latter!example!benefits!greatly!from!the!use!of!both!these!techniques![2].!
This! paper! will! present! an! overview! of! these! technologies! and! discuss! some! potential! new!
applications!for!analyses!which!have!not!previously!been!possible!with!AMS.!It!will!conclude!with!a!
description! of! how! these! are! fitted! in! to! the! new! Canadian! Centre! for! Accelerator! Mass!
Spectrometry!(AMS)!at!the!University!of!Ottawa.!
!
[1]!X."L.!Zhao,!A.E.!Litherland,!J.!Eliades,!W.E.!Kieser!and!Q.!Liu,!Studies!of!anions!from!sputtering!I:!
Survey!of!MFn–,!!Nuclear!Instruments!and!Methods!B!!268!(2010)!807"811!!
[2]!W.!E.!Kieser,!J.!Eliades,!A.!E.!Litherland,!X"L!Zhao,!L.!Cousins!and!S!J!Ye,!The!low"energy!Isobar!
Separator!for!Anions:!Progress!Report,!Radiocarbon!52!(2010)!236"242!
!
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!
!
PUSHING!THE!DETECTION!LIMITS!OF!RARE!ISOTOPES!USING!ACCELERATOR!MASS!
SPECTROMETRY!
A.!GALINDO"URIBARRI1,!N.!COTZOMI2,!M.!JANZEN3,!Y.!LIU1!AND!E.!PADILLA"RODAL2!
1
Oak!Ridge!National!Laboratory!and!University!of!Tennessee,!USA!
2
Universidad!Nacional!Autónoma!de!México,!Mexico,!Mexico!
3
University!of!Tennessee,!USA!
!
Research! on! the! occurrence,! transfer! and! distribution! of! radioactivity! in! natural! systems! will!
benefit! from! pushing! further! the! detection! limits! of! accelerator! mass! spectrometry! (AMS).! This!
technique!is!used!to!perform!ultra"sensitive!measurements!of!concentrations!of!rare!isotopes!in!
samples! placed! in! the! ion! source! of! an! accelerator! system.! The! sensitivity! of! AMS! is! among! the!
highest! of! any! analytical! technique! now! available.! A! key! advantage! of! the! technique! is! that! it!
requires! very! small! samples! of! material.! The! method! consists! of! counting! individual! atoms! that!
have!been!ionized,!accelerated!to!high!energies!in!(generally)!a!tandem!Van!de!Graff!accelerator,!
then! selected! and! identified.! This! technique! has! important! applications! for! environmental! and!
biological!monitoring,!the!study!of!ocean!circulation!patterns,!radioactive!waste,!nuclear!physics,!
nuclear! safeguards,! stewardship! science,! and! counter"terrorism! issues.! AMS! systems! have! been!
used! to! measure! isotopic! ratios! for! specific! elements! to! levels! many! orders! of! magnitude! lower!
than!in!most!conventional!mass!spectrometers.!
We! are! using! the! highest! operating! voltage! electrostatic! accelerator! in! the! world,! the! 25"MV!
Tandem!from!ORNL,!as!a!prototype!facility!to!aid!in!the!development!of!new!AMS!methods!such!
as!photodetachment!of!negative!ions![1].!These!techniques!will!broaden!the!range!of!radionuclide!
that! can! be! detected! at! ultra"low! levels.! The! 25! MV! Tandem! at! ORNL! offers! major! advantages!
compared!to!lower!voltage!machines!in!the!detection!and!characterization!of!many!AMS!isotopes.!
By!using!this!machine!for!36Cl!we!have!pushed!the!limit!of!sensitivity!of!the!important!AMS!isotope!
36
Cl! demonstrating! that! this! isotope! can! be! measured! at! the! levels! required! for! a! tracer! in!
oceanography! [2].! I! will! describe! the! on"going! research! activities! at! the! Holifield!Radioactive! Ion!
Beam!Facility!(HRIBF)!at!Oak!Ridge!National!Laboratory!highlighting!current!approaches!aimed!at!
the!studies!of!environmental!sciences!(oceanography,!rock!erosion!and!fuel!cycles).!
!
[1]!A.!Galindo"Uribarri!et!al.,!Nucl.!Instr.!Meth.!B!268!(2010)!834.!
[2]!A.!Galindo"Uribarri!et!al.,!Nucl.!Instr.!Meth.!B!259!(2007)!123.!
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!
ENVIRONMENTAL!RADIOACTIVITY!MEASUREMENTS!WITH!ACCELERATORS:!AMS!
AT!CNA!
M.!GARCÍA"LEÓN,!E.!CHAMIZO,!I.!GÓMEZ,!J.!M.!LÓPEZ"GUTIÉRREZ!AND!F.!J.!SANTOS!
University!of!Sevilla,!Spain!
!
Accelerator! Mass! Spectrometry! is! a! powerful! analytical! technique! which! has! proven! to! be! very!
useful!in!many!fields.!Regarding!Environmental!Radioactivity,!AMS!can!comfortably!compete!with!
traditional! radiometric! techniques! especially! for! long"lived! radionuclides! and! when! the! sample!
amount! is! low.! At! the! Spanish! National! Center! for! Accelerators! (CNA)! a! 1MV! tandem! Cockcroft"
Walton!based!mass!spectrometer!is!working!since!some!few!years!ago.!Applications!of!the!system!
include!Environmental!Radioactivity!studies!and!the!goal!of!this!paper!is!the!description!of!such!as!
measurements.!Thus,!the!determinations!currently!carried!out!of!Pu"isotopes!and! 129I!in!different!
sample!matrices!as!sediments,!air!filter,!rainwater,!seaweed!and!others!will!be!presented.!Sample!
preparation!methods!have!been!developed!for!the!specific!studies.!They!will!be!also!described.!
Work!supported!by!the!Spanish!Science!and!Innovation!Ministry!project!FIS2008"01149!
!
!
!
APPLICATIONS!OF!RADIOCARBON!MEASUREMENTS!IN!ENVIRONMENTAL!STUDIES!
AT!LABEC,!FLORENCE!
M.!FEDI1,!P.!ALVAREZ"IGLESIAS2,!L.!CAFORIO1,3,!G.!CALZOLAI1,4,!V.!BERNARDONI5,!M.!CHIARI1,!S.!NAVA1,!F.!
TACCETTI1!AND!R.!VECCHI5!
1
INFN!Section!of!Florence,!Italy!
2
Universsity!of!Vigo,!Spain!
3
University!of!Ferrara,!Italy!
4
University!of!Florence!Italy!
5
University!of!Milano!and!INFN!Milano,!Italy!
!
14
C! is! one! of! the! most! widespread! radionuclides! in! nature.! Although! it! is! probably! best! known,!
especially! by! the! general! public,! for! dating! in! archaeology,! it! represents! a! useful! tracer! to! study!
our!environment,!both!in!the!past!and!nowadays.!For!instance,!carbonaceous!particles,!which!are!
in!many!cases!the!most!abundant!among!aerosols!constituents,!are!believed!to!play!a!major!role!
in!both!the!health!and!the!climatic!effects!of!aerosols.!In!particular,!measurement!of!radiocarbon!
concentration!in!particulate!matter!samples!can!give!information!on!the!contributions!of!the!fossil!
fuels! combustion! and! of! natural! sources! to! the! carbonaceous! fraction! in! aerosols.! These!
!
measurements! are! especially! effective! when! separately! performed! on! different! carbonaceous!
fractions,!like!elemental!and!organic!carbon!(EC!and!OC,!respectively).!Past!climate!is!also!studied!
thanks!to!old!archives,!as!marine!sediments!can!be.!!
In! this! case,! instead! of! radiocarbon! dating! the! bulk! sediment,! a! reliable! method! to! fix!
chronological! markers! is! represented! by! dating! foraminifera! samples! (CaCO3)! picked! from!
different! layers! in! the! sediment.! Both! the! aforementioned! applications! are! characterized! by! the!
fact!that!samples!than!can!be!collected!for! 14C!measurements!are!typically!very!small,!i.e.!few!mg!
or!less!(before!any!treatment).!Accelerator!Mass!Spectrometry!(AMS)!is!thus!the!only!technique!
that!can!be!applied!to!measure!radiocarbon!in!such!samples.!Anyway,!measurements!cannot!be!so!
straightforward.!In!the!case!of!the!measurement!of!radiocarbon!concentration!in!aerosol!samples,!
a! preparation! line! especially! dedicated! to! the! extraction! of! only! the! carbonaceous! fraction! of!
interest!is!mandatory.!Actually,!this!line!should!include!a!combustion!oven,!from!which!either!total!
carbon!or!EC!and!OC!can!separately!evolve,!and!a!system!of!traps!to!purify!and!collect!the!CO2.!In!
the!case!of!foraminifera,!special!care!must!be!taken!in!the!pre"treatment!phase:!foraminifera!can!
be!contaminated!by!heterogeneous!materials,!including!organic!matter!too.!Pre"treatment!should!
thus!remove!all!the!possible!contamination!without!losing!too!much!mass!of!the!samples.!
Here! we! present! an! overview! of! the! environmental! radiocarbon! applications! the! INFN"LABEC!
laboratory! in! Florence! is! involved! in.! 14C! is! measured! by! AMS,! using! the! dedicated! beam! line!
installed! at! the! 3! MV! Tandem! accelerator.! In! particular,! details! about! the! hardware! and! the!
experimental!procedures!are!given.!
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SESSION!III!
ENVIRONMENTAL!PHYSICS!
!
!
AGE!DETERMINATION!IN!CRYOCONITES!WITH!ARTIFICIAL!AND!NATURAL!
RADIONUCLIDES!
H.!LETTNER1,!T.!WILFLINGER1,!A.!TIEBER1,!P.!BOSSEW2!AND!A.!HUBMER1!
1
University!Salzburg,!Austria!
German!Federal!Office!for!Radiation!Protection,!Germany!
2
!
Cryoconites! („cold! dust“,! gr.)! are! airborne! deposited! sediments! on! glaciers! and! ice! fields! where!
high!levels!of!man"made!and!natural!radionuclides!may!be!frequently!detected.!In!cryoconites!of!
two!temperate!alpine!glaciers!investigated!so!far,!the!“Hallstätter!Gletscher”!and!the!“Stubacher!
Sonnblickkees”,!artificial!isotopes!of!significant!activities!identified!are! 137Cs,! 134Cs,! 238Pu,! 239+240Pu,!
90
Sr,!241Am,!60Co,!125Sb,!154Eu,!and!207Bi,!alongside!with!the!natural!radionuclides!210Pb,!7Be,!and!40K!
occurring! in! higher! levels.! In! Central! Europe! artificial! radionuclides! in! the! environment! are!
stemming!from!two!sources,!which!can!be!separated!according!to!their!isotopic!composition!and!
their!isotopic!ratios.!The!first!source,!the!Global!Fallout!of!the!nuclear!weapon!test!era,!culminated!
in!the!late!1950ies!to!the!beginning!of!the!1960ies.!The!second!source!was!the!Chernobyl!Fallout!
in! April! /! May! 1986! depositing! partly! extremely! high! radionuclide! levels! in! the! Eastern! Alps! of!
Central! Europe.! Separation! and! age! allocation! of! cryoconites! can! mostly! be! accomplished! with!
cesium"! and! plutonium! isotopes! and! their! ratios.! This! method! has! been! developed! and!
successfully! applied! on! cryoconites! of! the! Hallstätter! Gletscher! [1].! However,! the! experimental!
measurement! of! Puisotopes! is! rather! time! consuming,! labour"intensive! and! more! or! less!
impossible! in! very! young! and! very! old! cryoconites.! For! these! situations! another! option! for! age!
determination! is! realized! with! the! natural! radioisotope! 210Pb! that! is! produced! continuously! by!
222
Rn! decay! in! the! atmosphere! and! deposited! continuously! as! well.! On! cryoconites! of! the!
Stubacher!Sonnblickkees!the!different!methods!of!age!estimation!are!demonstrated.!
!
[1]! Tieber! A.,! “Accumulation! of! anthropogenic! radionuclides! in! cryoconites! on! Alpine! glaciers”,!
Journal!of!Environmental!Radioactivity!100!(7),!590"598!(2009)!
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!
ENVIRONMENTAL!RADIOACTIVITY!MEASUREMENTS:!CHALLENGES!AND!LESSONS!
LEARNED!FROM!THE!IAEA!ANALYTICAL!PROFICIENCY!TESTING!2005"2010!
A.!SHAKHASHIRO!AND!U.!SANSONE!
IAEA!Environment!Laboratories"Seibersdorf,!Austria!
!
The!activity!concentration!of!natural!and!artificial!radionuclides!in!environment!is!a!critical!factor!
in!assessing!the!potential!impact!and!hazard!of!possible!pollutants.!Radioactivity!may!be!present!
in!the!environment!due!to!natural!processes;!intentional!(low!level)!anthropogenic!release;!or!as!a!
consequence! of! nuclear! or! radiological! incident.! The! resulting! environmental! impact! should! be!
considered!carefully!to!ensure!safety!and!compliance!with!environmental!regulations.!Therefore,!a!
reliable!determination!of!natural!and!artificial!radionuclides!in!environmental!samples!is!necessary!
to!comply!with!the!radiation!protection!and!environmental!regulations.!
The!International!Atomic!Energy!Agency!(IAEA)!assists!its!Member!States!laboratories!to!maintain!
their! readiness! by! coordination! activities! by! developing! standardized! methods! for! sample!
collection!and!analysis!and!by!conducting!interlaboratory!comparisons!and!proficiency!tests!as!a!
tool! for! external! quality! control.! The! IAEA! proficiency! tests! are! designed! to! monitor! and!
demonstrate! the! performance! and! analytical! capabilities! of! the! analytical! laboratories,! and! to!
identify!gaps!and!problem!areas!where!further!development!is!needed.!
In! this! framework,! the! performance! evaluation! results! of! the! proficiency! tests! performed! in! the!
frame! of! the! IAEA! ALMERA! network! (Analytical! Laboratories! for! the! Measurement! of!
Environmental! Radioactivity)! and! world! wide! proficiency! tests! for! the! determination! of!
radionuclides! in! various! environmental! matrices! will! be! presented! and! discussed.! The! strong!
points! and! the! shortcomings! of! the! analytical! performance! observed! in! the! results! of! the!
participants! of! the! IAEA! proficiency! tests! will! be! pointed! out.! Lessons! learned! from! the! IAEA!
proficiency!tests!related!to!the!difficulties!in!selected!analytical!procedures!will!be!presented.!In!
addition,!analytical!methods!which!needs!further!improvement!and!the!need!for!capacity!building!
in!specific!analytical!techniques!will!also!be!presented.!
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ENVIRONMENTAL!RADIOACTIVITY!MEASUREMENTS!WITHIN!THE!ERMES!
EXPERIMENT!AT!THE!ULTRA!LOW!BACKGROUND!FACILITY!STELLA!
M.!LAUBENSTEIN*!
INFN!Gran!Sasso!National!Laboratory,!Italy!
*on!behalf!of!ERMES!Collaboration!"!Gran!Sasso!National!Laboratory,!Italy!
!
ERMES! (Environmental! Radioactivity! Monitoring! for! Earth! Sciences)! is! an! experiment! located! at!
the! Gran! Sasso! National! Laboratories! (LNGS)! devoted! to! environmental! radioactivity!
measurements.!Over!the!past!six!years!many!environmental!samples!have!been!measured!using!#"
ray! spectroscopy! at! the! LNGS! ultra! low! background! counting! facility! STELLA! (SubTErranean! Low!
Level! Assay).! The! experimental! set"ups! will! be! described! shortly.! A! summary! of! the! most!
important! measurements! within! the! ERMES! activities! and! their! results! will! be! given.! Moreover,!
possible!developments!and!upgrades!will!be!discussed!briefly.!
!
!
!
RADIOACTIVITY!MEASUREMENTS!IN!VOLCANO"TECTONIC!AREA!FOR!GEODYNAMIC!
PROCESS!STUDY!
G.!IMMÈ1,2,!D.!MORELLI1,2,!R.!CATALANO1,!G.!MANGANO1,!S.!GIAMMANCO3,!S.!LA!DELFA1,!M.!NERI3!AND!G.!
PATANÉ1!
1
University!of!Catania,!Italy!
INFN!Section!of!Catania,!Italy!
3
INGV!Section!of!Catania,!Italy!
2
!
In! the! last! ten! years! we! carried! out! several! radioactivity! investigations! on! Mt.! Etna! in! order! to!
characterize!radiometrically!etnean!area!with!the!main!purpose!to!investigate!on!any!correlation!
between! radon! concentration! and! geodynamic! events,! of! volcanic! and/or! tectonic! origin.! As!
known,! many! studies! have! shown! that! radon! can! be! a! precursor! of! geophysical! events,! most! of!
them! were! performed! either! in! tectonic! or! in! volcanic! area.! The! peculiarity! of! our! investigation!
lays!on!the!choice!of!the!etnean!region,!in!which!both!tectonic!and!volcanic!features!are!present.!
Mt.!Etna!is,!in!fact,!a!complex!active!volcano!with!four!summit!craters,!more!than!300!lateral!vents!
and!cones!on!its!flanks!and!with!several!fault!systems.!
In"soil!radon!gas!continuous!measurements,!carried!out!from!2001!till!2006!in!the!NE!flank!of!Mt.!
Etna,! while! several! volcanic! events! occurred,! shown! a! possible! correlation! between! radon!
concentration! trend! and! geodynamic! activity,! in! particular! the! magma! uprising.! The! survey! was!
performed! using! different! methodologies! for! both! short! and! long! term! measurements! for!
reconstructing! radon! horizontal! concentration! profiles! near! active! faults! and! vertical! profiles! at!
!
different!depths!in!order!to!determine!the!diffusivity!of!radon!and!its!correlation!to!geogas!(CO2)!
flux.!
Radiometric! characterization! of! the! investigated! sites! was! completed! with! laboratory!
measurements! of! concentrations! of! radionuclides! in! groundwater! samples,! by! means! of!
scintillation!technique,!and!in!rock!samples!by!gamma!spectroscopy.!With!the!aim!to!better!define!
the!transport!process!of!radon!through!fractured!media,!laboratory!measurements!are!performed!
on!rock!samples!at!different!controlled!physical!conditions!(porosity,!temperature,!pressure,!water!
content)!in!order!to!extract!radon!exhalation!rate!in!simulated!volcanic!environment.!The!results!
will! represent! a! contribution! to! enlighten! on! correlation! between! radon! concentration! and!
volcano/tectonic!activity.!
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!
!
THE!APPLICATION!OF!GEOTECHNOLOGICAL!TOOLS!FOR!THE!CONSTRUCTION!OF!CS"
137!VULNERABILITY!MAPS!IN!BRAZILIAN!SOILS!
M.!A.!WASSERMAN1,!P.!PICANÇO!JR2,!J.!ARAÚJO!RIBEIRO2!AND!J.!C.!WASSERMAN3!
1
Institute!of!Radioprotection!and!Dosimetry"CNEN,!Brasil!
2
University!of!Rio!de!Janeiro,!Brasil!
3
Fluminense!Federal!University,!Brasil!
!
The! behaviour! of! radionuclides! in! soil! is! governed! by! several! mechanisms! that! can! vary!
significantly! according! to! the! specific! reactivity! of! each! element! and! soil! properties.! Previous!
radioecological!studies!in!some!Brazilian!soils!showed!that!properties!such!as!high!acidity,!very!low!
organic!matter!content,!low!fertility!and!high!Fe"Al!oxide!content!make!them!more!vulnerable!to!
radionuclides! contamination! than! temperate! soils.! The! soil! to! plant! transfer! factor! (TF)! is! the!
parameter! that! describes! the! interaction! occurring! between! the! soil! and! plants! for! a! given!
radionuclide.!The!existence!of!various!soil!classes!associated!with!different!agricultural!species!and!
regional!cultural!practices,!results!in!a!broad!range!of!transfer!values!for!the!same!radionuclide.!
However,! it! has! been! experimentally! observed! that! if! a! soil! has! specific! properties! that! favor!
radionuclide! transfer,! any! species! growing! in! this! soil! will! present! a! high! concentration! of! this!
contaminant.!In!this!work!the!objective!was!to!develop!a!methodological!tool!to!map!rural!soils,!
defining!their!vulnerability!to! 137Cs!contamination.!Previous!radioecological!studies!identified!that!
for! each! category,! some! soil! properties! showed! to! be! more! relevant! than! other,! so! based! on!
pedological! analyses! for! a! given! class! of! soil,! was! theoretically! possible! to! classify! the! area!
according!to!their!potential!vulnerability!and!estimate!TF.!For!that!we!used!the!software!ArcGIS!
(ESRI)!to!construct!a!Geographic!Information!System!basing!on!1)!Brazilian!soil!classes;!2)!soil!to!
plant!transfer!factor!values!for!reference!species!obtained!in!experiments!conducted!in!Brazilian!
soils!and!other!extreme!case!studies!reported!in!the!literature!3)!soil!parameters!that!interferes!on!
137
Cs! behavior! in! soil! such! as! exchangeable! K,! cation! exchange! capacity,! pH! and! organic! matter!
content.!It!is!important!to!note!that!a!same!class!of!soil!can!present!different!levels!of!vulnerability!
!
depending!on!soil!properties,!so!the!soil!class!is!an!important!input!only!to!define!limit!of!areas.!
The! vulnerability! of! soils! to! 137Cs! contamination! was! defined! considering! five! categories:! 1)!
extremely!vulnerable!soils,!where!TF!for!cereals!are!expected!to!be!$!1!and!remains!high!with!the!
soil!ageing;!2)!highly!vulnerable,!where!TF!for!cereals!are!expected!to!be!between!<1!and!$0.1;!3)!
vulnerable! soils,! where! TF! for! cereals! are! expected! to! be! between! <0.1! and! $0.05;! 4)! mildly!
vulnerable! soils,! where! TF! for! cereals! are! expected! to! be! between! <0.05! and! $! 0.01,! and! 5)!
invulnerable!ageing!soils,!where!TF!for!cereals!are!expected!to!be!<0.01!and!reduce!with!the!soil!
ageing.! A! test! map! was! built! using! a! real! area! with! some! Brazilian! soils! with! known! physico"
chemical!properties,!but!unknown!TF!and!areas!representing!soils!where!values!reported!for! 137Cs!
TF!and!soil!properties!were!available!in!the!literature!originated!from!experimental!essays!studies,!
carried! out! in! nuclear! tests! areas! or! Chernobyl! accident.! Our! first! approach! showed! that!
vulnerability!of!the!studied!soil!from!the!real!area!(Cambisol!and!Ferralsol)!varied!from!the!highly!
vulnerable!and!vulnerable,!what!was!very!consistent!with!experimental!results!obtained!in!other!
soil!classes!from!Brazil!(Histisol,!Ferralsol,!Acrisol!and!Nitisol).!This!mapping!can!be!an!important!
tool! to! improve! planning! emergency! actions! in! rural! areas! identifying! vulnerable! areas! and!
suitable!remediation.!!
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SESSION!IV!
GROUNDWATER"SEAWATER!INTERACTIONS!
!
!
RADIONUCLIDE!TRACERS!OF!SUBMARINE!GROUNDWATER!DISCHARGE!ON!AN!
OCEAN!ISLAND!(GUAM)!
M.!A.!CHARETTE1,!P.!B.!HENDERSON1,!M.!E.!GONNEEA1!AND!J.!JENSON2!
1
Woods!Hole!Oceanographic!Institution,!USA!
2
University!of!Guam,!Guam!
!
Ocean!islands,!while!a!minor!fraction!of!the!earth’s!coastline,!are!thought!to!support!as!much!as!
one"third!of!the!global!land!to!ocean!submarine!groundwater!discharge!(SGD).!Such!estimates!are!
derived! from! a! water! balance,! which! is! primarily! the! residual! between! two! large! terms:! mean!
annual! precipitation! and! evapotranspiration.! Given! the! uncertainties! associated! with! this!
approach! and! the! disproportionate! role! that! islands! may! play! in! global! SGD,! independent! and!
direct! estimates! are! required.! This! paper! will! focus! on! a! submarine! groundwater! discharge!
method! intercomparison! on! Guam,! an! island! in! the! western! Pacific! Mariana! Island! chain.! The!
island!geology!is!a!mix!of!volcanic!and!karst;!as!a!result,!SGD!is!dominated!by!submarine!seeps!and!
springs.!Radium!isotopes!and!radon!were!applied!as!tracers!of!SGD!in!Tumon!Bay,!a!large,!semi"
enclosed!lagoon!on!the!northwest!coast.!Water!fluxes!derived!from!the!isotopic!methods!will!be!
compared!with!a!salt!balance!for!the!same!time!period,!as!well!as!two!historical!estimates!of!SGD:!
flume! capture! of! large! submarine! springs! and! porewater! chloride! modeling.! Reasonable!
agreement!among!these!five!methods!suggests!that!the!water!balance!approach!may!be!suitable!
for!application!on!a!global!basis.!
!
!
!
THE!KINETICS!OF!THE!WATER/AIR!PHASE!TRANSITION!OF!RADON!AND!ITS!
IMPLICATION!ON!ON"SITE!RADON"IN"WATER!DETECTION!
M.!SCHUBERT!AND!A.!PASCHKE!
Helmholtz!Centre!for!Environmental!Research–UFZ,!Germany!
!
The! application! of! radon! as! naturally! occurring! aquatic! tracer! often! necessitates! the! continuous!
detection! of! radon"in"water! concentrations.! The! recording! of! concentration! time! series! is!
generally!accomplished!by!stripping!of!radon!from!a!constant!water!pump!stream!into!a!defined!
air! volume,! which! is! circulated! in! a! closed! loop! through! an! attached! radon"in"air! detector.!
Assuming!air/water!distribution!equilibrium!of!radon,!the!detected!radon"in"air!concentration!can!
easily!be!converted!into!the!related!radon"in"water!value.!However,!in!case!of!a!sudden!change!of!
the! radon"in"water! concentration! a! distinct! delay! in! re"establishing! the! air/water! distribution!
equilibrium! is! observed.! The! time! lag! between! the! concentration! change! in! the! water! and! the!
related!response!detected!by!the!radon"in"air!monitor!is!due!to!the!kinetics!of!the!water/air!phase!
!
transition!of!radon!and!is!observed!for!both,!sudden!increases!and!sudden!decreases!of!the!radon"
in"water!concentration.!
The!response!time!of!a!specific!detection!setup!depends!on!its!design!and!its!mode!of!operation.!A!
parameter! of! major! influence! is! the! water! flow! rate! through! the! radon! stripping! unit.! Reported!
data!show!that!high!water!flow!rates!substantially!improve!the!response.!However,!whereas!high!
water! flow! rates! can! easily! be! achieved! in! the! laboratory! (employing! high! capacity! pumps),! the!
related!options!met!in!the!field!(e.g.!on!a!boat)!are!often!limited!due!to!the!available,!in!general!
battery"operated! equipment.! An! alternative! option! for! improving! the! response! time! of! the!
detection!equipment!is!the!optimization!of!two!other!influential!parameters:!(i)!the!extent!of!the!
water/gas!interface!and!(ii)!the!volume!of!circulating!air.!It!is!a!well"known!fact!that!mass"transfer!
kinetics! and! hence! the! time! for! establishing! a! distribution! equilibrium! between! two! phases! is!
directly! proportional! to! the! available! interfacial! area.! Also! the! ratio! of! the! phase! volumes! of!
sampled! phase! (i.e.! pumped! water! stream)! and! receiving! phase! (i.e.! circulating! air)! has! a!
considerable!influence!on!the!response!time!of!the!applied!detection!setup.!!
In! an! extended! series! of! laboratory! experiments! several! experimental! setups! with! varying!
volume/interface!ratios!have!been!tested!at!a!constant!low!water!flow!rate!(2!l/min).!The!results!
give!clear!evidence!that!the!response!of!the!detection!setup!can,!also!at!low!water!flow!rates,!be!
significantly!improved!by!adjusting!the!volume/interface!ratio.!After!a!short!introduction!into!the!
theoretical! aspects! of! the! kinetics! of! water/air! transition! of! radon,! experimental! results! will! be!
presented!and!options!for!a!response!time!optimized!on"site!setup!for!radon"in"water!detection!
will!be!suggested.!
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!
!
STUDY!OF!SUBMARINE!GROUNDWATER!DISCHARGE!BY!RADIO"TRACER!
TECHNIQUES!AT!KALOGRIA!BAY,!SW!PELOPONNISSOS,!GREECE!
C.!TSABARIS1,!D.!L.!PATIRIS1,!A.!P.!KARAGEORGIS1,!V.!P.!PAPADOPOULOS1,!G.!ELEFTHERIOU1,2,!D.!GEORGOPOULOS1!
1
AND!E.!PAPATHANASSIOU !
1
Hellenic!Centre!for!Marine!Research,!Greece!
National!Technical!University!of!Athens,!Greece!
2
!
The! Kalogria! Bay! is! located! in! southwestern! Peloponnissos,! in! the! Messinia! prefecture.! Many!
sources! of! submarine! groundwater! discharges! are! easily! observed! around! the! bay,! although! the!
most!intensive!one!is!located!~180!m!offshore.!At!this!site,!groundwater!is!emanating!into!the!sea!
through! several! adjacent! submarine! openings! at! 25! m! depth.! Divers! were! occupied! to! collect!
water! samples! and! to! deploy! a! lander! equipped! by! several! sensors.! “KATERINA”! sensor! is! an!
autonomous! in"situ! underwater! gamma"ray! NaI(Tl)! spectrometer.! It! was! set! up! submersed!
accompanied! by! CT! data! probes! and! rotor! flow! meters! to! monitor! radionuclides! (mainly! radon!
progenies! 214Pb,! 214Bi!and! 40K)!concentration.!Long!term!time"series!were!acquired,!unveiling!the!
!
relation! between! radionuclides’! concentration! and! flux! velocity.! Radon’s! progenies! average!
activity! revealed! proportional! to! water! flow! fluctuations! while! potassium! exhibits! an! inverse!
proportional!variation!with!flow!fluctuation.!Additionally,!broad!range!salinity!measurements!were!
found! to! be! correlated! with! radon! progenies! activities! obeying! a! second! order! polynomial!
relationship.!Moreover,!seasonal!laboratory!measurements!were!performed!in!water!samples!by!a!
high!purity!germanium!gamma"ray!detector,!estimating!the!residence!time!of!groundwater,!based!
on!activity!ratio!concentrations!of!radium!progenies.!!
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!
!
NEW!DATING!METHOD:!GROUNDWATER!RESIDENCE!TIME!ESTIMATED!FROM!HE"4!
ACCUMULATED!RATE!CALIBRATED!BY!USING!COSMOGENIC!AND!SUBSURFACE!
PRODUCED!CL"36!
Y.!MAHARA1,!T.!OHTA1,!K.!MIYAKAWA2,!T.!HASEGAWA2!AND!M.!A.!HABERMEHL3!
1
Kyoto!University,!Japan!
Central!Research!Institute!of!Electric!Power!Industry,!Japan!
3
Bureau!of!Rural!Sciences,!Australia!
2
!
Groundwater! has! contained! various! noble! gas! components.! Their! origins! are! generally! the!
atmospheric! except! He! and! 40Ar.! The! dissolved! He! concentration! increases! with! increasing! the!
residence! time,! because! the! He! dissolved! in! groundwater! has! three! different! sources,! i.e.! the!
atmospheric,! the! radiogenic! and! the! mantle! component! released! from! the! deep! earth.! Both!
radiogenic! and! mantle! are! added! in! groundwater! with! increasing! the! residence! time.! If! 4He!
accumulation! rate! is! constant,! the! 4He! concentration! dissolved! in! groundwater! is! equivalent! for!
time.!Mechanisms!of!accumulation!of!4He!are!the!direct!release!by!the!alpha!decay!in!rock!matrix,!
the!diffusion!from!ancient!He!left!in!rock,!the!diffusion!from!the!mantle!sources!and!the!transport!
by!advection!flow!of!groundwater.!Since!groundwater!flow!is!very!small!in!deep!strata!owing!to!
hydraulic!gradient!being!very!small!or!negligible!small,!the!He!accumulation!is!mainly!controlled!by!
other! three! mechanisms,! the! direct! release! from! alpha! decay,! the! diffusion! from! left! He! in! rock!
and!the!diffusion!of!mantle!He.!The!direct!release!of!He!can!be!estimated!from!the!magnitude!of!
alpha!decay!using!concentration!of!U!and!Th!in!rock,!and!porosity!of!rock.!On!the!other!hand,!since!
other!mechanisms!are!not!easily!estimate!in!the!field,!we!practically!estimate!the!He!accumulation!
rate!during!the!half!life!of!36Cl!(3.01×105!years)!as!the!basic!time!scale.!
We!estimated!the! 4He!accumulation!rate,!which!included!all!mechanisms!and!all!He!components,!
calibrated! by! the! cosmogenic! 36Cl! decay! at! the! Great! Artesian! Basin! (GAB),! Australia! and! the!
subsurface!produced! 36Cl!growth!at!the!Äspö!HRL,!Sweden.! 4He!accumulation!rates!ranged!from!
1.85! ±! 0.31×10"11! –! 15.1! ±! 6.3! ×10"11! ccSTP/cm3&y"1! for! GAB! using! cosmgenic! 36Cl! alone.! We!
confirmed!flowing!groundwater!with!the!residence!time!of!0.7"2.2!Ma!in!GAB.!On!the!other!hand,!
4
He! accumulation! rates! were! estimated! to! be! 1.83! ±! 0.72×10"8! ccSTP/cm3&y"1! for! Äspö! using!
subsurface! produced! 36Cl! alone.! We! confirmed! existing! stagnant! groundwater! with! the! longest!
!
residence! time! of! 4.5! Ma! in! Äspö.! Consequently,! we! estimated! the! very! long! groundwater!
residence!time!over!more!than!2!Ma,!which!can!not!estimate!by!the!dating!method!of! 36Cl!alone,!
using!the!dissolved!4He!concentration!even!after!cosmogenic!36Cl!decaying!or!subsurface!produced!
36
Cl!reaching!the!secular!equilibrium.!!
Science! both! cosmogenic! and! subsurface! produced! 36Cl! usually! coexist! in! a! natural! groundwater!
system,!we!can!estimate!the!residence!time!in!combination!with!two!methods!verified!in!GAB!and!
in! Äspö,! separately.! In! conclusion,! we! can! deduce! the! groundwater! residence! time! from! the!
dissolved! 4He!concentration!and!the! 4He!accumulation!rate!during! 36Cl!half!life,!provided!that! 4He!
accumulation! conditions,! groundwater! flow! conditions! and! other! geo"environmental! conditions!
have!not!changed!for!the!required!geological!time!scale.!
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!
A!NEW!TECHNOLOGIC!DEVELOPMENT!FOR!REMOTE!RADIOLOGICAL!MONITORING!
AND!EARLY!DETECTION!OF!ENVIRONMENTAL!RISKS!IN!THE!STRAIT!OF!GIBRALTAR!
N.!DEHBI1,!R.!EL!MRABET1,!A.!LAISSAOUI1,!G.!DELECAUT2,!C.!DE!LELLIS2,!J.!P.!LACROIX2!AND!R.!C.!EL!MOURSLI3!
1
National!Center!for!Energy,!Sciences!and!Nuclear!Techniques!(CNESTEN),!Morocco!
2
National!Institute!for!Radioelements"IRE,!Belgium!
3
University!Mohammed!V,!Morocco!
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Environmental! monitoring! primarily! aims! through! sampling! or! by! the! use! of! direct! detection!
equipment! to! quantify! the! levels! of! radioactive! substances! and! ionising! radiation! resulting! from!
human! activities! and! natural! sources! in! the! different! compartments! of! the! environment.! Its!
objectives! are! very! practical! and! include! the! quantification! of! the! environmental! sources! of!
ionising! radiation! and! the! verification! of! compliance! with! regulatory! requirements! and! permit!
limits!for!industrial,!research!and!medical!activities,!as!stated!by!their!specific!licence.!
The!continuous!and!remote!environmental!monitoring!of!the!sea!is!a!long"time!pursuit!objective!
of!the!international!scientific!community.!It!is!absolutely!essential!for!an!accurate!forecast!of!the!
state! of! the! sea,! for! the! early! detection! of! environmental! risks! (accidental! spillage! of! hazardous!
materials)!and!for!the!understanding!of!some!long"term!processes!as!those!related!with!climate!
change.!
REMUS! project! involves! new! technological! developments! that! allow! real"time! and! continuous!
remote!monitoring!of!sea!areas!using!autonomous!probes!in!anchored!buoys,!powered!with!solar!
panels!and!equipped!with!low!consumption!sensors!and!one!onboard!PC!that!communicates!via!
GSM! with! a! central! laboratory! in! land.! Sensors! incorporate! a! very! sensitive! (few! Bq! m"3)! NaI!
detector! for! gamma"emitting! radionuclides,! oceanographic! instruments! (current! meters,! CTDs),!
and! chemical! sensors! (pH,! chlorophyll,! etc.).! This! technology! allows! the! remote! environmental!
monitoring!of!the!upper!sea!(although!some!additional!sensors!can!be!equally!deployed!in!depth)!
!
combining!the!interest!in!the!early!detection!of!environmental!risks!(releases!of!many!hazardous!
materials)! and! the! fundamental! research! in! marine! systems,! as! challenge! in! the! preservation! of!
natural! resources! and! the! human! health! through! the! knowledge.! Thus,! the! development! of!
predictive! models! is! also! one! objective! of! this! project.! ! We! selected! the! Gibraltar! Strait! as! an!
excellent! scenario! where! implement! a! project! based! on! this! new! technology.! The! Strait! of!
Gibraltar!is!of!enormous!environmental!significance,!as!it!represents!the!communication!pathway!
between!the!Mediterranean!and!the!Atlantic!seas,!and!it!may!be!playing!a!capital!role!in!the!global!
climate! change! (through! the! outgoing! Mediterranean! salty! flow).! It! is! also! a! sensitive! place! for!
accidental! releases! of! hazardous! materials,! because! the! intensive! ship"traffic,! including! nuclear!
cargo!and!nuclear!propulsion!ships,!the!complex!longitudinal!and!transversal!trade!routes,!and!the!
particular!weather!and!oceanographic!conditions!(strong!winds!and!currents).!The!REMUS!project!
started! its! implementation! through! the! International! Atomic! Energy! Agency! (IAEA)! Technical!
cooperation! package! and! follows! for! continuation! through! the! Morocco"Belgium! and! Morocco"
Spain! Co"operation! Programmes.! Moroccan! partners! are:! CNESTEN,! Marine! Royale,! Port! Tanger!
MED!(TMSA)!and!Ministry!of!the!Environment.!
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SESSION!V!
MARINE!RADIOACTIVITY!
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NUCLEAR!ANALYTICAL!TECHNIQUES!IN!MARINE!STUDIES!AT!THE!IAEA!MARINE!
ENVIRONMENT!LABORATORIES!
H.!NIES,!I.!OSVATH,!M.!ERIKSSON,!J.!SCHOLTEN!AND!M.!BETTI!
IAEA!Environmental!Laboratories"Monaco,!Monaco!
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The!world!oceans!play!a!vital!role!for!global!climate!and!the!total!environment,!and!thereby!also!in!
the! subsistence! of! the! world! population.! Both! natural! and! artificial! radionuclides! are! used! as!
tracers!and!tools!in!studies!to!understand!and!predict!processes!in!the!marine!environment.!IAEA!
assists! Member! States! with! knowledge! transfer! and! capacity! building! for! marine! environmental!
monitoring!and!baseline!studies.!
Examples! of! applied! analytical! techniques! and! cooperative! studies! conducted! in! the! Marine!
Environment!Laboratories!of!the!IAEA,!will!be!presented.!These!include:!
"!Low"level!gamma!spectrometry!measurements!in!an!underground!laboratory!
"!Applying!tracer!techniques!for!submarine!groundwater!discharge,!climate!and!pollution!studies!
in!coastal!areas!
"! Using! radioactive! tracers! for! studying! fluxes,! mixing! and! trans"boundary! transport! of! water!
masses!and!pollution!
"!Radiochemical!method!developments!in!marine!matrices!
"!Studies!on!marine!particles!and!“hot!particles”!in!contaminated!areas!
"! Production! of! reference! materials! of! marine! origin! for! radionuclides,! metals! and! organic!
compounds!
"!Training!and!capacity!building!in!regional!seas!areas!
The! laboratory! also! understands! its! role! as! a! promoter! for! international! and! interregional!
collaboration!for!marine!environmental!studies.!
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PU,!AM!AND!CS!SORPTION!BEHAVIOUR!IN!THE!BALTIC!SEA!
G.!LUJANIEN1,!P.!BENEŠ2,!K.!ŠTAMBERG2,!E.!RADŽIUTE1!K.!JOKŠAS3,!B.!ŠILO B R IT IE N ) 4!AND!T.!Š* IGLO1!
1
SRI!Center!for!Physical!Sciences!and!Technology,!Lithuania!
2
Czech!Technical!University,!Czech!Republic!
3
SRI!Nature!Research!Centre,!Lithuania!
4
Environmental!Protection!Agency,!Lithuania!
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The!anthropogenic!radionuclides!have!been!introduced!into!the!marine!environment!due!to!the!
global! fallout,! discharges! from! nuclear! power! plants! and! the! fuel! reprocessing! and! various!
accidents,! e.g.! from! the! Chernobyl! NPP.! The! Baltic! Sea! is! still! the! most! contaminated! with! 137Cs!
among!shelf!seas!worldwide.!The!radioactive!contamination!of!the!Baltic!Sea!was!mainly!studied!
in! respect! of! the! high! 137Cs! activity! concentrations! persisting! for! a! long! time! in! water! after! the!
Chernobyl!NPP!accident.!There!are!a!limited!number!of!publications!concerning!the!distribution,!
speciation! and! sorption! behavior! of! 137Cs,! 239,240Pu! and! 241Am! in! the! Baltic! Sea.! However,! the!
investigation! of! sorption! behavior! of! radionuclides! is! important! for! future! estimations! and! from!
the!point!of!view!of!their!possible!application!in!tracer!studies!of!various!environmental!processes.!
Measurements!of! 137Cs,! 239,240Pu!and! 241Am!activity!concentrations!in!water,!suspended!particles!
and!bottom!sediment!samples!collected!at!various!sampling!stations!in!the!Bal+c!Sea!and!in!the!
Curronian!Lagoon!of!the!Lithuanian!economic!zone!were!carried!out!using!gamma",!alpha"!and!ICP!
–! MS! spectroscopy! techniques! and! beta! coun+ng! in! 1997"2010.! Collected! samples! were! well!
characterized!using!X"ray,!FTIR,!NMR,!Mössbauer!spectroscopy!techniques.!In!addition,!in!situ!and!
laboratory! kinetic! sorption! experiments! with! natural! sea! water! and! bottom! sediments! at! trace!
concentrations! of! Cs,! Pu(IV),! Pu(V)! and! Am(III)! were! carried! out! for! better! understanding! of!
processes! responsible! for! redistribution! and! sink! of! studied! radionuclides! in! the! system.! The!
radionuclide! bonding! to! bottom! sediments! was! studied! using! sequential! extraction! and! their!
association!with!humic!acids!was!determined!by!the!conventional!extraction!with!0.1mol/L!NaOH.!
Humic! acids! were! characterized! by! FTIR! and! NMR! spectroscopy! techniques.! Solvent! extraction!
techniques! (using! TTA,! HDEHP,! DBM! and! PMBP)! were! employed! to! characterize! the! oxidation!
states! of! plutonium! present! in! the! liquid! and! solid! phases! after! the! sorption! experiments.!
Distribution! of! Pu! and! Am! among! sequential! extraction! fractions! in! bottom! sediments! and! their!
association! with! humic! substances! were! found! to! be! rather! different.! Fast! reduction! of! Pu(V)! in!
the!system!of!natural!seawater"bottom!sediments!was!observed.!A!large!portion!of!plutonium!in!
the! carbonate! fraction! was! found! in! the! Pu(III)! oxidation! state.! Sorption! mechanism! of! studied!
radionuclides!to!bottom!sediments!will!be!discussed.!
Data! obtained! from! the! tracer! kinetic! sorption! experiments! with! Cs,! Pu! and! Am! and! bottom!
sediment!fractions!were!used!for!finding!a!suitable!kinetic!sorption!model,!kinetic!constants!and!
the!corresponding!equilibrium!Kd!values.!It!has!been!found!that!the!modeled!data!best!conform!to!
the! mechanism! of! ion! diffusion! through! the! so"called! inert!layer! on! the! surface! of!the! sediment!
particles.!
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PO"210!AS!A!TRACER!OF!ENERGY!TRANSFER!IN!MARINE!FOOD!CHAINS!
F.!P.!CARVALHO!
Nuclear!and!Technological!Institute,!Portugal!
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Generally,!in!marine!biota! 210Po!concentrations!are!higher!in!comparison!with!those!in!terrestrial!
organisms.! As! a! consequence,! much! attention! has! been! paid! to! polonium"210! (210Po)! and! its!
precursor! lead"210! (210Pb),! two! radionuclides! belonging! to! the! natural! uranium! series.! These!
radionuclides! give! a! major! contribution! to! the! internal! radiation! dose! received! by! man! mainly!
through!ingestion!with!seafood.!High! 210Po!concentrations!in!internal!organs!of!some!crustacean,!
molluscs,! and! fish! motivated! research! on! the! potential! biological! effects! originated! by! high!
radiation!doses!that!may!be!experienced!in!some!marine!species.!Analyses!of!210Po!and!210Pb!were!
made!in!a!plethora!of!marine!species!from!plankton!to!the!sperm!whale!and!from!the!sea!shore!
organisms!to!those!living!in!abyssal!depths.!Concentrations!of! 210Po!ranged!from!very!low!values,!
of!about!0.5!Bq!kg"1!(wet!wt.)!in!jellyfish,!to!very!high!values!of!about!3x104!Bq!kg"1!(wet!wt.)!in!the!
gut!walls!of!sardines,!with!the!general!pattern!of! 210Po>210Pb.! 210Po!and! 210Pb!in!marine!organisms!
are! primarily! absorbed! from! water! and! concentrated! by! phyto"! and! microplankton.! Thereafter,!
these!radionuclides!are!transferred!to!plankton!consumers!(herbivores)!and!to!the!upper!trophic!
levels! with! ingested! food,! displaying! higher! yield! of! 210Po! transfer! than! of! 210Pb! transfer! along!
marine! food! chains.! Investigation! of! epipelagic,! mesopelagic,! bathypelagic! and! abyssobenthic!
organisms!revealed!that!210Po!is!transferred!in!marine!food!webs!with!transfer!coefficients!varying!
between!0.1!and!0.7,!and!similar!to!those!of!the!energy!transfer!(ecotrophic!coefficients).!!Data!
analysis! for! marine! food! chains! and! experimental! results! suggest! that! 210Po! transfer! traces! the!
protein!transfer!in!the!food!chains.!
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THE!DISPERSION!OF!CS"137!IN!A!SHALLOW!MEDITERRANEAN!EMBAYMENT!
(SARONIKOS!GULF!–!ELEFSIS!BAY)!IN!SEASONAL!SCALE,!ESTIMATED!INVENTORIES!
AND!RESIDENCE!TIMES!
N.!EVANGELIOU!AND!H.!FLOROU!
NCSR!“Demokritos”,!Institute!of!Nuclear!Technology"Radiation!Protection,!Environmental!Radioactivity!
Laboratory,!15310,!Agia!Paraskevi,!Athens,!Greece!
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The!activity!concentrations!of! 137Cs!in!the!water!column!of!Saronikos!Gulf!and!Elefsis!Bay!(Greece)!
determined!during!four!cruises!between!winter!2007!and!winter!2009!are!evaluated!in!the!present!
study.! The! methodology! used! was! based! on! in"situ! filtration! of! seawater! through! a! GF/A! disc!
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prefilter,! in! order! to! remove! particulates,! followed! by! two! cotton! wound! cartridge! filters!
impregnated! by! Cu2[Fe(CN)6],! for! the! dissolved! 137Cs! scavenging.! The! final! products! were!
measured!by!gamma!spectrometry.!The!activity!concentrations!of! 137Cs!ranged!between!1.0!±!0.1!
and!6.5!±!0.1!Bq!m"3!(average:!2.7!±!1.0!Bq!m"3),!depending!on!sampling!depth!and!season!with!a!
tendency! to! background! levels.! Regarding! the! vertical! distribution! of! 137Cs,! maximum!
concentrations!were!observed!in!the!interface!between!water!and!sediment!during!autumn!and!
winter!as!a!result!of!thermocline!breakdown!at!the!end!of!winter!that!caused!submerge!of!surface!
137
Cs!into!deeper!layers.!The!inventories!of! 137Cs!varied!between!0.052!±!0.004!and!1.315!±!0.029!
kBq! m"2! (average:! 0.355! ±! 0.302! kBq! m"2),! being! in! the! lowest! level! comparing! to! the! direct!
atmospheric! deposition! after! Chernobyl! accident.! Inventories! were! found! higher! in! the! layer!
below! thermocline! (in! all! seasons! except! summer),! hence,! it! can! be! concluded! that! the! artificial!
137
Cs! has! been! transferred! below! thermocline! in! Saronikos! Gulf! (surface! deposition! has! been!
found!negligible).!Finally,!the!mean!surface!residence!time!of!137Cs!in!Saronikos!Gulf!was!estimated!
to!be!15!±!4!y,!whereas!the!effective!half"life!of!137Cs!in!the!study!area!6.4!y.!
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SESSION!VI!
NEW!ANALYTICAL!TECHNOLOGIES!
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ICP"MS!FOR!LOW"LEVEL!RADIONUCLIDE!ANALYSIS!
X.!HOU!
Risø!National!Laboratory!for!Sustainable!Energy,!Denmark!
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With! the! development! of! inductively! coupled! plasma! mass! spectrometry! (ICP"MS)! analytical!
techniques,! it! is! becoming! an! attractive! analytical! technique! and! common! used! analytical!
technique! for! the! determination! of! long"lived! radionuclides,! especially! at! low! level.! Comparing!
with! the! conventional! radiometric! analytical! techniques,! its! major! advantage! is! rapid! analytical!
capacity,! normally! a! few! minutes! per! sample! comparing! with! hours! to! weeks! for! radiometric!
methods.! In! addition,! the! separation! of! interference! radionuclides! is! also! less! required,!
consequentially! a! shorter! chemical! separation! procedure! and! shorter! analytical! time! is! needed.!
Therefore! it! is! very! suitable! for! the! emergency! analysis! and! the! analysis! of! large! number! of!
samples!in!a!short!time.!For!radionuclides!with!very!long!half"lives,!such!as! 99Tc,! 237Np,! 235U,! 238U,!
and! 232Th,! ICP"Ms! is! also! more! sensitive! than! radiometric! methods.! However,! ICP"MS! is! only! an!
alternative! method! for! the! analysis! of! radionuclides,! radiometric! methods! are! still! the! best!
methods! for! the! determination! of! short"lived! radionuclides,! especially! those! with! half"life! lower!
than! 100! years.! The! major! disadvantage! of! ICP"MS! for! the! determination! of! radionuclides! is! the!
isobaric! interferences! and! abundance! sensitivity,! especially! for! those! radionuclides! with! isobaric!
interferences! from! high! abundant! stable! or! long"lived! isotopes! of! elements,! such! as! the!
measurement! of! 238Pu! and! 99Tc.! Therefore! ICP"MS! cannot! be! considered! as! a! replacement! for!
radiometric! measurements,! but! merely! an! alternative! and! complementary! technique.! This! work!
will!presents!the!application!of!ICP"MS!in!the!determination!of!some!low!level!radionuclides,!and!
an! overview! of! the! advantages! and! disadvantages! of! ICP"MS! comparing! with! the! corresponding!
radiometric!techniques!for!common!interested!long"live!radionuclides.!
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SNIFFER:!AN!AERIAL!PLATFORM!FOR!REAL!TIME!MEASUREMENTS!OF!
CONTAMINATION!IN!THE!PLUME!PHASE!OF!A!NUCLEAR!EMERGENCY!
D.!M.!CASTELLUCCIO,!E.!CISBANI!AND!S.!FRULLANI!
National!Institute!of!Health,!Italy!
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When! a! nuclear! or! radiological! accident! result! in! a! release! of! a! radioactive! plume,! AGS! (Aerial!
Gamma!Spectrometry)!systems!used!in!many!countries,!equipped!with!passive!detectors,!can!help!
in!giving!quantitative!assessment!on!the!radiological!situation!(land!surface!contamination!level)!
only!when!the!air!contamination!due!to!the!passage!of!the!travelling!plume!has!become!negligible.!
To!overcome!this!limitation,!the!Italian!Institute!of!Health!has!developed!and!implemented!a!multi!
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purpose! air! sampling! system! based! on! a! fixed! wing! aircraft,! for! time"effective,! large! areas!
radiological! surveillance! (to! face! radiological! emergency! and! to! support! homeland! security).! A!
fixed!wing!aircraft!(Sky!Arrow!650)!with!the!front!part!of!the!fuselage!properly!adapted!to!house!
the!detection!equipment!has!been!equipped!with!a!compact!air!sampling!line!where!the!isokinetic!
sampling!is!dynamically!maintained.!Aerosol!is!collected!on!a!Teflon!filter!positioned!along!the!line!
and!hosted!on!a!rotating!4"filters!disk.!A!complex!of!detectors!allows!radionuclide!identification!in!
the! collected! aerosol! samples.! A! correlated! analysis! of! these! two! detectors! data! allows! a!
quantitative! measurement! of! air! as! well! as! ground! surface! concentration! of! gamma! emitting!
radioisotopes.! Environmental! sensors! and! a! GPS! receiver! support! the! characterization! of! the!
sampling!conditions!and!the!temporal!and!geographical!location!of!the!acquired!data.!Acquisition!
and! control! system! based! on! compact! electronics! and! real! time! software! that! operate! the!
sampling!line!actuators,!guarantee!the!dynamical!isokinetic!condition,!and!acquire!the!detectors!
and!sensor!data.!The!system!is!also!equipped!with!other!sampling!lines!to!provide!information!on!
concentrations! of! other! chemical! pollutants.! Operative! flights! have! been! carried! out! in! the! last!
years,!performances!and!results!will!be!presented.!
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QUANTIFICATION!OF!U"238!IN!ENVIRONMENTAL!SAMPLES!USING!GAMMA"RAY!
SPECTROMETRY!
M.!HULT!AND!R.!GONZÁLEZ!DE!ORDUÑA!
EC"JRC!Institute!for!Reference!Materials!and!Measurements,!Geel,!Belgium!
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A!large!number!of!environmental!samples!are!routinely!measured!using!gamma"ray!spectrometry.!
A! great! asset! with! gamma"ray! spectrometry! is! its! possibility! to! generate! quantitative! data! for!
many! radionuclides! in!one! analysis.! Although! other! techniques! can! be! considered! more! suitable!
for! analysing! uranium"238! in! environmental! samples,! gamma"ray! spectrometry!is! often! used! for!
this! task.! One! cannot! always! assume! that! the! complete! decay! chain! is! in! equilibrium! so! 234Th! is!
mainly!used!for!determining!the! 238U!activity.!The!low"energy!gamma"rays!at!63!keV!and!92.5!keV!
are! very! difficult! to! quantify! due! to! high! attenuation! and! interferences.! This! paper! compares!
techniques!to!make!robust!quantification!of!238U!via!234Th!using!gamma"ray!spectrometry.!
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REDUCTION!OF!COSMIC!RAY!COMPONENTS!ON!GE!DETECTOR!UTILIZING!THIN!
PLASTIC!SCINTILLATORS!AND!WAVELENGTH!SHIFTING!FIBERS!FOR!
ANTICOINCIDENCE!
Y.!HAMAJIMA!
Kanazawa!University,!Japan!
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The!contribution!of!cosmic!ray!components!on!background!of!Ge!detector!is!reduced!by!means!of!
an! active! anti"coincidence! detector! system.! In! order! to! insert! into! lead! shield! in! Ogoya!
Underground!Laboratory![1]!and!to!cover!2,!geometry!of!Ge!detector,!five!thin!plastic!scintillators!
(PSs)!(180!mm!x!180!mm,!and!3!mm!in!thickness;!ELJEN!TECHNOLOGY;!EJ"200)!connected!with!five!
wavelength! shifting! fibers! (1! mm! in! diameter;! BICRON! BCF"91A)! that! was! coupled! to! one! small!
PMT!(1/2”!in!diameter;!HAMAMATSU!H3165"10)!through!five!clear!fibers!and!optical!couplers!has!
been!developed.!In!order!to!detect!only!cosmic!rays!components,!therefore!to!make!a!counting!
rate!low,!this!PSs!system!was!inserted!into!inside!of!conventional!passive!shield!of!Ge!detector.!A!
sum!circuit!is!unnecessary!in!this!system.!All!events!were!recorded!in!list!mode.!Relative!efficiency!
of! PSs,! time! spectra,! time! dependence! of! coincidence! events,! multiple! coincidence! events,! and!
single,! coincidence! and! anticoincidence! spectra! were! tested.! A! typical! counting! rate! of! PSs,! Ge,!
and!coincidence!events!were!roughly!1000,!130!and!50!min"1,!respectively.!Multiple!PSs!events!a!
Ge!event!have!sometimes!been!detected.!This!thin!PSs!system!has!adequate!thickness!to!detect!
cosmic!ray!components.!It!is!expected!to!reduce!more!than!50%!of!cosmic!ray!induced!background!
components! of! Ge! detector.! This! system! is! effective! not! only! in! an! underground! laboratory! but!
aboveground!laboratory.!
[1]!Hamajima!Y.!and!K.!Komura,!J!Appl.!Radiat.!Isotopes!61,!179"183!(2004)!
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STUDIES!OF!INDUSTRIAL!EMISSIONS!BY!ACCELERATOR"BASED!TECHNIQUES!AT!
CEDAD!
L.!CALCAGNILE1,2,!G.!QUARTA1,2,!M.!D’ELIA2!AND!L.!MARUCCIO2!
1
University!of!Salento,!Italy!
2
CEDAD!Laboratory,!Italy!
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CEDAD!(Centre!for!Dating!and!Diagnostics)!is!a!multidisciplinary!research!centre!of!the!University!
of!Salento!involved!in!!applied!and!fundamental!research!activities!in!different!research!fields!such!
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as! AMS! (Accelerator! Mass! Spectrometry)! radiocarbon! dating,! cultural! heritage! diagnostics! by!
mean!of!non"destructive!IBA!(Ion!Beam!Analysis)!techniques!and!environmental!monitoring.!The!
centre!is!based!on!a!3!MV!Tandetron!accelerator!equipped!with!experimental!beam!lines!for!AMS!
14
C!dating,!PIXE!(Particle!Induced!X"Ray!Emission)"PIGE!(particle!Induced!Gamma!Ray!Emission)!in!
external!beam!mode,!nuclear!microprobe!and!high!energy!ion!implantation.!
In!the!field!of!environmental!monitoring!different!research!activities!are!in!progress!as!related!to!
the!use!of!AMS!for!monitoring!the!anthropogenic!carbon!dioxide!emissions!into!the!atmosphere!
and!for!the!quantification!of!the!biogenic!fraction!in!carbon!based!products!as!plastics,!resins,!bio"
fuels!and!in!industrial!atmospheric!emission!such!as!flue!gas!from!WTE!(Waste!to!Energy!Plants).!
In!fact!as!the!result!of!the!large!isotopic!difference!existing!in!terms!of! 14C!concentration!between!
fossil"derived! and! bio"based! products,! the! radiocarbon! method! is! becoming! more! and! more!
important!in!this!field.!
Recent!results!in!the!analysis!of!the!dispersion!of!CO2!emissions!from!coal"fired!power!plants,!in!
the!analysis!of!the!biogenic!content!if!SRF!(Solid!Recovered!Fuel)!burned!in!WTE!(Waste!to!Energy!
Plants)!and!in!the!quantification!of!the!biogenic"derived!fractions!in!industrial!plastic!materials!will!
be!presented!in!this!work.!
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SESSION!VII!
ISOTOPE!OCEANOGRAPHY!
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DISTRIBUTION!OF!CS"137!IN!THE!SOUTH!PACIFIC!AND!INDIAN!OCEAN!WATERS:!
RESULTS!OF!THE!SHOTS!PROJECT!
K.!HIROSE1,2,!M.!AOYAMA1,!M.!FUKAZAWA3,Y.!HAMAJIMA4,!K.!KOMURA4,!P.!P.!POVINEC5!AND!J.!A.!SANCHEZ"
CABEZA6!
1
Meteorological!Research!Institute,!Japan!
2
Sophia!University,!Japan!
3
Japan!Agency!for!Marine"Earth!Science!and!Technology,!Japan!
4
Kanazawa!University,!Japan!
5
Comenius!University!of!Bratislava,!Slovakia!
6
University!of!Barcelona,!Spain!
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The! Japan! Agency! for! Marine"Earth! Science! and! Technology! (JAMSTEC)! conducted! in! 2003"2004!
Blue!Earth!Global!Expedition!(BEAGLE2003),!visiting!the!South!Pacific!(winter),!the!South!Atlantic!
(late!spring)!and!the!South!Indian!(summer)!Oceans.!We!provide!here!a!first!view!of!transects!of!
current! 137Cs! concentrations! along! 30! S! in! the! Pacific! and! along! 20! S! in! the! Indian! Ocean.! The!
present! concentrations! of! 137Cs! in! the! South! Pacific! and! Indian! Ocean! surface! waters! were! the!
same!order!of!magnitude!as!that!in!North!Pacific!surface!waters,!although!the!atmospheric!input!
in!the!South!Oceans!was!less!than!one"third!of!the!North!Pacific.!137Cs!water!column!inventories!in!
the!western!central!South!Pacific,!calculated!from!the! 137Cs!vertical!profiles,!were!about!1000!Bq!
m"2,!which!is!markedly!higher!than!cumulative!deposition! observed!in!the!east"central!Australia.!
We! propose! from! these! findings! a! hypothesis! that! significant! amounts! of! the! North! Pacific! 137Cs!
have! been! transported! to! the! Indian! Ocean! via! Indonesian! Sea! and! the! central! South! Pacific!
(Tasman! Sea)! across! the! eastern! Equatorial! Pacific! at! the! time! scale! of! several! decades.! These!
findings!suggest!that!the!south!Pacific!central!gyre,!as!well!as!the!south!Indian!subtropical!gyre!are!
major!reservoirs!of!global"scale!ocean!contaminants.!137Cs!has!been!found!to!be!a!powerful!tool!to!
solve!inter"ocean!transport!of!water!masses!and!pollutants!at!several!decades.!
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U"236!IN!OCEAN!WATER!SAMPLES!
M.!CHRISTL,!J.!LACHNER,!C.!VOCKENHUBER!AND!H.!A.!SYNAL!
ETH"Zurich,!Switzerland!
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Several! studies! have! shown! that! 236U! is! a! valuable! tracer! to! identify! the! anthropogenic! origin! of!
material! with! elevated! concentrations! of! artificial! radionuclides! [1,! 2! and! references! therein]!
However,! the! potential! of! naturally! produced! 236U! as! a! tracer! for! geologic! processes! is! largely!
unexplored![3].! This! is! mainly! due!to! the! fact! that! precise! mass! spectrometric! measurements! of!
!
236
U!at!femtogram!(10"12g,!fg)!levels!are!challenging!due!to!the!presence!of!background!from!the!
abundant!U"isotopes! 235U!and! 238U.!Up!to!date,!accelerator!mass!spectrometry!(AMS)!is!probably!
the! only! technique! that! is! able! to! determine! natural! 236U/238U! levels! below! 10"10! with! sufficient!
efficiency![4].!Recently,! 236U!measurements!have!been!established!on!our!compact!(0.6!MV)!AMS!
system!Tandy!at!background!levels!in!the!range!of!10"12![5].!The!low!level!of!background!together!
with!a!good!over!all!efficiency!of!both!sample!preparation!and!AMS!measurement!now!enables!us!
to!precisely!determine!small!amounts!(some!fg)!of!236U!in!environmental!samples.!!
In! this! study! we! focus! on! the! preparation! and! the! measurement! of! Ocean! water! samples.! We!
present! an! easy! to! use! method! to! extract! small! amounts! of! 236U! from! 10"100! liter! ocean! water!
samples.! In! contrast! to! previous! AMS! measurements! of! 236U! we! use! a! certified! 233U! reference!
material! (IRMM058)! as! a! spike! to! trace! the! yield! of! the! chemical! preparation! procedure.! This!
enables!us!to!determine!both!the!ratio!of! 236U/238U!in!the!sample!material!and!the!concentration!
of!236U!during!only!one!AMS"measurement.!!
First!results!from!water!samples!collected!in!the!North!Sea!in!2009!clearly!indicate!the!influence!of!
anthropogenic! 236U! from! discharge! waters! of! the! nuclear! reprocessing! plants.! Highest!
concentrations!of!167!x!106!at/l!corresponding!to!a! 236U/238U!ratio!of!2.2!x!10"8!were!found!in!the!
English!Channel!in!the!vicinity!of!La!Hague.!To!estimate!the!amount!of!natural! 236U!in!the!Atlantic!
Ocean! a! depth! profile! was! sampled! in! the! South! Atlantic! Ocean.! The! samples! are! currently!
processed!and!the!results!of!the!measurements!will!be!presented!at!the!conference.!
Since! our! data! represent! the! first! 236U! measurements! from! ocean! water! samples! our! work!
significantly! contributes! to! map! the! distribution! of! both! natural! and! anthropogenic! 236U! in! the!
Ocean!and!thus!to!explore!the!potential!of!236U!as!a!new!oceanic!tracer.!!
!
[1]!Quinto,!F.,!et!al.!(2009),!The!first!use!of!236U!in!the!general!environment!and!near!a!shutdown!
nuclear!power!plant,!Applied!Radiation!and!Isotopes,!67(10),!1775"1780!
[2]!Sakaguchi,!A.,!et!al.!(2009),!First!results!on!236U!levels!in!global!fallout,!Science!of!The!Total!
Environment,!407(14),!4238"4242!
[3]!Steier,!P.,!et!al.!(2010),!Analysis!and!application!of!heavy!isotopes!in!the!environment,!Nuclear!
Instruments!and!Methods!in!Physics!Research!Section!B,!268(7"8),!1045"1049!
[4]! Fifield,! L.! K.! (2008),! Accelerator! mass! spectrometry! of! the! actinides,! Quaternary!
Geochronology,!3(3),!276"290!
[5]! Vockenhuber,! Ch.! et! al.! (2010),! Accelerator! Mass! Spectrometry! of! 236U! at! low! energies,!
submitted!to!Nuclear!Instruments!and!Methods!in!Physics!Research!Section!B!
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!
ANTHROPOGENIC!RADIONUCLIDES!IN!THE!MEDITERRANEAN!SEA:!SPACE!AND!
TIME"DISTRIBUTION,!MASS"BALANCE!AND!FUTURE!TRENDS!
R.!DELFANTI1,!C.!PAPUCCI1,!S.!SALVI2,!M.!BARSANTI1,!I.!DELBONO1,!A.!SCHIRONE1!AND!F.!CONTE1!
1
ENEA,!Marine!Environment!Research!Centre,!Italy!
2
ENEA,!Research!Centre!Brasimone,!Italy!
!
The! main! sources! of! anthropogenic! radioactivity! to! the! Mediterranean! Sea! are! fallout! from!
atmospheric!nuclear!weapon!testing!and!from!the!Chernobyl!accident!in!1986,!while!the!releases!
from! the! nuclear! industry! are! small.! Consequently,! present! radionuclides! levels! in! the! marine!
environment!are!of!no!concern!from!the!radiological!point!of!view.!However,!the!Mediterranean!
Sea!is!an!ideal!environment!to!show!how!both!coastal!and!open"sea!processes!act!to!re"distribute!
radionuclides! in! the! different! compartments! of! the! marine! environment.! In! fact,! the!
Mediterranean! Sea! is! considered! a! miniature! ocean,! where! all! the! processes! characterizing! the!
global!ocean!take!place!on!smaller!space!and!time!scales.!For!these!reasons,!in!the!last!decades!it!
has! largely! been! used! as! a! “laboratory! basin”! for! process! studies.! In! this! framework,!
anthropogenic!and!natural!radionuclides!were!often!measured!to!be!used!as!tracers!of!water!mass!
dynamics,!transit!and!renewal!times,!particle!dynamics,!sediment!accumulation,!etc.!
In! this! work! we! first! briefly! describe! the! physical! and! biogeochemical! characteristics! of! the!
Mediterranean!Sea.!After!reviewing!and!quantifying!the!sources!of!radioactivity,!we!mainly!focus!
on! two! anthropogenic! radionuclides:! (i)! 137Cs,! conservative! in! the! open! sea,! the! most! abundant!
anthropogenic! radionuclide! and,! among! these,! the! main! contributor! to! dose! to! the! population,!
and!(ii)!the!very!long!lived!239,240Pu,!non!conservative,!the!most!abundant!among!transuranics.!We!
describe!their!distribution!and!time!trend!in!seawater,!sediments!and!biota,!define!their!budgets!
in!the!basin,!quantify!the!exchanges!at!the!Gibraltar!and!Turkish!Straits!and!indicate!future!trends.!
We! then! give! some! examples! on! how! the! distributions! have! been! used! to! trace! oceanographic!
processes,!contributing!!to!better!understand!!the!functioning!of!the!whole!Mediterranean!marine!
ecosystem.! Finally,! we! highlight! knowledge! gaps! and! identify! topics! for! future! research,! mainly!
related!to!the!application!of!nuclear!techniques!to!the!study!of!oceanographic!processes.!
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INVESTIGATION!OF!CIRCULATION!OF!WATER!MASSES!IN!THE!SOUTHERN!INDIAN!
OCEAN!USING!RADIONUCLIDE!TRACERS!
P.!P.!POVINEC1,!S."H.!LEE2,!L.!LIONG!WEE!KWONG3,!M.!AOYAMA4!AND!K.!HIROSE4,5!
1
Comenius!University!of!Bratislava,!Slovakia!
Korea!Research!Institute!of!Standards!and!Science,!Korea!
3
IAEA,!Environmental!Laboratories"Monaco,!Monaco!
4
Meteorological!Research!Institute,!Japan!
5
Sophia!University,!Japan!
2
!
Fifty!years!after!the!main!injection!of!anthropogenic!radionuclides!(3H,!14C!and!137Cs)!from!nuclear!
weapons!tests!on!the!ocean!surface!their!concentrations!in!seawater!of!the!southern!Indian!Ocean!
have!been!surprisingly!high,!comparable!with!levels!observed!in!the!North!Pacific!and!North!Indian!
Oceans.! The! isotopic! tracers! reveal! the! evidence! of! the! most! intense! surface! gradients! and!
presence! of! several! water! masses,! which! makes! the! southern! Indian! Ocean! one! of! the! most!
dynamic! places! of! the! World! Ocean.! ! The! Indian! Ocean! Subtropical! Gyre! acts! as! a! radionuclide!
reservoir,!maintaining!their!high!concentrations!on!a!time!scale!of!several!decades.!
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ACTIVITY!SIZE!DISTRIBUTION!OF!BE"7!IN!ASSOCIATION!WITH!TRACE!METALS!AND!
THEIR!DEPOSITION!ON!THE!SEA!
A.!IOANNIDOU!
Aristotle!University!of!Thessaloniki,!Greece!
!
The!activity!size!distributions!of!the!natural!radionuclide!tracer! 7Be!and!associated!trace!metals!in!
different!inhalable!fractions!(<0.39!-m,!0.391"0.69!-m!,!0.69"1.3!-m,!1.3"2.1!-m,!2.1"4.2!-m,!4.2"
10.2!-m!and!>10.2!-m)!were!determined!in!a!typical!traffic"affected!urban!site!in!the!center!of!the!
city!of!Thessaloniki,!Greece,!over!a!seven!month!period!(June’09"January’10).!The!activity!median!
aerodynamic!diameter!(AMAD)!ranged!from!0.58!to!1.22-m!(avg!0.80-m).!.he!AMAD!values!are!
anticorrelated!to! 7Be!activities,!while!they!are!correlated!with!RH%!with!high!confidence!(R=0.92,!
p<0.00813).! The! most! probable! explanation! for! this! positive! correlation! between! AMAD! values!
and!RH%!is!that!the!condensation!during!high!relative!humidity!conditions!becomes!more!intense,!
resulting! in! increased! particle! sizes! of! atmospheric! aerosols.! The! composition! of! the! associated!
particles!is!basically!Ca,!Si!and!S.!Among!the!heavy!metals!determined,!Fe!is!the!most!abundant,!
followed!by!Cu.!Minor!amounts!of!Pb,!Cr,!Ni!are!presented!in!coarse!size!ranges.!The!amount!of!Fe!
increased!with!decreasing!particle!size,!displaying!positive!correlation!with!AMAD!of!7Be!in!case!of!
strong!wind!from!NW!direction!and!indicating!the!transport!of!polluted!air!from!the!industrial!area!
!
of!the!city!of!Thessaloniki.!Sea!salt!aerosol!particles!were!defined!in!only!small!size!range,!lower!
than!0.39!-m!and!during!a!sampling!day!with!clear!atmosphere!with!wind!of!3.2"4.8!km!h"1.!Since!
the! city! of! Thessaloniki! is! located! near! the! sea! the! appearance! of! sea! salt! aerosols! is! very! well!
explained.! Furthermore! our! field! measurements! at! coastal! location! give! us! the! opportunity! to!
estimate! 7Be! deposition! on! the! sea.! Since! the! 7Be! aerosol! particles! are! mainly! below! 1-m,!
scavenging!by!precipitation!is!the!main!process!depositing! 7Be!on!the!sea.!Acting!as!an!excellent!
tracer,! 7Be,!could!be!used!for!determination!of!the!deposition!of!the!associated!trace!elements,!
since! they! are! expected! to! be! deposited! on! the! sea! at! similar! rate! by! wet! and! dry! deposition!
processes!as!the!7Be.!
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SESSION!VIII!
RADIOECOLOGY!
!
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RADIOLOGICAL!CONDITIONS!IN!SOUTH!IRAQ!WHERE!DU!MUNITIONS!WERE!USED!
P.!R.!DANESI!
IUSS,!University!of!Pavia,!Italy!
!
During! the! conflict! in! Iraq! in! 2003,! depleted! uranium! (DU)! munitions! were! employed! by! the!
Coalition! Forces.! As! a! result,! residues! of! DU! contaminated! both! localized! areas! of! land! and!
vehicles.!The!possible!health!effects!of!such!residues!on!the!Iraqi!population!living!in!the!vicinity!of!
the! affected! areas! raised! concerns! in! Iraq! as! well! as! in! other! parts! of! the! world.! In! 2004! UNEP,!
after!receiving!a!formal!request!from!the!Iraqi!Minister!of!Environment!for!a!comprehensive!field!
assessment!to!investigate!the!use!of!DU!and!its!residual!impacts,!trained!and!equipped!national!
experts! from! the! Radiation! Protection! Centre! (RPC)! of! the! Iraqi! Ministry! of! Environment! to!
undertake! a! sampling! campaign! for! DU! in! Iraq.! RPC! staff! collected! environmental! samples! at!
selected!sites!in!southern!Iraq!during!sampling!campaigns!conducted!in!2006"2007.!A!total!of!520!
samples!of!soil,!water,!vegetation!and!smear!samples!were!taken.!The!samples!were!collected!at!
four!locations!in!southern!Iraq,!namely,!As!Samawah,!AnNasiriyah,!Al!Basrah!and!Az!Zubayr.!The!
samples!were!then!shipped!from!Iraq!to!UNEP!in!Geneva,!Switzerland,!and!analysed!by!the!Spiez!
Laboratory!in!Switzerland!using!state!of!the!art!ICP"MS.!
The! IAEA! subsequently! undertook! a! radiological! assessment! of! the! results! obtained! through! the!
sampling!campaign.!For!this!purpose,!the!IAEA!convened!a!team!of!experts!who!were!involved!in!
past!similar!radiological!studies!in!different!post"conflict!situations!involving!DU.!The!team!was!led!
by!P.R.!Danesi,!an!external!consultant!and!former!Director!(1986"2002)!of!the!IAEA!Laboratories.!
In!the!radiation!dose!assessment,!the!following!exposure!pathways!were!considered:!
"!Inhalation!of!DU!contaminated!soil!re"suspended!by!the!action!of!wind!or!human!activities;!
"!Inhalation!of!re"suspended!DU!dust!inside!military!vehicles!hit!by!DU!munitions;!
"!Ingestion!of!DU!contaminated!soil;!
"!Ingestion!of!DU!contaminated!vegetables!and!drinking!water;!
"!Direct!contact!with!DU!penetrators!or!DU!fragments;!
"!Ingestion!of!DU!contaminated!dust!from!flat!surfaces!(metal,!concrete,!walls);!
"! Inhalation! and! ingestion! of! DU! during! operations! at! scrap! metal! facilities! involving! military!
vehicles!hit!by!DU!munitions.!
On! the! basis! of! assumptions! on! the! habits! of! local! residents,! which! were! corroborated! by! the!
experts! from! the! Iraqi! RPC,! and! the! results! of! measurements! of! environmental! samples,! the!
estimation! of! the! radiological! risk! from! DU! was! performed! in! a! conservative! way.! Assumptions!
concerning! human! habits! and! exposure! scenarios! were! made! such! that! radiation! doses! at! the!
upper!end!of!the!possible!range!would!result.!
The! study! concluded! that! the! radiation! doses! from! DU! do! not! pose! a! radiological! hazard! to! the!
population! at! the! four! studied! locations! in! southern! Iraq.! The! estimated! annual! committed!
effective!radiation!doses!that!could!arise!from!exposure!to!DU!residues!are!low,!always!less!than!
100! µSv/a! and! only! to! a! few,! if! any,! individuals,! and! therefore! of! little!radiological! concern.! The!
!
estimated! radiation! doses! are! less! than! those! received! on! average! by! individuals! from! natural!
sources! of! radiation! in! the! environment! (worldwide! average! 2.4! mSv/a),! below! internationally!
recommended!dose!limits!for!members!of!the!public!(1!mSv/a)!and!below!the!action!level!of!10!
mSv/a! set! out! in! the! IAEA! Safety! Standard! on! Remediation! of! Areas! Contaminated! by! Past!
Activities!and!Accidents!to!establish!whether!remedial!actions!are!necessary.!
The! doses! that! could! be! accumulated! by! individuals! who! enter! abandoned! vehicles! which! have!
been! hit! by! DU! ammunition! may! be! higher! than! those! from! DU! in! the! environment! due! to! the!
inhalation! of! residual! dust! containing! DU! inside! the! vehicles.! The! study! recognized! that! such!
vehicles!may!present!an!inhalation!hazard!and!members!of!the!public!should!be!prevented!from!
entering!them.!
In!the!absence!of!special!facilities,!the!study!also!concluded!that!it!is!not!advisable!that!metal!from!
vehicles!hit!by!DU!munitions!be!used!as!scrap!metal!and!direct!disposal!as!low!level!radioactive!
waste!(LLRW)!(without!any!decontamination)!should!be!preferred!from!a!radio¬logical!perspective!
since!it!is!associated!with!fewer!potential!exposure!pathways.!
Although! very! few! DU! penetrators! or! DU! or! penetrator! fragments! were! identified! during! the!
sampling!campaign,!it!cannot!be!excluded!that!they!might!be!found!and!collected!by!members!of!
the! public! in! areas! where! DU! munitions! were! used.! Although! the! radiation! dose! would! become!
significant!only!if!the!person!exposed!were!to!be!in!direct!contact!with!DU!munitions!or!fragments!
for! a! considerable! period! of! time,! nevertheless,! the! handling! of! DU! penetrators! or! fragments!
should!be!kept!to!a!minimum,!and!protective!gloves!should!be!worn!when!DU!munitions!are!being!
handled.!DU!fragments!and!penetrators!should!be!considered!and!managed!as!LLRW.!
The! conclusions! of! this! study! were! similar! to! those! reached! in! international! studies! of! other!
situations! where! DU! munitions! were! employed! (Kuwait! and! the! Balkans)! and! support! the! belief!
that!the!radiological!impact!of!the!residues!from!the!firing!of!DU!munitions!is!also!likely!to!be!low!
in!other!parts!of!Iraq.!
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ENVIRONMENTAL!CHALLENGES!OF!HIGH!ENERGY/INTENSITY!HADRON!
ACCELERATORS!
P.!VOJTYLA!
CERN,!Switzerland!
!
The! recent! developments! in! accelerator! technology! allowed! for! such! energy! and! intensity! of!
hadron!beams!(e.g.!the!CERN!Neutrinos!to!Gran!Sasso,!CNGS,!facility!or!the!Large!Hadron!Collider,!
LHC)!so!that!the!environmental!aspects!of!these!facilities!are!no!more!trivial.!The!talk!makes!an!
overview! of! the! main! radiological! environmental! aspects! of! high! energy/intensity! hadron!
!
accelerators! and! the! way! they! can! be! treated! so! that! their! impacts! are! minimized.! The! main!
aspects! are! emission! of! stray! radiation,! comprising! high"energy! muons! and! neutrons,! as! well! as!
releases!of!radioactive!substances.!The!latter!aspect!includes!short"lived!radioactive!gases,!which!
usually!dominate!the!dose!to!members!of!the!public!but!also!tritium,!which!is!not!radiologically!
important! but! which! is! easy! to! detect! and! whose! presence! is! often! misused! by! environmental!
pressure!organizations.!
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EVALUATION!OF!ENVIRONMENTAL!SENSITIVITY!OF!THE!MARINE!REGIONS!
M.!IOSJPE!AND!A.!LILAND!
Norwegian!Radiation!Protection!Authority,!Norway!
!
The!knowledge!about!environmental!sensitivity!of!the!marine!regions!to!radionuclide!release!can!
be!used!for!the!development!of!response!strategies!and!improvement!of!design"maker!systems.!
The! present! results! are! based! on! the! consequences! analysis! after! potential! Russian! submarine!
accident! involving! a! modern! vessel.! The! geographical! location! of! the! accident,! with! subsequent!
release,! has! been! set! to! the! marine! region! outside! the! Russian"Norwegian! border! areas! in! the!
Barents!Sea!close!to!the!operating!naval!bases!in!Northwest!Russia.!
More!than!60!radionuclides!were!included!in!the!investigation.!The!radioecological!consequences!
are!based!on!modeling!of!potential!releases!of!radionuclides,!radionuclide!transport!and!uptake!in!
the! marine! environment.! Modeling! work! has! been! done! using! a! revised! compartment! model!
developed!at!the!Norwegian!Radiation!Protection!Authority.!The!model!includes!the!processes!of!
advection! of! radioactivity! between! compartments,! sedimentation,! diffusion! of! radioactivity!
through! pore! water! in! sediments,! resuspension,! particle! mixing! including! mixing! due! to!
bioturbation! and! a! burial! process! of! radioactivity! in! deep! sediment! layers.! Radioactive! decay! is!
calculated! for! all! compartments.! The! contamination! of! marine! organisms! is! further! calculated!
from! the! radionuclide! concentrations! in! filtered! seawater.! Doses! to! marine! organisms! are!
calculated!on!the!basis!of!radionuclide!concentrations!in!seawater,!sediments!and!biota.!Doses!to!
man!are!calculated!on!the!basis!of!seafood!consumption.!
The! sensitivity! analysis! is! based! on! the! comparison! of! the! results! of! simulations! with! the!
recommendations!criteria!for!protection!of!the!human!population!and!the!environment.!
The! results! show! that! for! the! present! evaluation! of! a! potential! accident,! the! marine! organisms,!
living!in!sea!sediment!near!the!accident!location,!are!the!most!sensitive!part!of!the!environment.!
These!organisms!have!doses,!which!are!significantly!higher!than!the!screening!dose!rate!during!the!
lifespan!for!many!generations.!
!
Additionally,!results!of!calculations!indicated!that!concentrations!of!radionuclides!for!some!marine!
organisms! during! initial! time! of! release! near! the! accident! location! exceeded! recommended!
guideline!levels.!
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RADIOECOLOGY!STUDIES!IN!THE!VICINITY!OF!CLOSED!URANIUM!MINE!
B.!SMODIŠ,!M.!ŠTROK!AND!M.!*ERNE!
Jo$ef!Stefan!Institute,!Slovenia!
!
Uranium! mine! at! /irovski! vrh,! Slovenia,! which! operated! from! 1985! to! 1990,! processed! about!
600,000! tons! of! uranium! ore.! The! uranium! mill! tailings! (UMT)! were! deposited! onto! the! Boršt!
waste!pile!lying!close!to!the!mine,!in!the!subalpine!region!with!relatively!high!rainfall!and!within!a!
relatively!densely!populated!area.!
The!mining!influential!area!has!been!under!continuous!radiological!monitoring!aimed!at!assessing!
additional!radiation!doses!due!to!mining!and!milling!activities!since!starting!industrial!excavations!
in!1982.!However,!more!detailed!radioecology!studies!were!initiated!some!five!years!ago.!They!are!
focused!on!assessing!mobility!and!bioavailability!of!radionuclides!present!in!the!tailings!pile.!
The! mobility! of! 238U,! 234U,! 230Th! and! 226Ra! was! studied! by! applying! Shultz! modified! Tessier!
sequential!extraction!procedure.!Samples!from!six!different!locations!at!the!repository!and!in!the!
nearby!soils!were!investigated.!The!results!revealed!that!the!highest!activity!concentrations!were!
on! the! bottom! of! the! waste! pile.! In! the! non"contaminated! locations,! about! 80%! of! the!
radionuclides!were!in!the!residual!extraction!fraction.!The!uranium!isotopes!were!found!to!be!the!
most!mobile!from!the!UMT,!whilst!the!mobility!of! 226Ra!and! 230Th!appeared!to!be!suppressed!by!
high!sulphate!concentrations.!
When!comparing!the!revised!BCR!and!the!modified!Tessier!sequential!extraction!protocols!it!was!
found! that! the! protocols! are! not! comparable! as! the! data! obtained! are! protocol"! and! element"!
dependent.! However,! general! conclusions! about! potential! source! of! the! particular! radionuclide!
that!could!be!drawn!from!the!study!are!mostly!similar!for!both!protocols.!
Uptake!of!particular!radionuclides!by!the!plants!grown!in!the!vicinity!of!the!former!mine!were!also!
investigated.!In!particular,!a!common!reed!grown!in!soils!contaminated!with!the!seepage!waters!
from! the! tailings! was! studied.! The! plants! contained! elevated! levels! of! 238U,! 226Ra! and! 210Pb!
compared!to!the!plants!from!control!site.!Activity!concentrations!of!the!three!radionuclides!were!
about!five!times!higher!in!leaves!than!in!stems.!
Activity!concentrations!of!natural!radionuclides!in!milk!collected!from!the!area!of!/irovski!vrh!were!
comparable! to! a! reference! location,! except! of! uranium! where! the! content! was! higher.! The!
combined!annual!effective!dose!for!adults!consuming!milk!from!the!/irovski!vrh!area!is!13.0!±!1.7!
-Sv/year.!
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SESSION!IX!
RADIOECOLOGY!
!
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UP"TO"DATE!CONTENT!OF!LONG"LIVED!ARTIFICIAL!RADIONUCLIDES!IN!THE!TOM!
AND!OB!RIVERS!IN!THE!AREA!INFLUENCED!BY!DISCHARGES!FROM!SIBERIAN!
CHEMICAL!COMBINE!
A.!I.!NIKITIN1,!I.!I.!KRISHEV1,!N.!I.!BASHKIROV2,!N.!K.!VALETOVA1,!A.!I.!KABANOV1,!I.!YU.!KATRICH1,!A.!O.!
KRUTOVSKY2,!V.!A.!NIKITIN1!AND!G.!I.!PETRENKO1!
1
SI!Research!and!Production!Association"!Typhoon,!Russia!
SI!Tomsk!Centre!for!Hydrometeorology!and!Environmental!Monitoring,!Russia!
2
!
The! Siberian! Chemical! Combine! (SCC)! is! located! in! Seversk! (formerly! known! as! Tomsk"7)! in! the!
Tomsk!Region!of!the!Russian!Federation.!Being!mainly!intended!for!production!of!weapon"grade!
plutonium!and!high!enriched!uranium,!the!SCC!was!put!into!operation!in!1953.!Main!contribution!
into! radionuclide! content! in! SCC! process! water! discharged! into! the! Tom! River! was! given! by! the!
single!pass!reactors!previously!removed!from!service!(the!last!SCC!reactor!was!shutdown!on!June!
5,!2008).!1t!the!present!time,!there!is!lack!of!data!on!contemporary!influence!of!SCC!radioactive!
discharges!on!contamination!of!the!Tom!and!Ob!rivers!by!long"lived!radionuclides.!In!the!course!of!
limited"scope!monitoring!conducted!by!the!Roshydromet!near!the!SCC!(Chernilshikovskaya!arm!of!
the! Tom! river)! during! SCC! reactor! operation,! the! content! of! only! a! few! (mainly! short"lived)!
gamma"emitters! in! water! was! determined.! The! role! of! long"lived! radionuclides! becomes! more!
important!due!to!shutdown!of!all!SCC!reactors.!Another!important!factor!determining!the!need!for!
being! aware! of! current! radiation! situation! on! the! Tom! and! Ob! rivers! downstream! of! the! SCC!
consists! in! plans! for! construction! of! the! nuclear! power! plant! (Seversk! NPP)! in! the! SCC! area.!
Influence! of! discharges! and! releases! from! the! Seversk! NPP! on! contamination! of! water!
environment!compartments!will!be!monitored!in!conditions!of!radioactive!contamination!due!to!
previous!SCC!discharges,!and!awareness!of!the!initial!radioactive!situation!is!essential.!
!The!report!presents!and!discusses!the!data!on!content!of! 90Sr,! 137Cs,! 239,240Pu!and!other!artificial!
radionuclides! in! water,! bottom! sediments! and! flood! plain! soils! of! Tom! and! Ob! rivers! along! the!
route!of!SCC!radioactive!discharge!transport,!from!Tomsk!to!the!confluence!of!the!rivers.!The!data!
were!obtained!in!2008"2009!within!International!Science!and!Technology!Center!(ISTC)!Project!No.!
3547! "Analysis! of! Radionuclides! Transport! and! Assessment! of! Radiation! Risk! for! the! Population!
and! Environment! in! the! Basin! of! the! Irtysh"Ob’! River! System".! The! results! of! the! observations!
carried! out! after! shutdown! of! the! last! SCC! single! pass! reactor! indicate! no! radiative! significant!
consequences!of!SCC!activities!for!the!studied!water!environment!compartments.!Contemporary!
activity!concentrations!of!long"lived!artificial!radionuclides,!137Cs,!90Sr,!239,240Pu!and!tritium,!in!river!
water! are! below! the! intervention! levels! established! by! current! regulations! of! the! Russian!
Federation! for! these! radionuclides.! The! results! of! tritium! analysis! in! water! from! the! Tom! and!
Samuska!rivers!demonstrate!no!inflow!of!contaminated!formation!water!to!surface!water!from!the!
sites! where! liquid! radioactive! wastes! of! the! SCC! are! injected! below! the! surface.! However,! the!
density! of! flood! plain! soil! contamination! by! long"lived! 137Cs! in! the! area! influenced! by! SCC! liquid!
discharges! is! higher! than! regional! technogenic! background.! There! are! local! flood! plain! areas!
contaminated!not!only!by!137Cs,!but!also!other!gamma"emitters,!such!as!152Eu!and!60Co.!
!
!
SEMIPALATINSK!NUCLEAR!TEST!SITE.!CURRENT!STATE!AND!PROSPECTS!
S.!N.!LUKAŠENKO!AND!K.!K.!KADYRZHANOV!
National!Nuclear!Centre!of!the!Republic!of!Kazakhstan,!Kazakhstan!
!
Since! the! shutdown! of! the! test! site,! Kazakhstani! scientists! in! cooperation! with! international!
scientific!community!have!been!gaining!extensive!information!on!the!relative!current!radiological!
situation! at! STS! and! its! vicinity.! There! have! been! revealed! all! significant! areas! of! radioactive!
contamination,! major! pathways! and! mechanisms! for! current! and! potential! migration! of!
radioactive! substances.! The! whole! set! of! obtained! data! makes! us! con2dent! to! assume! that! STS!
does! not! adversely! impact! on! the! population! living! in! the! surrounding! areas,! except! the! people!
living!in!the!zone!of!the!Shagan!River.!
However,! the! radioecological! situation! is! not! stable;! there! were! found! migration! processes! of!
radioactive!substances,!which!cause!the!need!for!regular!monitoring!of!radiation!situation!at!the!
test!site!and!further!research.!It!is!planned!to!conduct!additional!research!and!practical!actions!to!
improve!the!radiation!situation,!the!following!include!areas!in!the!priority:!
"! additional! integrated! research! of! the! "conditionally! clean"! territory! for! the! purpose! of! further!
transfers!of!lands!into!the!economy!(for!a!large!part!of!the!STS!beyond!the!experimental!sites!the!
conducted!detail!research!is!insufficient!to!make!a!decision!on!the!transfer!of!the!land);!
"!study!of!the!underground!migration!of!radioactive!contamination!beyond!the!test!grounds!(now!
there!has!been!found!evidence!about!migration!of!some!radioactive!elements!(tritium)!to!tens!of!
kilometres!from!testing!venues);!
"!completion!of!the!inventory!of!radioactively!contaminated!sites!with!development!of!projects!for!
their!remediation!or!conservation;!
"! identifying! sites! where! there! may! be! catastrophic! phenomena:! gas! emissions,! collapses,! etc.!
(now!we’ve!identified!the!phenomenon!of!uncontrolled!underground!gasification!of!coal!in!some!
parts!of!the!test!site);!
"! develop! and! implement! activities! for! the! physical! restriction! of! access! to! the! zones! of! strict!
control!and!monitoring!of!economic!activities!at!the!STS;!
"! develop,! organize! and! implementation! of! regular! monitoring! of! radiation! environment! on!
radiation"hazardous!objects!of!STS!and!areas/objects!in!the!zone!of!their!influence.!
National! Nuclear! Centre! of! Kazakhstan! (NNC)! in! recent! years! has! been! carrying! out! systematic!
studies!of!conventionally!clean!areas!of!STS,!which!are!promising!in!terms!of!their!future!use!in!the!
economy.! At! present! according! to! research! results! of! 3000! sq.! km! of! conventionally! called! STS!
"northern"! territories! 2,997! sq.! km! is! recommended! to! transfer,! in! the! current! 2010! we’ll!
complete! the! study! of! "western"! part! of! the! STS! with! area! of! 560! sq.! km,! and! we’ve! obtained!
preliminary! results! on! 850! sq.! km! of! "southern"! part! of! STS.! NNC! plans! to! radically! solve! the!
problem!of!the!former!test!site!by!2020.!
!
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!
!
DISTRIBUTION!OF!PLUTONIUM!AND!AMERICIUM!IN!THE!SOILS!FROM!KOREA!
S."H.!LEE,!S.!AH!LEE,!J.!MAN!LEE,!T.!SOON!PARK,!K.!B.!LEE,!P."J.!OH!AND!M.!KIE!LEE!
Korea!Research!Institute!of!Standards!and!Science,!Korea!
!
Plutonium!isotopes!and! 241Am!were!studied!in!soil!from!Korea!collected!from!2006!to!2008.!The!
aims! of! this! study! are! to! provide! information! on! the! distribution! and! origin! of! Pu! isotopes! and!
241
Am! in! the! soil! from! the! Korean! Peninsula.! 239,240Pu! concentrations! in! surface! soil! varied! from!
0.64!±!0.04!to!5.02!±!0.40!Bq!kg"1.! 241Am!concentrations!in!surface!soil!showed!values!from!0.22!±!
0.05!to!2.00!±!0.08!Bq!kg"1.!
The! 239,240Pu!and! 241Am!of!vertical!profiles!in!soil!sampled!from!Nari!basin!in!Ulleung!Island!in!the!
East!Sea/Sea!of!Japan!and!Seongsan!Ilchulbong!Peak,!Jeju!Island!showed!higher!concentration!at!
the!surface!layer!with!a!range!of!3.0!±!0.3!to!14.0!±!1.2!Bq!kg"1!for!239,240Pu!and!0.54!±!0.04!to!0.56!
±! 0.05! Bq! kg"1! for! 241Am,! respectively! and! then! gradually! decreased.! On! the! other! hand,! the!
239,240
Pu! and! 241Am! concentrations! with! depth! in! the! soils! collected! from! Bukhan! Mountain!
National!Park!in!Seoul!showed!a!subsurface!maximum!with!a!range!of!1.7!±!0.1!for!Pu!and!0.51!±!
0.11!Bq!kg"1!for!241Am,!respectively.!
The!activity!ratios!of!241Am/239,240Pu!in!soils!were!0.40!to!0.50!and!these!values!were!similar!to!the!
global!fallout!ratio!(0.40),!which!suggests!that!the!source!of!these!radionuclides!in!the!soil!in!the!
Korean!Peninsula!is!global!fallout.!The! 239,240Pu!inventories!in!the!soil!column!in!Korea!were!from!
75!to!185!Bq!m"2!and!the!241Am!inventories!were!30!to!69!Bq!m"2,!respectively.!
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!
!
RADIOECOLOGICAL!IMPACTS!OF!AGRICULTURAL!ACTIVITIES!ON!SANDY!SOIL!IN!
ARID!ENVIRONMENT!
A.!E.!M.!KHATER1,2,!H.!A.!I.!AL"SEWAIDAN1,!A.!S.!AL"SAIF!AND!H.!M.!DIAB2!
1
King!Saud!University,!Saudi!Arabia!
National!Center!for!Nuclear!Safety!and!Radiation!Control,!Egypt!
3
King!Fasil!College,!Saudi!Arabia!
2
!
Soil!salinity!is!a!widespread!environmental!problem,!particularly!in!arid!and!semi"arid!regions!of!
the!world.!Surface!soil!samples!were!collected!from!14!locations!"arid!environment"!at!the!central!
region!of!Saudi!Arabia.!Two!samples!from!each!location,!one!from!cultivated!land!and!the!second!
!
from!uncultivated!land,!of!the!same!origin!were!collected!from!each!location.!This!work!aims!at!
investigating! the! different! of! soil! properties! upon! dry"land! uses! and! its! effects! on! naturally!
occurring!radionuclides!concentration!and!distribution.!The!specific!activity,!in!Bq/kg,!of!226Ra!(238U!
series),!228Ra!(232Th!series),!and!40K!were!measured!using!calibrated!gamma"ray!spectrometer.!The!
soil! physical! and! chemical! properties! [e.g.! pH,! EC,! particle! size! distribution! (clay,! silt! and! sand!
percentages),!CaCO3!%,!soluble!cations!(Ca,!Mg,!Na!and!K)!and!soluble!anions!(CO3,!HCO3,!Cl!and!
SO4)]! were! determined.! The! radium! equivalent! activity,! in! Bq/kg,! and! absorbed! dose! rate! one!
meter!above!the!ground,!in!nGy/y,!were!calculated.!Generally,!due!to!the!sandy!nature!of!the!soil!
and!the!effects!of!adsorption"filtration!processes!on!the!behavior!and!the!distribution!pattern!of!
natural! radioactivity! concentrations! in! arid! environment,! there! is! no! noticeable! change! in! soil!
properties!due!to!agricultural!activities!or!strong!correlations!between!soil!properties!and!specific!
activities.!Therefore,!the!environmental!impacts!of!different!man"made!activities!on!underground!
resources! should! be! carefully! considered! due! to! the! possible! filtration! behavior! of! different!
pollutants!in!dry"land!environment.!
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!
RADIOLOGICAL!IMPACT!OF!GULF!WARS!ON!AGRICULTURAL!AREAS!IN!KUWAIT!
M.!M.!SHARMA,!A.!R.!FARHAN!AND!H.!R.!SAAD!
Kuwait!University,!Kuwait!
!
The!three!successive!Gulf!Wars!in!the!past!30!years!and!especially!the!use!of!depleted!uranium!in!
the!last!two!wars!have!caused!environmental!concerns!in!the!State!of!Kuwait.!The!primary!health!
hazard!arises!from!possibility!of!radioactive!contamination!of!agricultural!farms!due!to!!remnants!
of!depleted!uranium.!Two!main!farming!areas!of!Al"Abdaly!!(north!of!Kuwait!near!the!Iraqi!border)!
and!Al"Wafra!(south!of!Kuwait)!produce!vegetables!for!local!consumption!in!Kuwait.!In!and!around!
these! farms! there! exist! some! areas! where! grass! and! pasture! are! grown! as! fodder! for! animals!
which!provide!local!milk!and!meat!to!the!markets.!These!produce!are!important!for!some!of!the!
Kuwaiti!population’s!daily!diet.!
In!order!to!assess!the!radiological!impact!of!the!Gulf!Wars!on!the!agricultural!produce!in!Kuwait,!
we!have!carried!out!investigations!of!soil!and!plants!from!the!agricultural!farms!for!radioactivity!
concentrations! of! various! radioisotopes.! As! part! of! our! extensive! study,! high"resolution! gamma"
spectrometry!measurements!have!been!performed!to!evaluate!the!activity!concentration!of!226Ra,!
232
Th,! 40K!and! 137Cs!in!the!samples.!!We!will!report!on!the!results!of!our!investigations!on!activity!
concentrations!of!radionuclides!in!plants,!vegetables,!soil!and!grass.!Transfer!factors!from!soil!to!
plants! will! be! presented.! The! total! effective! dose! equivalent! for! ingestion! of! local! foodstuff! by!
adults!and!children!will!be!discussed.!Results!for!outdoor!extended!dose!rate,!annual!equivalent!
dose!and!hazard!index!will!also!be!presented.!
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!
!
COMPARATIVE!ANALYSIS!OF!DOSES!TO!AQUATIC!BIOTA!IN!WATER!BODIES!
IMPACTED!BY!RADIOACTIVE!CONTAMINATION!
A.!I.!KRYŠEV!
SI!Research!and!Production!Association"!Typhoon,!Russia!
!
Comparative!analysis!of!doses!to!the!reference!species!of!freshwater!biota!was!performed!for!the!
following!water!bodies:!Chernobyl!NPPs!cooling!pond,!Lakes!Uruskul!and!Berdenish!located!in!the!
Eastern! Urals! Radioactive! Trace,! Techa! River,! Yenisei! River.! It! was! concluded! that! the! doses! to!
biota!were!considerably!different!in!the!acute!and!chronic!periods!of!radioactive!contamination.!It!
was! shown! that! the! radioecological! consequences! of! radionuclides! releases! to! the! water! bodies!
depends! on! the! size! of! aquatic! system.! The! most! vulnerable! part! of! all! considered! aquatic!
ecosystems! was! benthic! trophic! chain.! According! to! the! model! results,! mollusks! obtained! the!
highest! doses! among! all! reference! species! both! in! acute! and! chronic! periods! of! radioactive!
contamination!of!water!bodies.!During!the!acute!period!of!contamination!aquatic!plants!obtained!
high!dose!rates,!because!they!adsorbed!some!short"lived!radionuclides!(144Ce,! 95Zr,! 106Ru)!on!their!
surface.!
A!numerical!scale!on!the!“dose!rate!–!effects”!relationships!for!fish!was!formulated!on!a!basis!of!
analysis!of!the!EPIC!database.!Threshold!dose!rates!above!which!radiation!effects!can!be!expected!
in!fish!were!evaluated!to!be!the!following:!1!mGy!d"1!for!appearance!of!first!negative!changes!in!
fish! blood,! and! early! signs! of! decrease! in! immune! system;! at! lower! dose! loads! the! organisms!
seemingly! can! adapt! for! radiation! with! gradual! restoration! of! health! parameters;! 5! mGy! d"1! for!
appearance!negative!effects!on!reproduction!system;!10!mGy!d"1!for!effects!on!life!shortening;!20!
mGy!mGy!d"1!increase!of!mortality!and!decrease!of!fish!population.!
The!results!of!dose!assessment!to!biota!were!compared!with!the!scale!“dose!rate!–!effects”!and!
the!literature!data!on!the!radiobiological!effects!observed!in!the!considered!water!bodies.!It!was!
shown!that!in!the!most!contaminated!water!bodies!the!dose!rates!were!high!enough!to!cause!the!
radiobiological!effects.!
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POSTER!PROGRAMME!
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ABSTRACTS!
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SESSION!I!
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!
STUDY!OF!ENVIRONMENTAL!RADIOACTIVITY!IN!!CENTRAL!AND!SOUTHERN!WEST!
BANK!BY!IN!SITU!GAMMA"RAY!SPECTROSCOPY!
A.!LAHHAM!AND!H.!ALMASRI!
Al"Quds!University,!Palestine!
!
This! work! presents! qualitative! and! quantitative! evaluation! of! environmental! radioactivity! in! the!
central!and!southern!areas!of!the!West!Bank,!Palestine.!For!this!purpose,!the!technology!of!in!situ!
gamma"ray! spectroscopy! is! used! with! a! scintillation! of! 7.6! 3! 7.6! cm! NaI(Tl)! crystal! connected! to!
multichannel!analyzer!InSpector!2000!from!Canberra!instruments!and!laptop!computer.!
Gamma"ray! spectra! were! collected! using! the! detector! placed! 1! m! above! the! ground! surface.!
Calibration!of!the!detection!system!for!in!situ!measurements!of!gamma"emitting!radionuclides!in!
open! terrain! is! performed! theoretically! using! Monte! Carlo! techniques.! Measurements! are!
conducted! in! 18! locations! in! 3! regions! across! the! West! Bank.! The! vast! majority! of! identified!
radionuclides! are! naturally! occurring! gamma"emitting! sources! (the! decay! products! of! 238U,! 232Th!
and! 40K).! The! only! identified! anthropogenic! radionuclide! is! 137Cs.! Activity! concentrations! of! 40K,!
238
U,! 232Th! as! well! as! the! total! outdoor! gamma! dose! rate! from! these! radionuclides! were!
determined! from! the! gamma"ray! spectra.! The! highest! activity! concentrations! of! the! three!
primordial!radionuclides!were!203!Bq/!kg!for! 40K,!32!Bq/!kg!for! 238U!and!30!Bq/!kg!for! 232Th.!The!
total!outdoor!gamma!dose!rate!calculated!for!the!whole!study!area!at!1!m!above!ground!ranged!
from!6!to!30!nGy/h!with!a!mean!of!18+7!nGy/h,!which!represents!about!30%!of!the!world!average!
value.!
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!
!
A!SIMPLE!DOSIMETER!FOR!KERMA!MEASUREMENT!BASED!ON!COMMERCIAL!PIN!
PHOTO!DIODES!
V.!KUSHPIL1,!S.!KUSHPIL1,!M.!SUMBERA1!AND!Z.!HUNA2!
1
The!Academy!of!Sciences!of!the!Czech!Republic,!Czech!Republic!
2
Czech!Technical!University,!Czech!Republic!
!
A! new! dosimeter! for! measurement! of! radiation! dose! from! neutron! and! ionization! radiation! is!
presented.! The! dosimeter! (kerma! meter)! uses! as! its! active! element! commercial! PIN! diodes! with!
long!base.!Later!provide!a!maximal!dependence!of!the!minority!carriers!life!time!versus!absorbed!
dose.!The!characteristics!of!the!dosimeter!were!measured!for!several!types!of!commercial!diodes.!
Device!can!be!useful!in!many!environmental!or!industrial!applications.!
!
!
The!described!device!"!simple!dosimeter!(kerma!meter)!"!can!be!employed!for!the!measurement!of!
absorbed!dose!in!wide!range!of!doses!and!energies!by!using!different!type!of!diodes!with!different!
sensitivities.!It!can!be!also!used!as!an!independent!measuring!device!with!very!simple!control!and!
also! for! remote! measurement/monitoring! of! dose! using! external! software! of! PC.! Using! external!
software!it!is!possible!to!use!functions!for!direct!dose!calculation!(including!NIEL!model)!and!alarm!
message!email!agent!which!allow!send!e"mail!to!defined!address!when!desired!dose!was!reached.!
The!hardware!of!dosimeter!has!very!low!cost!and!software!for!dosimeter!is!a!freeware.!
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FOUR!PASSIVE!SAMPLING!ELEMENTS!(QUATERFOIL)!
L.!TOMMASINO1!AND!S.!TOKONAMI2!
1
THL!Ltd,!Italy!!
National!Institute!of!Radiological!Sciences,!Japan!
2
!
Four! passive! sampling! elements! (termed! quatrefoil)! have! been! recently! developed,! which!
transform! volume"distributed! radionuclides! (Bq/m3)! into! surface"distributed! radionuclides!
(Bq/cm2).!For!what!concerns!airborne!particles,!these!elements!exploit!the!mechanisms!surface"
deposition! for! the! selective! sampling! of! particles! with! nanometer"! and! micrometer"sizes!
respectively.! In! the! case! of! radioactive! gases,! the! sampling! occurs! by! trapping! the! nanometer!
particles!formed!by!atoms!and/or!molecules!into!nanoholes!of!technological!advanced!materials.!
Once! exposed,! these! samplers! result! in! thin! radiation! sources! which! can! be! detected! with! any!
real"time!or!passive!detector.!!
In!particular,!by!using!a!large!collecting"area!sampler,!characterized!by!low!surface!density!(g/cm2)!
and!large!specific!surface!(m2/g),!it!is!possible!to!measure!radon!and!its!decay!products!even!by!
hand"held!contamination!monitors,!which!are!rarely!used!for!these!applications.!
Experimental! results! will! be! reported! to! demonstrate! that! it! is! finally! possible! to! carry! out! the!
measurements!of!radon!(and!its!decay!products)!indoors,!in!soil!and!in!water!by!the!pancake!G.M.!
counter.!
Emphasis!will!be!given!to!those!measurements,!which!are!difficult,!if!not!impossible,!to!carry!out!
with! existing! technology,! such! as! the! assessment! of! the! in"soil! radon! concentration! over! large!
areas,!the!measurement!of!the!radon!concentration!directly!in!water,!etc.!Alternatively,!these!new!
passive!samplers!make!it!possible!to!use!radon"decay!products!as!tracers!for!the!detection!of!all!
airborne!nanoparticles,!simply!by!a!pancake!Geiger!–Muller!counter.!
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DYNAMICS!OF!AIR!POLLUTION!WITH!TRANSURANIC!ELEMENTS!IN!THE!SOUTH!OF!
BELARUS!
S.!V.!HRINEVICH,!V.!P.!KUDRYASHOV,!A.!D.!NAVUMAV,!A.!N.!NIKITIN,!N.!A.!PUZAN,!E.!A.!KLEMENTJEVA,!A.A.!
AMMON!AND!O.!A.!YURCHYK!
National!Academy!of!Sciences!of!Belarus,!Belarus!
!
The! study! on! radioactive! atmosphere! pollution! with! transuranic! elements! in! the! republic! of!
Belarus! has! been! conducted! since! 1980"th! till! now.! Before! the! Chernobyl! disaster! (April! 1986),!
according!to!the!experimental!data,!the!concentration!of!radionuclides!in!the!near!ground!air!was:!
239,240
Pu!"!3.2×10"9!Bq/m3,! 238Pu!"!0.10×10"9!Bq/m3.!Right!after!the!Chernobyl!disaster!a!significant!
increase!in!the!content!of!radionuclides!(approximately!in!106!times!in!comparison!with!the!level!
before!the!accident)!was!registered.!After!a!sharp!decrease!in!the!specific!activity!of!air!in!may"
august!1986!the!phase!of!a!gradual!self"purification!of!the!near!ground!air!from!radionuclides!has!
started!(in!the!early!years!after!the!accident!the!half"life!period!of!plutonium"239,"240!was!14.2!
months).!
Nowadays,! radioactive! air! pollution! is! formed! under! the! influence! of! the! processes! of!
resuspension! and! secondary! transport! of! radioactive! particles! that! depend! on! various! factors! of!
natural!and!anthropogenic!origin.!
The!findings!shows!that!in!the!course!of!time!a!decrease!in!radionuclide!concentration!in!the!near!
ground!air!layer!occurs!due!to!migration!through!soil!profile,!accumulation!by!plants,!and!sorption!
on!the!surface!of!soil!particles.!Thus,!redistribution!and!immobilization!of!radionuclides!in!various!
components!of!the!biosphere!occur!that!lead!to!a!decrease!in!possibility!of!their!transition!to!the!
air.!The!exceptions!are!those!years!in!which!there!were!numerous!fires!in!the!studied!areas!(1992,!
2002).!
Cycling! changes! in! the! content! of! technogeneous! radionuclides! in! the! near! ground! air! with!
significant!increase!in!spring"autumn!period!are!observed!in!the!course!of!a!year.!It!is!connected!
with!the!release!of!soil!surface!from!snow!in!spring!and!vegetation!in!autumn,!as!well!as!with!an!
intensive! agricultural! activity! in! areas! adjacent! to! the! resettlement! zone.! ! An! average!
concentration! of! dust! in! the! air! of! the! resettlement! zone! is! equal! due! to! the! absence! of!
anthropogenic! impact.! At! the! same! time! it! growths! sharply! in! the! residential! zone,! especially!
during! agricultural! activity.! Therefore,! in! spring"autumn! period,! in! spite! of! lower! density! of! soil!
pollution!with!transuranic!radionuclides,!in!areas!with!an!intensive!agricultural!activity!adjacent!to!
the!“resettlement!zone”,!the!content!of!radionuclides!in!the!air!can!reach!and!sometimes!exceed!
the!index!for!the!“resettlement!zone”.!
The! work! was! fulfilled! within! the! framework! of! NATO! project! “Radioactive! Pollution! of! the!
Territory!of!Belarus!in!the!Polessie!Radiation"Ecological!Reserve”!(SFP!983057).!
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NATURAL!RADIOACTIVITY!LEVELS!(K,!TH,!AND!RN)!IN!SOME!AREAS!OF!PUNJAB,!
INDIA!
A.!D.!SABHARWAL,!B.!SINGH!AND!S.!SINGH!
Guru!Nanak!Dev!University,!India!
!!
Radioactivity,!natural!and!man!made,!is!omnipresent!in!the!earth’s!crust!in!different!amounts.!The!
soil!on!the!earth’s!crust!is!a!source!of!continuous!exposure!to!human!beings.! 226Ra,! 232Th!and! 40K!
analysis! has! been! carried! out! in! soli! samples! collected! from! some! areas! of! Punjab,! India! using!
gamma"ray! spectrometry.! The! technique! of! gamma! ray! spectrometry! was! applied! using! high!
purity! germanium! gamma"ray! detector! and! a! PC! based! MCA.! Radium! equivalent! activities! are!
calculated!for!the!analyzed!samples!to!asses!radiation!hazards!arising!due!to!the!use!of!these!soil!
samples!in!construction!of!dwellings.!The!measured!activity!in!the!in!the!soil!ranges!from!22.78!to!
45.87! Bq! kg"1,! 54.67! to! 99.76! Bq! kg"1! and! 432.06! to! 608.97! Bq! kg"1! for! 226Ra,! 232Th! and! 40K! with!
mean! values! of! 34.13,! 78.05! and! 521.41! Bq! kg"1respectively.! It! has! been! observed! that! on! the!
average!the!outdoor!terrestrial!gamma!air!absorbed!dose!rate!is!about!85.84!nGy!h"1.!
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RADIONUCLIDES!IN!THE!DUST!STORM!PARTICLES!ON!EASTERN!AND!CENTRAL!
AREAS!OF!SAUDI!ARABIA!
A.!S.!ALGHAMDI!
King!Abdul!Aziz!City!for!Science!and!Technology,!Saudi!Arabia!
!
Dust! particles! can! transfer! radioactive! nuclides! close! to! populated! areas,! which! contribute! to!
urban! air! pollution! and! threaten! the! public! health.! In! addition,! this! can! be! one! of! the! main!
environmental!impacts!of!radioactive!exposure!to!human!beings.!Violent!wind!and!dust!storms!are!
common! in! Saudi! Arabia.! For! instance,! on! July! 2009,! a! dust! storm! stretched! from! Iraq! into! the!
north!eastern!and!the!central!areas!of!the!kingdom.!The!present!study!reports!the!dust!particles!
that! were! collected! during! and! after! this! storm! in! five! different! locations! using! air! filters.! The!
measurements!were!carried!out!using!a!HPGe!gamma!spectrometry!system!for!investigating!the!
activity! concentrations! of! 226Ra,! 228Ra,! 235U,! 238U,! and! 40K.! The! results! were! compared! with! the!
background!readings!for!the!same!locations!that!were!performed!before.!
!
!
ACTIVITY!CONCENTRATIONS!OF!NATURAL!RADIONUCLIDE!MATERIALS!IN!ISFAHAN!
SPRING!WATERS!
M.B.!TAVAKOLI!HOSSEINABADI!
University!of!Medical!Sciences!of!Isfahan,!Iran!
!
Background:! Radioactivity! in! water! is! not! a! new! phenomenon,! having! been! presented! to! some!
extent!since!the!earth!was!formed.!Despite!this!history,!radioactive!materials!in!water!above!the!
standard! level! may! be! harmful! to! human! health.! Estimation! of! natural! occurring! radioactive!
materials!level!in!spring!waters!is!important!from!several!points!of!views!as!they!may!be!used!for!
drinking!or!agriculture.!!
Materials!and!Methods:!In!this!study!40!springs!located!at!different!location!of!Isfahan!province!!
were! selected.! These! springs! were! distributed! around! the! province.! ! Water! collection! was!
performed!two!times!in!each!month!from!each!spring!and!during!a!year!starting!from!March!2009!
to!the!end!of!April!2010.!
Two!liters!of!water!each!time!and!from!each!spring!were!collected!in!prepared!plastic!bottles.!The!
collected!sample!from!each!site!was!then!allowed!to!stand!for!a!minimum!of!16!hours.!From!each!
bottle!a!sample!of!100ml!was!poured!into!a!refrigerator!bag!and!again!was!left!for!about!24!hours.!
The! samples! were! then! left! for! 72! hours! on! the! surface! of! a! NaI(Tl)! scintillator! for! activity! and!
types! of! radioactive! material! determination.! The! activity! of! the! samples! were! measured! using! a!
gamma! ray! spectrometer! which! consists! of! a! 3x3! inches! NaI(Tl)! detector.! The! detector! was!
coupled!with!a!MCA!board!and!winTMCApro!6!gamma!spectrometer!software.!The!whole!gamma!
spectrometer!was!made!by!German!company!Target.!!The!detector!was!shielded!with!adequate!
lead!to!reduce!background!radiation.!The!system!was!calibrated!in!terms!of!energy!and!counting!
efficiency!using!137Cs!and!131I!sources.!
Results! and! discussions:! The! obtained! spectra! were! analyzed! and! the! main! radioactive!
concentration! founded! were! corresponded! with! the! spectral! peaks! of! 1.46MeV(40K0,!
1.76MeV(204Bi)!and!2.61MeV! 208Tl.!These!peaks!were!considered!for!the!activity!evaluation!of! 40K,!
238
U!series!and!232Th!series!respectively.!The!resolution!of!the!crystal!detector!was!6%!for!40K,!4.4%!
for!232Th!and!5.5%!for!238U!series.!
The!activity!ranges!of!!the!above!radioactive!materials!from!different!sources!were!43.6±17.7!Bq/L!
for!40K,!35.2±12.4!Bq/L!for!238U!and!18.1±6.7!Bq/L!for!232Th.!There!was!no!meaningful!difference!in!
the!measured!radioactive!concentration!from!different!samples!for!each!spring.!The!consequences!
of!these!amounts!of!radioactive!concentrations!are!discussed.!
!
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!
USING!A!LOW"LEVEL!GAMMA!SPECTROSCOPY!SYSTEM!IN!THE!PERIPHERY!OF!A!
RESEARCH!REACTOR!
A.!MUSILEK!AND!D.!HAINZ!
Vienna!University!of!Technology,!Austria!
!
At! the! Institute! of! Atomic! and! Subatomic! Physics! in! Vienna,! a! 250! kWth! TRIGA! Mark! II! research!
reactor!is!operated.!Beside!the!direct!emission!of!gamma!radiation,!radio"nuclides!in!the!form!of!
activated!gases!(e.g.! 41Ar!with!a!half!live!of!1.83h)!are!emitted!in!the!periphery!of!the!reactor.!On!
the!other!hand,!a!gamma!spectroscopy!system!for!low"level!counting!should!work!well!in!spite!of!
the! higher! background! produced! by! the! reactor.! Therefore,! a! place! must! be! found! where! the!
effects!of!the!reactor!can!be!minimized,!e.g.!in!the!basement.!However,!certain!locations,!e.g.!the!
basement,! can! have! other! problems,! such! as! the! impact! of! natural! radiation! on! the! system!
resulting! e.g.! from! 40K! or! diffusing! 222Rn! and! its! daughters.! Therefore,! different! measurements!
were!made!with!the!gamma!spectroscopy!system!to!determine!the!influence!of!the!reactor!and!
natural! gamma! radiation! to! find! the! best! place! for! operation.! The! measurements! included!
different! locations! (e.g.! reactor! hall,! first! basement,! second! basement)! and! different! ventilation!
conditions! (room! ventilation,! additional! nitrogen! ventilation! of! the! measurement!chamber)! with!
and! without! shielding! of! the! detector.! Subsequently,! the! obtained! background! spectra! were!
compared!to!analyze!the!influence!of!the!reactor!on!the!system.!The!data!of!these!measurements!
and!the!impact!of!the!shielding!measures!are!presented!in!this!paper.!
!
!
!
FAST!NEUTRON!SPECTROMETRY!USING!THICK!THRESHOLD!DETECTORS!
G.!MEDKOUR!ISHAK"BOUSHAKI1,!K.!BOUKEFFOUSSA1,!M.!ALLAB1!AND!Z.!IDIRI2!
1
Houari!Boumédièn!University!of!Science!and!Technology,!Algeria!
2
Nuclear!Research!Centre,!Algeria!
!
This!paper!discusses!the!use!of!thick!threshold!activation!detectors!for!the!characterization!of!low!
intensity! neutron! fields.! This! technique! has! been! applied! for! the! determination! of! the! spectral!
emission!of!a!low!activity!(1Ci)!Am"Be!source.!!
The! reaction! rates! induced! by! the! neutrons! emitted! by! this! source! in! different! thick! metallic!
targets!(Al,!Si,!Fe,!In)!have!been!measured!in!the!following!reactions:! 27Al(n,p)27Mg,! 27Al(n,!3)24Na,!
28
Si(n,p)28Al,!56Fe(n,!p)56Mn,!115In(n,!n’)115mIn!and!115In(n,!#)116mIn.!
Each! measured! reaction! rate! corresponding! to! a! threshold! detector! response! depends! on! the!
spectral!emission! of!the!source!via! a!correcting!factor.!This!factor,!which!takes!into!account!the!
!
source!detector!geometry!and!the!neutron!attenuation!and!diffusion!by!the!detectors,!has!been!
determined!by!Monte!Carlo!simulation!using!MCNP5!code.!
The!spectral!emission!of!the!neutron!source!has!been!generated!from!the!response!matrix!of!the!
threshold! detectors! by!using! different! neutron! spectrum! unfolding! methods! (Stayn’l,! Gravel! and!
Maxed).!A!fairly!good!agreement!with!the!ISO!assumed!spectrum!has!been!achieved.!
!
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!
RA"228/RA"226!ACTIVITY!RATIO!IN!GROUNDWATER!AROUND!FUJI!VOLCANO,!
JAPAN!
T.!OHTA1,!Y.!MAHARA1,!K.!MIYAKAWA2,!T.!KUBOTA1,!K.!TAGAMI3!AND!J.!SATO4!
Kyoto!University,!Japan!
Central!Research!Institute!of!Electric!Power!Industry,!Japan!
National!Institute!of!Radiological!Sciences,!Japan!
Meiji!University,!Japan!
!
Young! groundwater! age! less! than! 100! years! is! possible! to! be! obtained! from! environmental!
radioactivity! with! short! half! life,! 3H+3He! [1],! 85Kr! [2],! or! chemical! material,! CFC"12! [3].! Age!
determination! of! young! groundwater! by! some! method,! 3H+3He,! 85Kr,! and! CFC,! has! both!
advantages!and!disadvantages,!but!the!disadvantages!of!the!individual!methods!can!be!offset!by!
using! multiple! tracers.! ! Therefore,! development! of! a! lot! of! groundwater! techniques! of! age!
determination!is!desired.!
226
Ra!and! 228Radium!are!progeny!from! 238U!and! 232Th,!respectively.!The! 226Ra!and! 228Ra!in!ground!
water! are! supplied! from! relevant! rock! which! contact! with! groundwater.! We! aim! that! new!
groundwater!age!obtain!from! 228Ra/226Ra!in!groundwater!and!relevant!rock.!!The!method!applied!
for! Kakitagawa! around! Fuji! Volcano,! Japan,! and! our! method! compared! with! 3H+3He! age!
determination.! The! residence! time! of! Kakitagawa! river! water! estimated! from! the! 228Ra/226Ra!
activity! ratio! in! river! water! and! relevant! rock! agree! well! with! 3H+3He! age,! suggesting! that!
228
Ra/226Ra!of!groundwater!could!be!used!as!a!tool!of!residence!time!estimation!of!groundwater.!
!
[1]!Y.!Mahara,!Noble!gases!dissolved!in!groundwater!in!a!volcanic!aquifer:!helium!isotopes!in!the!
Kumamoto!plain,!Environmental!Geology,!25,!215"224!(1995).!
[2]! T.! Ohta,! Y.! Mahara! ,! N.! Momoshima,! N.! Inoue,! R.! Ikawa,! M.! Taniguchi! and! J.! Shimada,!
Separation!of!dissolved!Kr!from!water!sample!with!hollow!fiber!membrane,!J.!Hydrol.,!376,!152"
158!(2009).!
!
[3]!J.!A.!Corcho!Alvarado,!R.!Purtschert,!K.!Hinsby,!L.!Troldborg,!M.!Hofer,!R.!Kipfer,!W.!Aeschbach"
Hertig,!H.!Arno"Synal,! 36Cl!in!modern!groundwater!dated!by!a!multi"tracer!approach!(3H/3He,!SF6,!
CFC"12! and! 85Kr):! a! case! study! in! quaternary! sand! aquifers! in! the! Odense! Pilot! River! Basin,!
Denmark,!Applied!Geochemistry,!20,!599"609!(2005).!
!
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!
DOSE!EFFECTS!AND!IMPACT!ASSESSMENT!OF!CS"137!ON!NATURAL!MARINE!
ORGANISMS!BY!USE!OF!ENVIRONMENTAL!MODELS!
M.!PSALTAKI¹,!H.!FLOROU²,!G.!TRABIDOU²,!N.!EVANGELIOU²!AND!N.!C.!MARKATOS¹!
¹National!Technical!University!of!Athens,!Greece!
²NCSR!Institute!of!Nuclear!Technology"Radiation!Protection,!Greece!
!
Mathematical!modelling!is!a!very!important!and!useful!tool!for!the!study!and!the!prediction!of!the!
behaviour! of! pollutants! in! relation! to! the! local! ecosystem! features,! and! can! be! used! for! impact!
assessment!on!marine!biota.!
In!the!present!study,!the!radiological!impact!assessment!of!a!selected!area!in!the!North!Aegean!
Sea,!Greece!is!carried!out!based!on!gamma!spectrometry!measurements!of!radionuclide!activity!
concentrations!in!seawater!and!sediment,!simulated!in!adequate!models.!
The! measured! radionuclide! activity! concentrations! and/or! published! data! were! applied! to! a! full!
CFD! (Computational! Fluid! Dynamics)! and! a! three"dimensional! general! deterministic! model! was!
developed! to! simulate! and! study! the! time"dependent! behavior! of! 137Cs! in! marine! habitats.! The!
simulated! data! are! evaluated! in! terms! of! the! conceptual! model! of! dose! rate! effects! and! our!
published!data!of!the!cytogenetic!effects!of!radionuclides!on!natural!marine!organisms.!
For!the!study!purposes,!different!exposure!spaces!(infinitive!and!semi"infinitive!in!sea!water!and!
sediment!and!the!seawater"sediment!interface,!respectively)!are!used!for!the!external!dose!rate!
estimations!to!natural!marine!biota!whereas,!our!published!data!of!concentration!factors!are!used!
to! estimate! the! internal! dose! rates! for! Fish! of! various! habitats! (demersal,! demersal"pelagic! and!
pelagic).!The!respective!impact!on!the!cytogenetic!level!is!evaluated,!as!well.!
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MONTE!CARLO!SIMULATIONS!OF!BACKGROUND!CHARACTERISTICS!OF!GE"
DETECTORS!IN!UNDERGROUND!LABORATORIES!
R.!BREIER!AND!P.!P.!POVINEC!
Comenius!University!of!Bratislava,!Slovakia!
!
An!increasing!number!of!experiments!have!been!devoted!to!the!detection!of!very!rare!events,!e.g.!
in!double!beta"decay,!dark!matter!and!neutrino!experiments,!as!well!as!in!environmental!physics.!
Their!common!feature!is!a!utilization!of!high!sensitive!low"level!counting!spectrometers,!operating!
very!often!underground.!If!a!detector!was!constructed!from!selected!radioactivity!free!materials,!
the!dominating!background!component!in!a!surface!or!shallow!underground!laboratory!would!be!
cosmic! rays.! The! flux! of! soft! component! cosmic"ray! particles! (electrons,! positrons,! gamma"rays)!
can! be! considerably! decreased! due! to! electromagnetic! showers! in! materials! with! high! atomic!
number,! e.g.! lead,! iron,! copper,! etc.! On! the! other! hand,! the! flux! of! hard! component! particles!
(muons)!can!be!decreased!only!by!installation!of!detectors!deep!underground,!or!by!using!an!anti"
cosmic! (anticoincidence)! shielding.! For! the! background! optimisation! of! a! counting! system! it! is!
useful!to!use!a!Monte!Carlo!simulation,!so!the!background!characteristics!can!be!estimated!before!
constructing!a!counting!system.!The!aim!of!our!work!has!been!a!development!of!a!computing!code!
that!would!allow!to!compute!background!components!of!low"level!HPGe!#"spectrometers!placed!
underground,! optionally! equipped! with! anti"cosmic! shield.! The! simulation! code! is! based! on! the!
CERN’s! GEANT! 4,! and! for! a! generator! of! cosmic"ray! particles! the! Hangman’s! cosmic"ray! shower!
library! has! been! used.! Before! performing! a! large! number! of! simulations! for! various! shields,! we!
had!tested! the! developed! code! by! comparing! the! obtained! results! for! existing! set"ups.! The!
optimum!set"up!of!shields!was!then!tested!for!detectors!placed!at!various!underground!depths.!
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!
I"131!LEVELS!IN!THE!SEWAGE!TREATMENT!FACILITY!AND!RIVER!
S.!W.!CHOI!AND!B.!U.!CHANG!
Korea!Institute!of!Nuclear!Safety,!Korea!
!
The!objective!of!our!study!is!to!determine!the!environmental!consequences!of!discharges!of! 131I!
from!hospitals!into!sewage!treatment!facility!and!river.!
We!measured!131I!levels!in!sewage,!sludge,!river!water,!river!sediment,!and!aquatic!plant!collected!
at! the! Gap! River! and! the! sewage! treatment! facility! in! Daejeon! between! 2008! and! 2009,! and!
performed! a! series! of! calculation! to! estimate! 131I! discharge! from! patients! into! the! sewage!
treatment!facility.!
!
131
I!levels!in!water,!sediment,!and!aquatic!plant!within!10!km!from!the!facility!show!in!the!ranges!
of!0.386 1.129!Bq/L,!0.287 8.73!Bq/kg,!46.7 125!Bq/kg,! respectively.!The!concentration!fact!in!
aquatic! plant! and! sediment! distribution! coefficient! were! estimated! to! be! 155±120,! 4±5,!
respectively.! The! radioactivity! levels! of! 131I! in! sewage! for! inflow! and! discharge! point! each!
treatment!facility!were!found!to!be!reasonably!constant.!Measured! 131I!level!of!dewatered!sludge!
cake!and!digested!sludge!was!2186±317!Bq/kg,!217±20!Bq/kg.!
Using! sewage! volume,! administered! activity! of! 131I,! datasets! for! time"dependent! functions! to!
represent! the! predicted! quantities! in! ICRP! publication! 78,! 131I! activity! in! the! input! points! at! the!
sewage!treatment!facility!were!calculated.!The!ratios!between!the!estimated! 131I!activity!via!the!
model! and! measured! 131I! activity! were! 0.62! for! the! first! input! point,! 0.82! for! the! second! input!
point.!
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NOVEL!SMEAR!METHOD!USING!SMEAR"KUN!
K.!MORI!
ING!Ltd,!Japan!
!
The!criteria!concerning!the!clearance!of!materials!contaminated!with!radioactivity!were!published!
by!the!IAEA!and!ICRP.!!The!wipe!sampling!using!smear!paper!is!useful!for!evaluation!of!removable!
contamination! with! radioactivity.! ! The! activity! on! object's! surface! prior! to! wipe! sampling! is!
obtained!by!dividing!the!collection!efficiency!(CE)!into!the!activity!on!the!smear!paper.!!The!high!
accuracy!of!CE!is!important.!!The!wipe!pressure!concerning!wipe!sampling!may!influence!the!CE.!
The!ISO!presents!the!wipe!sampling!guideline!that!the!smear!paper!should!be!pressed!moderately!
against! the! surface,! using! fingertips! or! instrument! designed! to! ensure! uniform! and! constant!
pressure.!!The!wipe!sampling!is!generally!carried!out!by!the!method!using!fingertips.!It!is!difficult!
to! control! the! wipe! pressure! by! fingertips.! ! Therefore! the! instrument! in! a! constant! pressure!
(SMEAR"KUN)! was! manufactured.! ! The! objective! of! this! study! is! analyzing! the! influence! of! wipe!
pressure!upon!the!CE!using!the!SMEAR"KUN.!
The!smear!papers!were!fixed!to!SMEAR"KUN.!The!test!surface!of!linoleum!seats!was!sprayed!with!
ink! included! 32P"phosphoric! acid! by! the! printer.! ! The! activity! on! test! surface! was! wiped! in! a!
pressure! by! SMEAR"KUN.! ! The! activity! on! the! smear! paper! was! measured! by! the! imaging! plate"
Bass!system.!!The!wipe!sampling!and!measurement!of!the!activity!was!repeated!5!times!at!each!
wipe!pressure.!!The!activity!per!unit!area!was!traced!at!pressures!from!0.3!to!2.2!kgf/cm2.!The!CE!
and!the!fraction!were!analyzed!with!the!method!of!least!squares.!The!CE!depended!on!the!wipe!
pressure.!
!
!
!
PLUTONIUM!SIGNATURE!IN!THE!TROPICAL!NORTHWEST!PACIFIC!USING!A!
MODERN!CORAL!ARCHIVE!
P.!LINDAHL1,2,!M.!KEITH"ROACH1,!P.!WORSFOLD1!AND!S."H.!LEE2!
1
University!of!Plymouth,!United!Kingdom!
Korea!Ocean!Research!&!Development!Institute,!Korea!
2
!!
Coral! skeletons! are! excellent! tools! for! retrospective! studies! of! the! historical! Pu! signature! in! the!
marine! environment.! Plutonium! is! incorporated! in! the! coral! skeleton! during! growth,! with! a!
constant! relationship! between! Pu! in! the! coral! and! in! the! surrounding! seawater.! Sources! of! Pu!
isotopes!to!the!marine!environment!are!well!defined,!both!spatially!and!temporally,!which!makes!
Pu! a! potential! tracer! for! oceanic! processes.! Plutonium! in! the! Pacific! Ocean! is! mainly! from! two!
contrasting!sources,!global!fallout!and!close"in!fallout!from!the!former!US!Pacific!Proving!Grounds!
(PPG)! in! the! Marshall! Islands.! Remobilised! Pu! from! the! seabed! around! the! Marshall! Islands! is!
continuously! leached! into! the! surrounding! seawater! and! transported! long! distances! along! the!
westward! flowing! North! Equatorial! Current! (NEC)! and! the! subsequent! Kuroshio! Current! (KC).!
Activity! concentrations! of! 239+240Pu! and! 240Pu/239Pu! atom! ratios! were! determined! in! banded!
skeletons!of!a!dated!(1960–2002)!modern!coral!from!the!Chuuk!Islands!to!identify!the!historical!Pu!
signature!in!the!tropical!Northwest!Pacific!and!estimate!the!contributions!from!the!two!main!Pu!
sources.!The!Pu!isotopes,!239Pu!and!240Pu,!were!determined!in!the!coral!bands!using!multi"collector!
inductively! coupled! plasma! mass! spectrometry! (MC"ICP"MS)! combined! with! a! high"efficiency!
sample! introduction! system.! A! combination! of! anion"exchange! and! extraction! chromatography!
was! utilised! to! ensure! removal! of! any! interferences! from! 238U.! The! overall! average! 240Pu/239Pu!
atom! ratio! was! 0.237±0.005,! reflecting! a! higher! contribution! from! remobilised! Pu! from! the!
Marshall! Islands.! Remobilised! Pu! showed! a! variable! contribution! over! time! with! a! trend! of!
increasing! contribution! in! recent! coral! bands! (1981–2002).! The! estimated! contribution! from! the!
PPG! Pu! in! these! recent! coral! bands! was! 74%! with! an! average! 240Pu/239Pu! atom! ratio! of!
0.284±0.020.!
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!
VARIATIONS!OF!PB"210!CONCENTRATIONS!IN!SURFACE!AIR!AT!THESSALONIKI,!
NORTHERN!GREECE!(40°N)!
A.!IOANNIDOU,!E.!KOTSOPOULOU,!A.!KARANATSIOU!AND!C.!PAPASTEFANOU!
Aristotle!University!of!Thessaloniki,!Greece!
!
Atmospheric! concentrations! of! 210Pb! were! measured! over! the! year! 2009! in! ground! level! air! at!
Thessaloniki,! Northern! Greece! (40°38’N,! 22°58’E).! The! mean! activity! concentrations! of! 210Pb! in!
surface!air!have!been!found!to!be!671!±!275!-Bq!m"3.!The!highest!values!of!monthly!atmospheric!
concentrations! of! 210Pb! were! observed! in! the! autumn! and! the! lowest! in! the! spring! period.! The!
higher! values! of! 210Pb! during! autumn! were! attributed! to! frequent! inversion! conditions! of! the!
surface!layers,!resulting!in!a!build"up!(enrichment)!of!radon!and!its!decay!products!in!ground"level!
air.!The!lower!values!during!the!winter!months!might!be!due!to!the!low!emanation!of!radon!from!
the!frozen!or!snow"covered!soil.!The!minima!of!210Pb!concentrations!during!spring!might!reflect!on!
higher! washout,! since! in! the! region! of! Thessaloniki,! the! higher! precipitation! amount! takes! place!
during! the! spring! months! and! ! the! emanation! of! radon! is! strongly! diminished! when! the! soil! is!
saturated!with!water,!resulting!in!less!production!of! 210Pb!near!ground!level!air.!The!relative!high!
values!during!the!summer!period!were!attributed!to!the!maximum!observed!222Rn!exhalation!from!
the! ground! surface! during! the! warm! summer! months.! The! observed! high! values! would! be! even!
higher! in! absent! of! vertical! mixing! within! the! troposphere! during! that! period,! which! results! in! a!
slight!depletion!of! 210Pb.!The!positive!correlation!that!was!observed!between! 210Pb!and! 7Be!only!
for!the!summer!period!reflects!the!increase!of!both!radionuclides!during!summer,!suggesting!that!
these!two!radionuclides!could!be!used!together!as!tracers!of!environmental!processes.!
!
!
!
TIME!LAG!BETWEEN!THE!TROPOPAUSE!HEIGHT!AND!THE!LEVELS!OF!BE"7!
CONCENTRATION!IN!SURFACE!AIR!
A.!IOANNIDOU,!A.!VASILEIADIS!AND!D.!MELAS!
Aristotle!University!of!Thessaloniki,!Greece!
!
7
Be!is!a!relative!short"lived!(t1/2!=!53.3!d)!cosmic"ray!produced!radionuclide,!which!is!formed!in!the!
upper!troposphere!and!lower!stratosphere!by!spallation!reactions!of!light!atmospheric!nuclei.!Its!
flux!to!the!Earth's!surface!varies!with!the!11"year!solar!cycle!and!has!a!latitudinal!dependence.!The!
concentration! of! 7Be! at! surface! air! has! been! determined! over! the! year! 2009! in! the! region! of!
Thessaloniki,!Greece!at!40°62’!N,!22°95’!E.!In!geomagnetic!latitudes!over!6=40°N,!the!elevation!of!
tropopause! during! the! warm! summer! months! and! the! vertical! removal! of! air! masses! within! the!
troposphere! are! stronger.! The! tropopause! height! is! a! complex! atmospheric! factor! and! this! is!
because!it!is!affected!by!many!variables!such!as!the!temperature!and!the!pressure!measured!in!
!
close!air!levels!but!also!by!the!geopotential!height!and!temperature!of!the!two!closest!pressure!
levels.!The!tropopause!height!for!the!latitude!of!investigation!was!calculated!for!every!single!day!
of! 2009.! The! elevation! of! the! tropopause! causes! greater! mixture! of! the! air! masses! resulting! in!
higher! concentration! levels! for! 7Be.! Positive! correlations! were! revealed! between! the! activity!
concentrations! of! 7Be! and! the! tropopause! height! (0.94,! p<0.0001)! and! also! between! 7Be!
concentrations!and!the!temperature!T!(°C)!(R=0.97,!p<0.001),!confirming!that!the!increased!rate!of!
vertical! transport! within! the! troposphere,! especially! during! warmer! months,! has! as! a! result! to!
carry!down!to!the!surface!layer!air!masses!enriched!in! 7Be.!But!the!thing!is!that!atmosphere!does!
not! respond! immediately! to! the! changes! of! meteorological! factors.! So,! we! are! expecting! a! lag!
between!these!two!maximums!that!might!be!from!hours!(highly!unlikely)!to!days!or!weeks.!The!
time!lag!between!the!elevation!of!the!tropopause!and!levels!of! 7Be!concentration!represents!the!
time!we!have!to!wait!until!7Be!concentration!levels!in!the!surface!air!respond!to!the!change!of!the!
tropopause! height! and! this! is! the! next! step! in! order! to! understand! relationship! between! 7Be!
concentrations!and!the!meteorological!factors.!The!first!results!will!be!presented!in!October!2010.!
!
!
!
DETERMINATION!OF!URANIUM!CONCENTRATIONS!IN!GROUND!WATER!SAMPLES!
OF!NORTHERN!GREECE!
I.!SAMAROPOULOS1,!M.!EFSTATHIOU2,!I.!PASHALIDIS2!AND!A.!IOANNIDOU1!
1
Aristotle!University!of!Thessaloniki,!Greece!
2
University!of!Cyprus,!Cyprus!
!
The! activity! concentrations! of! 238U! and! 234U! have! been! determined! by! a"radiometric! analysis! in!
groundwater!samples!of!springs!and!deep!wells!from!the!region!of!Northern!Greece.!The!analysis!
was!performed!by!alpha!spectroscopy!(using!Si"Semiconductor!detectors)!after!pre"concentration!
and!separation!of!uranium!by!cation!exchange!(Chelex!100!resin)!and!finally!its!electro"deposition!
on!stainless!steel!discs.!According!to!the!experimental!results!the!uranium!concentration!in!deep!
wells!and!springs!varies!strongly!between!0.15!and!7.66!-g!l"1.!Generally!the!springs!present!higher!
uranium!concentrations!than!the!deep!wells,!except!of!the!Apollonia!spring,!which!has!shown!the!
lowest!value!of!0.15!mg!l"1.!Uranium!concentration!in!natural!waters!is!affected!by!a!number!of!
factors,!such!as!the!lithostratigraphic!formations,!their!mineral!content,!the!chemical!behavior!of!
the!nuclide,!the!origin!of!a!groundwater!etc.!238U!and!234U!activity!concentrations!ranged!between!
1.8"95.3! mBq! l"1! and! 1.7"160.1! mBq! l"1! respectively.! The! obtained! isotopic! ratio! 234U/238U! varies!
between!0.95!and!1.74!which!means!that!the!two!isotopes!are!not!in!radioactive!equilibrium.!The!
highest!234U/238U!activity!ratio!values!correspond!to!Langada!springs,!indicating!most!probably!old"
type! waters.! On! the! other! hand,! groundwaters! from! wells! with! relatively! low! uranium! activity!
concentrations! and! 234U/238U! isotopic! ratios,! point! to! the! presence! of! younger! waters! with! a!
stronger!contribution!of!a!local!recharge!component!to!the!groundwater.!
!
!
NATURAL!RADIOACTIVITY!AND!ASSOCIATED!RADIATION!HAZARDS!PRESENT!IN!
SOME!ALGERIAN!BUILDING!MATERIALS!
F.!Z.!AKEL1!AND!M.!RAMDHANE2!
1
Mentouri!Constantine!University,!Algeria!
2!
Joseph!Fourier!University,!France!
!
Radioactivity! is! present! in! the! atmosphere,! the! earth's! crust! and! even! in! our! food.! It! can! be! of!
different! origin,! e.g.! natural,! artificial! or! cosmic.! The! characterization! of! radioactivity! level! of!
various!materials’!samples!is!of!great!interest!for!environmental!monitoring!and!for!fundamental!
physics! experiments.! The! building! materials,! containing! natural! radioactive! elements! 235U,! 238U,!
226
Ra,!232Th!and!40K,!are!good!examples!of!radiation!sources!which!we!are!exposed!to!every!day.!In!
this!work!we!have!measured!the!specific!activity!in!Bq.kg"1!of!some!building!materials!from!East!
Algeria:! Portland! cement,! white! cement,! breeze"block,! red! brick,! and! two! kaolins.! The!
measurements!were!made!using!ultra"low!background,!high"resolution!gamma"ray!spectroscopy.!
This! non! destructive! method! is! best! suited! for! the! identification! and! quantification! of! different!
radionuclides!in!a!sample.!The!measured!specific!activities!range!from!14!to!145!Bq.kg"1,!from!0.78!
to!104!Bq.kg"1!and!from!4!to!681!Bq.kg"1!for!238U,!232Th!and!40K,!respectively.!These!values!allow!us!
to! calculate! the! radiological! protection! factors:! the! radium! equivalent!Raeq,! the! external! hazard!
index! Hex! and! the! internal! hazard! index! Hin,! the! absorbed! dose! rate! D,! and! the! annual! effective!
dose!rate!E.!These!factors!have!enabled!us!to!estimate!the!risk!of!population!exposure!to!natural!
radioactivity!due!to!construction!materials.!All!studied!building!materials!have!shown!Raeq!ranged!
between!25!Bq.kg"1!and!348!Bq.kg"1;!lower!than!the!limit!value!of!370!Bq.kg"1.!
!
!
!
SYSTEMATICAL!INVESTIGATIONS!OF!CS"137!CONCENTRATION!IN!SOILS!IN!
BULGARIA!
R.!KOBILAROV1,!L.!KOSTOV2,!CH.!PROTOCHRISTOV3!AND!C.!STOYANOV3!
1
Technical!University!of!Sofia,!Bulgaria!
Nuclear!Regulatory!Agency,!Bulgaria!
3
Institute!for!Nuclear!Research!and!Nuclear!Energy,!Bulgaria!
2
!
Systematical!investigations!of! 137Cs!activity!concentration!in!soils!in!Bulgaria!were!performed!for!
the! first! time.! Possible! areas! of! the! country! contaminated! with! 137Cs! were! determined! by!
meteorological!data!for!the!period!after!the!Chernobyl!accident.!The!radio"nuclide!content!of!soil!
samples! was! determined! by! means! of! high"resolution! gamma"ray! spectroscopy.! This! paper!
presents!a!comparison!between!the!results!of!measuring!the!activity!concentration!of!137Cs!in!two!
areas! visited! by! many! Bulgarian! and! foreign! tourists:! National! Park! "Central! Balkan",! an! area!
!
contaminated! by! 137Cs! and! the! Razlog! Valley,! uncontaminated! area.! The! obtained! results! show!
that! the! activity! concentration! of! 137Cs! in! the! Razlog! Valley! is! comparable! to! the! mean!
concentration!of!137Cs!in!Bulgaria!(25!Bq!kg"1).!The!activity!concentration!of!137Cs!in!National!Park!
is!about!four!times!higher!than!that!in!the!Razlog!valley,!indicating!contamination!by!137Cs.!There!is!
clearly!expressed!distribution!of!the!activity!concentration!of! 137Cs!in!altitude.!It!is!related!to!the!
altitude! of! rain! clouds,! which! are! the! main! contributors! to! the! contamination! in! the! area! of!
National! Park! after! the! Chernobyl! accident.! ! The! additional! dose! rate! caused! by! this! fallout! was!
estimated!and!compared!with!the!results!obtained!in!other!countries.!
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!
CS"137!ACTIVITY!CONCENTRATIONS!IN!WILD!BOAR!MEAT!MAY!STILL!EXCEED!THE!
PERMITTED!LEVELS!
J.!RACHUBIK!
National!Veterinary!Research!Institute,!Poland!
!
The!radiocaesium!activity!concentrations!may!still!remain!high!in!natural!products!such!as!game!
meat,! wild! mushrooms,! and! forest! berries! even! more! than! two! decades! after! the! Chernobyl!
accident.! The! results! of! regular! control! studies! of! game! meat! conducted! in! Poland! showed! wild!
boars! as! the! most! contaminated! game! animals.! It! is! well! documented! that! some! mushrooms,!
readily!consumed!by!animals,!show!high!ability!to!accumulate!caesium!radioisotopes.!Bay!bolete,!
one! of! the! most! wide"spread! mushroom! species! in! Poland,! reveals! a! unique! radiocaesium!
accumulation!feature.!Pigments!from!the!bay!bolete!cap!cuticle!(badion!A!and!norbadion!A)!can!
complex!potassium!and!its!chemical!analog!caesium.!Moreover,!deer!truffle!which!also!contains!
particularly! high! levels! of! radiocaesium,! could! be! another! radionuclide! source! for! wild! boars.!
These! mushrooms! grow! in! a! depth! of! 6–8! cm! in! spruce! forest! soil,! which! corresponds! to! Oh/Ah!
(organic! layer/mineral! layer)! horizon! where! the! peak! of! 137Cs! activity! is! still! observed.!
Furthermore,!animals!consuming!deer!truffles!could!digest!contaminated!soil!components.!Of!94!
samples! of! wild! boar! meat! analysed! by! Veterinary! Inspection! in! 2008–2009,! 2! exceeded! the!
permitted! levels! (600! Bq/kg).! Hence,! some! precautions! should! be! taken! in! populations! with!
elevated! intake! of! wild! boar! meat.! Moreover,! since! each! hunted! wild! boar! is! examined! for!
trichinellosis,!measurements!of!radiocaesium!concentrations!in!these!animals!may!be!advised!for!
enhancing!consumer!safety.!
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THE!RADIOLOGICAL!IMPACT!OF!A!PHOSPHOGYPSUM!CONTAMINATED!AREA!
INSIDE!THE!LAGOON!OF!VENICE:!RN"222!MONITORING!
C.!CANTALUPPI,!F.!CECCOTTO,!A.!CIANCHI,!A.!FASSON!AND!S.!DEGETTO!
National!Research!Council,!Italy!
!
For! about! 20! years,! between! the! 60’s! and! the! 80’s! of! the! last! century,! in! the! Passo! a! Campalto!
area!(Lagoon!of!Venice!"!Italy)!about!400,000!m3!of!phosphogypsum!(PG)!were!deposited!at!the!
border!of!the!Lagoon!and!next!to!urban!areas!without!any!environmental!control.!
These! materials! are! a! by"product! formed! during! the! wet! processing! of! phosphate! rocks! by!
sulphuric! acid! and! have! a! significant! environmental! impact! due! to! their! abundance! and! their!
chemical"physical! and! radiochemical! characteristics.! The! PG! contains! both! chemical! elements!
which! are! considered! to! be! dangerous! for! the! ecosystems! and! natural! radionuclides! whose!
concentrations!are!much!higher!if!compared!to!those!typical!for!the!Earth’s!crust.!
This!unrestored!deposit!caused!for!many!years!the!dispersion!of!radionuclides!in!the!environment!
due!to!the!tidal!erosion,!the!re"suspension!of!radioactive!inhalable!dusts,!the!uncontrolled!radon!
exhalation!and!the!bioaccumulation!of!some!radionuclides!in!the!lagoon!environment.!
After! a! decision! of! the! appointed! authorities,! the! Venice! Water! Authority! (Ministry! of!
Infrastructure! and! Transport)! projected! the! restoration! of! the! site! resulting! in! the! complete!
isolation!of!the!entire!volume!of!contaminated!materials!from!the!environmental!system.!!
The! entire! project! is! specific! for! the! particular! features! of! the! site! and! it! has! required! the!
improvement! of! analytical,! sampling! and! measurement! techniques! in! order! to! verify! the!
effectiveness!of!the!restoration.!This!study!concerns!the!project!and!the!execution!of!the!surveys,!
in!particular!the!check!of!the!effectiveness!of!the!inhibition!of!radon!exhalation.!
The!results!show!the!efficacy!of!the!intervention:!concentrations!in!air!and!exhalation!values!from!
the! restored! area,! measured! during! surveys,! are! well! in! agreement! with! those! of! non!
contaminated!soils.!
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OPENING!OF!THE!CLOSED!WATER!AREA!AND!CONSEQUENT!CHANGES!OF!RA"
228/RA"226!RATIOS!IN!BRACKISH!LAKE!NAKAUMI,!SOUTHWEST!JAPAN!
R.!NOMURA1,!K.!NAKAMURA1,!K.!SETO1,!M.!INOUE2!AND!H.!KOFUJI3!
1
Shimane!University,!Japan!
Kanazawa!University,!Japan!
3
Japan!Marine!Science!Foundation,!Japan!
2
!
This!report!is!the!first!attempt!of!Radium!measurement!to!understand!Ra!behavior!with!respect!to!
the! seasonal! change! of! brackish! Lake! Nakaumi,! which! is! associated! with! the! closed! area! (the!
Honjyo!area)!over!27!years.!This!closed!area!has!been!formed!a!different!water!character!from!the!
main!body!of!Lake!Nakaumi,!but!the!dike!of!this!closed!area!was!artificially!opened!in!May,!2009,!
and! subsequently! introduced! the! more! saline! coastal! marine! water! through! the! Sakai! Channel!
from!the!Sea!of!Japan.!A!total!of!7!sites!were!set!to!examine!the!characteristics!of!Activity!Ratio!
(AR)!of! 228Ra/226Ra!in!this!lake.!!Mn!fiber!was!submerged!at!different!depths!for!4!days!to!1!week!
at!each!site,!and!sampling!work!has!been!carried!out!every!month!from!November,!2007!onward.!
The! ARs! of! 228Ra/226Ra! in! both! Honjyo! closed! area! and! Lake! Nakaumi! have! very! clear! seasonal!
variation! with! high! in! summer! and! low! in! winter.! Before! the! opening! event,! the! AR! distribution!
pattern!at!each!site!showed!well"tuned!seasonal!variation!in!the!surface!water,!but!there!was!a!
little!phase!difference!for!one!or!two!months!in!deep!water.!Particularly,!the!Honjyo!closed!area!is!
characterized! by! high! ARs! for! both! surface! and! deep! waters.! ! The! AR! difference! between! the!
Honjyo!and!Nakaumi!surface!waters!was!usually!~0.5.!The!high!ARs!in!the!Honjyo!area!must!have!
been! caused! by! a! limited! exchange! with! the! Nakaumi! water.! The! AR! in! the! Sakai! Channel! was!
usually! lower,! which! may! have! been! influenced! by! originally! low"AR! marine! water.! The! ARs! in!
Nakaumi! water! was! a! middle! value! between! the! Honjyo! area! and! the! Sakai! Channel! and! was!
varied! in! harmony! with!those! from! the! two! areas.! Assuming! the! high!Honjyo! ARs!were! resulted!
from!the!release!from!bottom!sediment!and!they!were!not!diluted!by!other!waters,!the!Nakaumi!
water!would!be!the!same!ARs!as!those!of!the!Honjyo!area.!However,!the!ARs!of!the!Nakaumi!were!
lower! than! those! of! the! Honjyo;! this! may! have! resulted! from! a! half! percent! dilution! by! coastal!
marine!water.!
After!the!opening!event,!the!ARs!of!the!deep!Honjyo!water!show!more!distinct!monthly!variations,!
while!the!ARs!in!the!surface!water!show!a!similar!value!and!nearly!the!same!distribution!pattern!in!
both!Honjyo!and!Lake!Nakaumi.!The!two"years!monitoring!of! 228Ra!and! 226Ra!indicates!the!AR!is!
very! useful!to! understand! the! changes! of! water! character!and! its! dynamic! movement! of! coastal!
lagoon!water.!
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!
SPATIAL!DISTRIBUTIONS!OF!RA"226,!RA"228,!AND!CS"137!IN!THE!SOUTHWESTERN!
AREA!OF!THE!SEA!OF!OKHOTSK!
M.!INOUE1,!K.!YOSHIDA1,!M.!MINAKAWA2,!H.!KOFUJI3,!S.!NAGAO1,!Y.!HAMAJIMA1!AND!M.!YAMAMOTO1!
1
Kanazawa!University,!Japan!
National!Research!Institute!of!Fisheries!Science,!Japan!
3
Japan!Marine!Science!Foundation,!Japan!
2
!
The!Sea!of!Okhotsk,!one!of!the!largest!marginal!seas!of!the!northwestern!North!Pacific,!is!mainly!
connected!to!the!North!Pacific!through!the!Kuril!Straits,!and!the!Sea!of!Japan!by!the!very!shallow!
Soya! Strait.! In! the! northwest! of! the! Okhotsk,! rapid! sea"ice! formation! leads! to! production! of! the!
Dense! Shelf! Water! (DSW),! which! ventilates! below! the! surface! and! joins! to! the! Okhotsk! Sea!
Intermediate! Water! (OSIW).! OSIW! also! plays! an! important! role! to! form! the! North! Pacific!
Intermediate! Water! (NPIW).! Therefore,! the! migration! pattern! of! OSIW! has! been! extensively!
studied!in!this!15!years!using!various!techniques.!
Various! radionuclides! in! seawater! have! been! used! as! powerful! tracers! for! studying! geochemical!
cycles! in! marine! environments.! However,! existing! data! records! of! radionuclides! in! the! Sea! of!
Okhotsk!are!not!sufficient!to!allow!investigating!the!details!of!water!circulations.!
To! investigate! the! spatial! distributions! of! 226Ra,! 228Ra,! and! 137Cs! in! this! area,! we! collected! 14!
seawater!samples!(~60!L)!at!5,!10,!50,!100,!150,!200,!250,!500,!750,!1000,!1250,!1500,!1650,!and!
1800!m!depth!at!the!southwestern!area!of!the!Sea!of!Okhotsk!(SY09C;!N45o01’,!E145o01’;!1850!m!
depth)!together!with!8!surface!waters!(~20!L)!around!Hokkaido,!Northern!Japan!(Sta.!1"8)!during!
the! Soyo! Maru! expedition! (Jul."Aug.! 2009).! Activities! of! 226Ra,! 228Ra,! and! 137Cs! were! measured!
applying! low"background! "spectrometry! combined! with! convenient! minimal! radiochemical!
processing.!
Vertical!changes!of! 226Ra!(~3!mBq/L),! 228Ra!(~0.5!mBq/L),!and! 137Cs!(~1!mBq/L)!activities!in!OSIW!
(~200"500!m)!are!small!and,!in!contrast!to!other!oceans,! 226Ra!activity!level!of!OSIW!is!markedly!
higher.!From!distributions!of!these!nuclides,!we!clarify!the!origin!and!flow!pattern!of!OSIW.!
!
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!
!
SEDIMENTATION!RATES!IN!KAGOSHIMA!BAY,!SOUTHWESTERN!JAPAN,!!
USING!PB"210!METHOD!
H.!KOFUJI1,!M.!INOUE2,!K.!YOKOTA3!AND!H.!MAEDA4!
1
Japan!Marine!Science!Foundation,!Japan!
2
Kanazawa!University,!Japan!
3
Lake!Biwa!Research!Institute,!Japan!
4
Kagoshima!University,!Japan!
!
Kagoshima!Bay!is!located!in!Southwestern!Japan.!This!bay!including!some!submerged!calderas!has!
two!deep!basins!connected!by!shallow!channel.!To!understand!the!pattern!of!sedimentation!rates!
as! fundamental! physical! parameter! of! coastal! environment,! the! 210Pb! dating! method! was!
employed!to!core!samples!collected!from!this!bay.!
Sediment!core!samples!were!collected!at!four!sites!in!Kagoshima!Bay!in!August!2002!(Stn.!5',!21,!
27! and! 36)! using! an! acrylic! pipe! corer.! ! Each! core! (5"15! cm! long)! was! cut! into! 1! cm"thick! slices.!
After! being! dried! and! ground,! 210Pb! and! 226Ra! activities! were! measured! by! #"spectrometry! using!
Ge"detectors.! Measuring! the! sedimentation! rate! using! the! 210Pb! method! is! based! on!
atmospherically!derived!210Pb,!which!is!also!referred!to!as!excess!210Pb!(ex210Pb;!210Pb!–!226Ra).!
Sedimentation!rate!varied!at!each!location!within!the!bay!(0.08"0.30!g&cm"2&yr"1),!and!the!rate!at!
the!bay"head!area!was!less!than!that!at!the!centre!of!the!bay.!At!Stn.27,!the!difference!between!
the!upper!(0"5!cm;!0.27!g&cm"2&yr"1)!and!lower!layers!(>5!cm;!1.0!g&cm"2&yr"1)!of!the!ex210Pb!profile!
indicated! a! disruption! in! constant! sedimentation! at! the! site.! The! low! ex210Pb! activity! at! the!
sediment!surface!and!low!ex210Pb!inventory!in!the!area!of!the!bay"head!imply!that!ex210Pb!is!not!
easily!deposited!via!the!water!column!in!this!area.!
!
!
!
EVALUATION!OF!THE!ANTHROPOGENIC!EMISSION!OF!BI"210!AND!PO"210!ON!THE!
BASE!OF!BI"210/PB"210!AND!PO"210/PB"210!RATIOS!IN!THE!URBAN!AIR!
M.!D7UGOSZ!AND!H.!BEM!
Technical!University!of!Lodz,!Poland!
!
Evaluation!of!aerosol!resident!time,!may!add!valuable!information!about!the!spread!of!pollutants!
in!the!atmosphere.!Equations!used!for!the!calculation!of!resident!time!of!aerosols!on!the!basis!of!
isotopic!ratios!of! 210Po/210Pb!and! 210Bi/210Pb!in!the!one!compartment!model!assume!that!the!only!
source!of! 210Bi!and! 210Po!radionuclide!are!decays!of! 210Pb">210Bi">210Po!on!the!surface!of!!the!dust!
particles!in!the!air.!
!
This!assumption!does!not!take!into!account!the!possibility!of!additional!emission!of!radionuclides!
from!other!sources!such!as!re"suspension!of!soil!in!summer,!or!combustion!of!coal!in!winter.!The!
aim! of! this! work! was! checking! possible! input! of! intense! coal! combustion! to! the! resulting! 210Pb,!
210
Bi!and!210Po!concentration!in!the!urban!air.!For!these!propose,!we!have!added!en!anthropogenic!
component!to!the!steady!state!equilibrium!equations!used!for!description!of!the! 210Pb,! 210Bi!and!
210
Po!radionuclide!concentration.!
As!can!be!seen!about!78%!of! 210Po!and!15!%!of! 210Bi!radionuclides!in!the!urban!air!in!Lodz!during!
the!winter!can!be!attributed!to!the!emissions!connected!with!the!burning!of!coal!for!heating!and!
energetic! purposes.! The! corrected! resident! times! are! close! to! these! calculated! on! the! base! of!
210
Bi/210Pb! ratios! and! varied! from! 1! to! 13! days! for! the! winter! period.! However,! the! 210Bi/210Pb!!
method!can!be!applied!for!aerosols!with!residence!time!<!30!days.!
!
!
!
REMOVAL!OF!CS,!SR,!PU!AND!AM!FROM!CONTAMINATED!SOLUTIONS!UNDER!
LABORATORY!AND!REAL!CONDITIONS!
G.!LUJANIEN1,!S.!MELESHEVYCH2,!E.!RADŽIUT1,!V.!STRELKO2,!O.!OLEKSIENKO2,!J.!ŠAPOLAIT!1!AND!T.!ŠCIGLO1!
1
SRI!Center!for!Physical!Sciences!and!Technology,!Lithuania!
Institute!for!Sorption!and!Problems!of!Endoecology,!Ukraine!
2
!
One! of! the! most! important! environmental! problems! nowadays! is! contamination! of! the!
environment! by! radioactive! and! non! radioactive! pollutants! and! their! harmful! effects.! The! most!
commonly! applied! treatment! technologies! involve! precipitation,! ion! exchange,! evaporation! and!
solvent! extraction.! Inorganic! sorbents! have! been! widely! used! to! solve! environmental! problems!
and! to! minimize! toxic! effects! of! various! pollutants! due! to! their! high! selectivity,! stability! over! a!
wide! range! of! pH! and! temperatures! as! well! as! resistance! to! ionizing! radiation.! Thus,! the!
application! of! inorganic! sorbents! such! as! ferrites! and! crystalline! silicotitanates! is! one! of! the!
alternative!technologies!which!can!reduce!the!costs!associated!with!waste!disposal!and!minimize!
the! contamination! risk! of! the! environment! during! processing! and! disposal! of! the! radioactive!
waste.!The!aim!of!this!study!was!a!comparative!assessment!of!synthetic!materials!obtained!using!
different!synthesis!methods!(co"precipitation!or!sol"gel!and!pure!reagents!or!cheap!and!available!
Ukrainian!raw!materials)!and!natural!sorptive!materials!in!liquid!waste!treatment!technologies!to!
remove! long"lived! radionuclides! Cs,! Sr,! Pu! and! Am.! Titanium! silicates,! zirconium! phosphates,!
titanium! phosphates! synthesized! at! the! Ukrainian! Institute! for! Sorption! and! Problems! of!
Endoecology! and! iron! oxides! synthesized! at! the! Institute! of! Physics! (Lithuania)! as! well! as! the!
Triassic! clay! samples! from! a! site! mined! for! industrial! exploitation! known! as! the! Šaltiškiai! (North!
Lithuania)!quarry!were!used!in!equilibrium!and!kinetic!sorption!experiments.!The!obtained!results!
revealed!that!titanium!silicates!synthesized!using!TiOSO4!without!reference!to!the!chosen!method!
showed! the! highest! sorption! ability! towards! studied! radionuclides.! Magnetite! and! clay! minerals!
showed!better!sorption!ability!towards!americium.!The!Kd!values!ranged!from!3.9!&!102!to!1.6!&!105!
!
mL!g"1!for!Sr,!from!6!to!4.1!&!104!mL!g"1!for!Cs,!from!2.2!&!102!to!2.6!&!105!mL!g"1!for!Pu!and!from!50!
to!1.6!&!104!mL!g"1!for!Am.!The!highest!Pu!Kd!values!(9!&!103–6.2!&!104!mL!g"1)!and!better!kinetics!
were!found!for!iron!oxides.!
Experiments! performed! with! the! fuel! pond! water! at! the! Ignalina! NPP! and! with! the! condensate!
water! at! the! Chernobyl! NPP! “Shelter”! indicated! that! Kd! values! obtained! in! the! laboratory!
experiments!do!not!usually!correspond!to!the!values!obtained!under!the!real!conditions!and!this!
requires!additional!studies.!!
Acknowledgements:! The! research! was! supported! by! the! Ukrainian! Ministry! of! Education! and!
Science!of!Ukraine!as!well!as!by!the!Agency!for!Science,!Innovation!and!Technology!of!the!Republic!
of!Lithuania!(contract!No.!TAP"36/2010)!and!the!Research!Council!of!Lithuania!(contract!No.!TAP"
54/2010).!
!
!
!
A!COMPARISON!BETWEEN!IN!SITU!AND!LABORATORY!MEASUREMENTS!OF!
NATURALLY!OCCURRING!RADIOACTIVITY!IN!SOIL!AS!DONE!WITH!STANDARD!NAI!
SCINTILLATION!DETECTORS!
J.!BEZUIDENHOUT!
Stellenboch!University,!South!Africa!
!
The!accuracy!of!activity!measurements!done!in!situ!depends!on!a!number!of!complex!factors.!!The!
aim!of!this!study!is!to!find!experimental!corrections!for!these!factors!by!exploring!the!results!of!
various! gamma! ray! measurements! done! in! the! lab! with! 2x2! and! 3x3! inch! NaI(Tl)! scintillation!
crystals.!Comparisons!are!made!between!laboratory!measurements!done!with!different!types!of!
sample! containers! and! those! done! in! situ.! Potential! correction! factors! are! extracted! and!
evaluated.! The! results! of! this! work! wil! be! used! as! part! of! a! preparatory! study! for! a! planned!
exploration!project.!
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!
!
GEOCHEMISTRY!OF!RADIONUCLIDES!IN!GROUNDWATERS!AT!THE!FORMER!
URANIUM!AND!RADIUM!MINING!REGION!OF!SABUGAL,!PORTUGAL!
F.!P.!CARVALHO1,!J.!M.!OLIVEIRA1!AND!W.!E.!FALCK2!
1
Nuclear!and!Technological!Institute,!Portugal!
University!of!Versailles!St.!Quentin"en"Yvelines,!France!
2
!
Recent!concerns!over!the!potential!radiological!hazards!posed!by!the!uranium!mining!and!milling!
wastes!have!been!the!reason!for!radioactivity!measurements!in!underground!waters!of!County!of!
Sabugal,! central! region! of! Portugal.! Water! samples! collected! in! the! former! uranium! mines,! in!
nearby! irrigation! wells,! and! in! village! drinking! water! supplies! were! analyzed! for! uranium! series!
radionuclides!by!wet!radiochemistry!and!alpha!spectrometry.!Water!from!the!Bica!Mine!contained!
4.4!Bq!L"1,!1.5!Bq!L"1,!and!0.48!Bq!L"1!of!dissolved!238U,!226Ra!and!210Po,!respectively,!and!these!were!
the! highest! concentrations! measured! in! waters! from! this! region.! Water! from! irrigation! wells!
generally!showed!concentrations!below!5!x10"2!Bq!L"1!for!both!238U!and!226Ra,!although!water!from!
several!wells!near!the!Bica!Mine!showed!enhanced!concentrations!of!dissolved!uranium,!reaching!
0.82!Bq!L"1!of! 238U.!Drinking!water!from!public!water!supplies!in!the!villages!and!towns!contained!
238
U,! 226Ra,! 230Th,! 210Po! and! 232Th! in! concentrations! below! 5! x10"2! mBq! L"1! each,! and! total! alpha!
radioactivity! generally! less! than! 0.5! Bq! L"1! as! recommended! for! drinking! water.! Only! one! village!
water! supply! from! a! local! spring! exceeded! with! 1.12! Bq! L"1! the! recommended! limit! for! alpha!
radioactivity! in! drinking! water.! The! overall! assessment! of! radioactivity! in! water! indicates! that!
water! resources! were! not! significantly! contaminated! by! the! historic! uranium! mining! activities! in!
the!region.!Nevertheless,!mine!waters!from!Bica!Mine!still!require!treatment!to!prevent!dispersal!
of!acid!mine!drainage!and!radionuclides!into!aquifers.!This!treatment!is!needed!as!oxic!conditions!
and! low! pH"values! facilitate! the! dissolution! and! migration! of! uranium,! as! predicted! through!
modelling! of! uranium! speciation! and! verified! through! measurements.! Other! mines! nearby,! with!
near!neutral!pH!and!anoxic!waters!show!low!dissolved!concentrations!of!uranium.!
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!
RADIOXENON!TIME!SERIES!AND!METEOROLOGICAL!PATTERN!ANALYSIS!FOR!CTBT!
EVENT!CATEGORISATION!
W.!PLASTINO1,2,!R.!PLENTEDA3,!G.!AZZARI1,!A.!BECKER3,!P.!R.!J.!SAEY3!AND!G.!WOTAWA3!
1
University!of!Roma!Tre,!Italy!
National!Institute!of!Nuclear!Physics,!Section!of!Roma!Tre,!Italy!
3
Preparatory!Commission!for!the!Comprehensive!Nuclear"!Test"Ban!Treaty!Organisation,!Austria!
2
!
Understanding! radioxenon! time! series! and! being! able! to! distinguish! anthropogenic! from! nuclear!
explosion! signals! are! fundamental! issues! for! the! technical! verification! of! the! Com"! prehensive!
Nuclear"Test"Ban! Treaty.! Every! radioxenon! event! categorisation! methodology! must! take! into!
account! the! background! at! each! monitoring! site! to! uncover! anomalies! that! may! be! related! to!
nuclear!explosions.!Feedback!induced!by!local!meteorological!patterns!on!the!equipment!and!on!
the! sampling! procedures! has! been! included! in! the! analysis! to! improve! a! possible! event!
categorisation!scheme.!The!occurrence!probability!of!radioxenon!outliers!has!been!estimated!with!
a!time!series!approach!characterising!and!avoiding!the!influence!of!local!meteorological!patterns.!
A! power! spectrum! estimator! for! radioxenon! and! meteorological! time! series! was! selected;! the!
randomness! of! the! radioxenon! residual! time! series! has! been! tested! for! white! noise! by!
Kolmogorov–Smirnov! and! Ljung–! Box! tests.! This! methodological! approach! was! applied! to!
radioxenon!data!collected!at!two!monitoring!sites!located!at!St.!John’s,!Canada!and!Charlottesville,!
USA,! equipped! with! two! different! noble! gas! systems.! It! shows! different! feedback! with! local!
meteorological!patterns!and!randomness!for!the!radioxenon!data!recorded!at!the!selected!sites!of!
St.! John’s! and! Charlottesville! as! well! as! a! different! occurrence! probability! of! the! outliers! in! the!
normalized!radioxenon!original!and!residual!time!series.!
!
!
!
BACKGROUND!OF!RADON!DAUGHTERS!IN!GAMMA"RAY!SPECTROMETRIC!
MEASUREMENTS!
P.!MAVER!MODEC1,!M.!KORUN1,!M.!MARTELANC2!AND!B.!VODENIK1!
1
Jožef!Stefan!Institute,!Slovenia!
University!of!Ljubljana,!Slovenia!
2
!
When! samples! from! the! environment! are! measured! on! gamma"ray! spectrometers! 226Ra! can! be!
determined! either! directly! from! its! peak! occurring! at! the! energy! 186! keV! or! from! the! peaks!
belonging!to!radon!daughters!in!the!sample.!The!later!method!has!the!advantage!that!it!is!more!
sensitive.!Radon!daughters! 214Pb!and! 214Bi!radiate!at!several!energies!with!the!probability!which!
much! larger! than! the! probability! for! emission! of! the! gamma"rays! in! the! decay! of! 226Ra.! If! the!
activity!of!radon!daughters!in!the!sample!is!small!a!substantial!part!of!the!areas!of!peaks,!signaling!
the!presence!of!radon!daughters!in!the!spectrum!may!originate!in!the!spectrometer!background.!
To!arrive!at!unbiased!results!the!peak!areas!must!be!corrected!for!the!background!contribution.!
!
Therefore!background!measurements!are!performed,!which!are!used!to!determine!the!count!rates!
in!the!peaks!occurring!in!the!spectra!in!the!absence!of!the!sample.!
The! background! due! to! radon! daughters! originates! from! various! sources,! characterized! by! the!
location! of! radon! daughters! in! the! spectrometer.! The! spectrometer! background! due! to! radon!
daughters! originates! in! the! presence! of! 226Ra! the! detector! and! the! shielding,! in! the! presence! of!
radon! daughters! in! the! air! filling! the! shield’s! cavity! and,! at! high! energies,! in! the! incomplete!
attenuation!of!gamma"rays!from!the!environment!where!the!shield!is!situated.!It!was!found!that!
in!some!detectors!background!induced!by!radon!daughters!is!constant!in!time!whereas!in!others!it!
exhibits!strong!correlation!with!the!outside!temperature.!
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SESSION!II!
!
!
I"129!IN!MEDITERRANEAN!SEA!WATER!"!IAEA"418!CERTIFIED!REFERENCE!MATERIAL!
M.!K.!PHAM1,!M.!BETTI1,!P.!P.!POVINEC2,!A.!ALDAHAN3,!V.!ALFIMOV4,!D.!BIDDULPH5,!W.!E.!KIESER6,!J.!M.!LÓPEZ!
GUTIÉRREZ7,!J.!A.!SANCHEZ"CABEZA1!AND!T.!SUZUKI8!
1
IAEA!Environmental!Laboratories"Monaco,!!Monaco!
2
Comenius!University!of!Bratislava,!Slovakia!
3
Uppsala!University,!!Sweden!
4
ETH!Zurich,!Switzerland!
5
University!of!Arizona,!USA!
6
IsoTrace!Laboratory,!University!of!Toronto,!Canada!
7
University!of!Sevilla,!Spain!
8
Japan!Atomic!Energy!Agency,!Japan!
!
A!Certified!Reference!Material!(CRM)!designed!for!the!determination!of! 129I!in!seawater,!IAEA"418!
(Mediterranean!Sea!water),!is!described!and!the!results!of!certification!are!presented.!The!median!
of! 129I! concentration! with! 95%! confidence! interval! was! chosen! as! the! most! reliable! estimates! of!
the! true! value.! The! median,! given! as! the! certified! value,! is! 2.3&108! atom! L"1! (95%! confidence!
interval!is!(2.2"2.8)!atom!L"1).!The!material!is!intended!to!be!used!for!standardization!procedures!
applied!in!Accelerator!Mass!Spectrometric!(AMS)!laboratories.!
!
!
!
VERTICAL!DISTRIBUTION!OF!NATURAL!RADIONUCLIDES!IN!SOILS!
P.!BLANCO!RODRÍGUEZ1,!F.!VERA!TOMÉ1!AND!J.!C.!LOZANO2!
1
University!of!Extremadura,!Spain!
2
University!of!Salamanca,!Spain!
!!
Low"level! alpha! spectrometry! techniques! using! semiconductor! detectors! (PIPS)! and! liquid!
scintillation!(LKB!Quantulus!1220TM)!were!used!in!order!to!determine!the!activity!concentration!of!
238
U,!232Th,!234U,!230Th,!226Ra,!and!210Pb!in!soil!samples.!The!soils!were!collected!from!an!old!disused!
uranium!mine!located!in!southwest!Spain.!The!soils!were!selected!with!different!levels!of!influence!
from!the!installation,!in!such!a!way!that!they!have!different!levels!of!contamination.!The!vertical!
profiles!in!the!soils!(to!40!cm!deep)!were!studied!in!order!to!evaluate!the!vertical!distribution!of!
the!natural!radionuclides.!The!possible!contamination!of!subsurface!waters!depends!strongly!on!
vertical! migration,! and! the! transfer! to! plants! (herbs,! shrubs,! and! trees)! also! will! depend! on! the!
distribution! of! the! radionuclides! in! the! root! zone.! The! study! of! the! activity! ratios! between!
radionuclides! belonging! to! the! same! series! allowed! us! to! assess! the! different! behaviours! of! the!
radionuclides!involved.!The!vertical!profiles!for!the!radionuclides!belonging!to!the!238U!series!were!
!
different!at!each!sampling!point,!depending!on!the!level!of!influence!of!the!installation.!However,!
the! profiles! per! point! were! similar! for! the! long"lived! radionuclides! of! the! 238U! series! (238U,! 234U,!
230
Th,!and!226Ra).!Also,!a!major!disequilibrium!was!observed!between!210Pb!and!226Ra!in!the!surface!
layer,!due!to! 222Rn!emanation!and!subsequent!surface!deposition!of! 210Pb.!The!comparison!of!the!
natural! radionuclides! profiles! with! the! major! elements! and! pH! helped! us! to! understand! the!
migration!of!natural!radionuclides!in!soils.!
!
!
!
THE!EFFECT!OF!ORGANIC!AMENDMENT!ON!SORPTION!MECHANISMS!OF!CESIUM!
AND!COBALT!IN!TROPICAL!SOILS!
M.!A.!WASSERMAN1,!R.!J.!L.!GARCIA1,!A.!C.!M.!FERREIRA1,!E.!R.!R.!ROCHEDO2,!J.!C.!WASSERMAN3!AND!C.!C.!
CONTI1!
1
Institute!of!Radioprotection!and!Dosimetry"CNEN,!Brasil!
2
Nuclear!Facilities!Management"CNEN,!Brasil!
3
Fluminense!Federal!University,!Brasil!
!
This! work! aimed! to! investigate! the! mechanisms! involved! in! the! sorption! of! 137Cs! and! 60Co! as! a!
function!of!the!physico"chemical!properties!in!some!types!of!Brazilian!soils.!It!also!evaluates!the!
behavior! of! these! radionuclides! due! to! changes! in! soil! properties! promoted! by! organic!
amendment.!The!experimental!study!was!conducted!in!a!controlled!area,!where!pots!containing!
different!types!of!soils!(Ferralsol,!Nitisol!and!Histisol)!and!different!doses!of!organic!amendment!
(no!amendment;!2!kg!m"2!and!4!kg!m"2)!were!spiked!with! 137Cs!and! 60Co.!The!organic!amendment!
used!in!this!experiment!was!obtained!from!the!Compost!Unit!of!Pinheiral!(RJ,!Brazil),!which!origin!
is!from!the!leaves!swept!from!the!streets!of!the!city.!The!mobility!of!these!radionuclides!in!the!soil!
was!assessed!through!a!sequential!chemical!extraction!and!desorption!studies!as!a!function!of!soil!
pH.! The! bioavailability! was! evaluated! through! the! effective! absorption! of! radionuclide! by! root!
crops! (Raphanus! sativus,! L)! expressed! as! soil! to! plant! transfer! factor.! This! study! evidenced! that!
very! acid! conditions! (pH<2)! released! more! than! 80%! of! the! total! cobalt,! independently! of! the!
organic! matter! content! of! the! studied! soils.! Alkaline! conditions! (pH>9)! were! also! capable! to!
mobilize!significant!amount!of! 60Co,!but!in!this!case!higher!content!of!organic!matter,!as!occurs!in!
Histisol,! reduced! the! release.! Under! natural! pH!of! the! studied! soils! the! lower! transfer! factor! for!
60
Co! occurred! when! it! received! 4! kg! m"2! of! organic! fertilizer! or! in! Histisol,! a! soil! with! very! high!
organic!matter!content.!Soil!to!plant!transfer!factor!(TF)!for! 60Co!was!respectively!8.2,!6.4!and!2.0!
for! Ferralsol,! Nitisol! and! Histisol! and! for! 137Cs! they! were! 1.18,! 0.13! and! 0.23.! Although! extreme!
acid!conditions!and!low!organic!matter!content!may!mobilize!both!radionuclides,!cobalt!mobility!
was!shown!to!be!more!sensitive!to!both!parameters!than!cesium.!These!results!suggest!that!other!
soil! parameters! interferes! on! 137Cs! behavior,! possibly! the! concentration! exchangeable! K,! clay!
mineral!type!and!nutritional!status!as!reported!in!the!specialized!literature.!
!
!
ISOTOPIC!TRACING!OF!GROUNDWATER!AT!ŽITNÝ!OSTROV!(SW!SLOVAKIA)!
P.!P.!POVINEC1,!Z.!ŽENIŠOVÁ1,!R.!BREIER1,!M.!RICHTÁRIKOVÁ1,!A.!ŠIVO1,!P.!K.!AGGARWAL2!AND!L.!ARAGUÁS"
ARAGUÁS2!
1
Comenius!University!of!Bratislava,!Slovakia!
2
IAEA!Isotope!Hydrology!Section,!Austria!
!
Geostatistical! analysis! of! experimental! isotope! data! has! been! carried! out! with! the! aim! to! study!
spatial! variations! in! the! distribution! of! water! isotopes! and! radiocarbon! in! groundwater! of! Žitný!
ostrov! (Rye! Island),! which! is! the! largest! reservoir! (about! 10! Gm3)! of! groundwater! in! the! Central!
Europe.!Subsurface!water!profiles!showed!enriched!918O!levels!at!around!20!m!water!depth!and!
depleted!values!below!30!m,!which!are!similar!to!those!observed!in!the!Danube!River.!The!core!of!
the!subsurface!14C!profile!represents!contemporary!groundwater!with!14C!values!above!80!pMC.!
!
!
!
PARAMETER!VALUES!FOR!THE!PREDICTION!OF!RADIONUCLIDE!TRANSFER!IN!
TERRESTRIAL!AND!!FRESHWATER!ENVIRONMENTS!
F.!CARINI!
University!Cattolica!del!Sacro!Cuore"Piacenza,!Italy!
!
The!Technical!Report!Series!(TRS)!No.!472!!derives!from!the!TRS!364!Revision!carried!out!within!
the! framework! of! the! IAEA! International! EMRAS! (Environmental! Modelling! for! Radiation! Safety)!
Programme,! Working! Group! 1! of! Theme! 1,! in! the! years! 2003–2007.! This! paper! describes! the!
approach!taken!to!present!the!information!on!fruits!in!the!TRS!364!Revision,!supported!by!IAEA"
TECDOC"1616,!discusses!the!key!transfer!processes!concerning!the!behaviour!of!radionuclides!in!
fruits,!and!provides!recommendations!for!research!and!modelling.!Information!presented!in!this!
section!relate!to!fruit!plants!grown!in!agricultural!ecosystems!of!temperate!regions.!
The!Fruits!information!comprises!a!description!of!key!transfer!processes,!concepts!and!conceptual!
models!regarded!as!important!for!dose!assessment,!as!well!as!relevant!parameters!for!modelling!
radionuclide! transfer! in! fruits.! Parameter! values! have! been! collected! from! open! literature,!
conference!proceedings,!institutional!reports,!books!and!international!databases.!The!information!
generated!in!the!years!following!the!Chernobyl!accident!and!the!knowledge!produced!under!the!
IAEA! BIOMASS! (Biosphere! Modelling! and! Assessment)! Programme! in! the! years! 1997–2000! has!
been!mainly!taken!into!account.!However,!given!the!scarce!information!available!on!the!subject,!
the!choice!has!been!made!to!not!reject!any!information.!
Fruit!contamination!following!a!release!to!atmosphere!can!be!the!result!of!various!processes:!(i)!
direct! deposition! to! exposed! fruit! surfaces,! absorption! by! the! fruit! skin! and! transport! to! the!
!
interior;!(ii)!deposition!to!exposed!plant!surfaces,!absorption!to!interior!and!translocation!to!fruit;!
(iii)! for! perennial! plants:! remobilisation! of! radionuclides! from! the! leaves! to! the! over"wintering!
organs! prior! to! leaf! drop,! followed! by! retranslocation! from! storage! organs! to! other! plant!
components! at! the! resumption! of! growth;! (iv)! deposition! to! soil,! vertical! migration! in! the! soil!
profile,! root! uptake! and! transfer! to! the! fruit.! The! relative! significance! of! each! pathway! after!
release! of! radionuclides! depends! upon! the! radionuclide,! the! kind! of! crop,! the! stage! of! plant!
development!and!the!season!at!time!of!deposition.!Furthermore,!in!agricultural!ecosystems,!the!
transfer! of! radionuclides! to! fruit! is! generally! affected! by! human! intervention,! which! includes!
horticultural! practices,! intended! to! modify! physiology! and! translocation! of! nutrients,! to! achieve!
early!cropping,!high,!early!and!sustained!yield,!and!high!fruit!quality.!
!
!
!
ESTIMATION!OF!PERMISSIBLE!LEVELS!OF!RADIONUCLIDES!DISCHARGES!TO!WATER!
BODIES!USING!THE!RADIOECOLOGICAL!AND!HYGIENIC!CRITERIA!
A.!I.!KRYŠEV1,!I.!I.!KRYŠEV1,!A.!V.!NOSOV2!AND!A.!L.!KRYLOV2!
1
SI!Research!and!Production!Association!"!Typhoon,!Russia!
Nuclear!Safety!Institute!of!Russian!Academy!of!Sciences,!Russia!
2
!
Estimation!of!permissible!levels!of!radionuclides!discharges!to!water!bodies!is!important!to!ensure!
the! radiation! safety! of! population! and! environment.! Method! is! presented! for! evaluation! of!
radioecological! consequences! of! radionuclides! discharges! to! water! bodies! for! humans! and! the!
reference!species!of!aquatic!biota.!
Criteria! for! estimation! of! permissible! discharges! of! radionuclides! to! water! bodies! include:! (a)!
hygienic! criteria,! which! require! that! the! quota! from! the! permissible! dose! limit! should! not! be!
exceeded! for! the! critical! group! of! the! population! taking! into! account! multiple! pathways! of!
exposure;! (b)! hygienic! norms,! which! limited! the! activity! concentrations! of! some! radionuclides!
(137Cs,! 90Sr)!in!food!products;!for!example,!for!137Cs!in!fish!such!level!in!Russia!is!130!Bq/kg!and!for!
90
Sr! 100! Bq/kg! w.w;! (c)! limitations! on! radioactive! contamination! of! bottom! sediments! and!
floodplain!soils.!
Radioecological! criteria! represent! recommendations,! that! the! sum! of! the! internal! and! external!
dose!rates!to!the!reference!species!of!biota!should!not!exceed!the!reference!levels,!which!ensure!
the! radiation! safety! and! stability! of! aquatic! ecosystems.! The! following! reference! levels! are!
considered:!1!mGy/day!for!aquatic!animals!(fish,!birds,!mollusks,!etc.)!and!10!mGy/day!for!aquatic!
plants.! The! principles! for! selection! of! reference! species! for! aquatic! ecosystems! and! reference!
levels!of!exposure!are!discussed.!
An!example!of!estimation!of!permissible!levels!of!radionuclides!discharges!(3H,! 137Cs,! 60Co)!to!the!
marine!environment!is!considered.!It!is!shown!that!for!the!most!cases!hygienic!criteria!limited!the!
!
permissible! discharges! of! radionuclides! to! water! bodies! rather! than! radioecological! criteria,!
although! for! radionuclides! with! high! accumulation! in! bottom! sediments! and! aquatic! biota! it! is!
recommended! to! make! an! assessment! of! possible! radiation! exposure! to! reference! species! of!
biota.!
!
TIME!HISTORY!OF!TRITIUM!CONCENTRATION!IN!THE!SERUM!OF!CATTLE!MILK!
UNDER!VARIOUS!FORMS!OF!ITS!INCOME!IN!NATURAL!CONDITIONS!
ZH.!A.!BAIGAZINOV,!A.!V.!PANITSKIY!AND!S.!N.!LUKAŠENKO!
National!Nuclear!Center!of!the!Republic!of!Kazakhstan,!Kazakhstan!
!
Tritium!(3H)!is!one!of!the!major!dose"forming!radionuclides!existing!in!the!territory!of!the!former!
Semipalatinsk!test!site!(STS).!Especially!dangerous!fact!is!the!intake!of! 3H!in!the!human!body!via!
animal! products,! obtained! while! grazing! animals! in! the! areas! contaminated! with! tritium! at!
Degelen! Mountain! and! Shagan! River,! which! necessitates! a! thorough! study! of! 3H! transition! in!
various!animal!products.!
The! paper! presents! the! results! on! the! dynamics! of! T! transition! in! milk! serum! under! various!
conditions!and!timing!of!its!uptake!in!the!body!of!cattle!with!the!components!of!the!environment:!
air,!water!and!vegetation.!Studies!were!conducted!at!"Degelen"!experimental!site!located!in!the!
former! STS.! As! the! object! of! investigation! we! selected! one! local! cow! of! 8"9! years! of! age,! live!
weight!is!250"260!kg,!with!daily!average!milk!yield!of!6"8!kg.!Throughout!the!study!we!used!tether!
handling.!!!
When! 3H! is! intaken! with! atmospheric! air! in! the! body! of! cattle! within! 12! days! there! is! a! linear!
increase!in!the!concentration!of!3H!in!the!serum!of!milk,!while!the!equilibrium!state!is!not!reached.!
The! results! show! that! the! aerial! uptake! of! 3H! in! the! body! of! an! animal! can! make! a! significant!
contribution!to!the!formation!of!animal!products!contamination.!!
Dynamics!of! 3H!concentration!in!the!serum!of!milk!at!a!single"shot!entry!with!the!meadow!grass!
and! water! is! complex! and! ambiguous! character,! possibly! caused! by! the! physiological!
characteristics!of!the!animal!during!the!formation!of!milk,!which!requires!additional!research.!
The! research! has! determined! that! in! Degelen! Mountain,! when! 3H! is! chronically! uptaken! with!
meadow! grass! the! equilibrium! state! of! its! concentration! in! the! serum! of! milk! is! reached! on! the!
fifth!"!the!sixth!day.!When! 3H!is!chronically!uptaken!with!atmospheric!air!and!drinking!water!the!
equilibrium!state!of!3H!concentration!has!not!been!reached!at!selected!time!intervals.!
In!turn,!reduction!of! 3H!concentration!in!the!milk!serum!after!chronic!uptake!of!3H!with!meadow!
grass! is! much! slower! than! after! chronic! uptake! with! drinking! water.! Thus,! reduction! of! 3H!
concentration!by!50%!after!long"term!uptake!with!water!occurred!after!~!2!days,!after!long"term!
uptake!with!meadow!grass!after!~!14!days.!
!
!
SPECIFIC!CHARACTERISTICS!OF!RADIOACTIVE!CONTAMINATION!OF!
ENVIRONMENTAL!ECOSYSTEM!COMPONENTS!OF!THE!TUNNEL!WATERCOURSES!IN!
DEGELEN!MOUNTAINS!OF!SEMIPALATINSK!TEST!SITE!
A.!V.!PANITSKIY,!R.!YU.MAGAŠEVAAND!S.!N.LUKAŠENKO!
National!Nuclear!Center!of!the!Republic!of!Kazakhstan,!Kazakhstan!
!
In! recent! years,! at! "Degelen"test! site,! Semipalatinsk! nuclear! test! site! we! conducted! studies! to!
specify!the!boundaries!of!distribution!of!artificial!radionuclides! 137Cs,! 90Sr,!and!mainly,! 239+240Pu!in!
soils! and! subsoils! of! the! stream! valleys,! as! well! as! the! outside,distribution! patterns! of! which!
previously! could! not! be! detected.! These! studies! were! conducted! in! the! valleys! of! the! stream!
Baytles! (tunnel! No176)! and! inlet! of! Uzynbulak! (tunnel! No177).! Also,! studies! were! done! on! the!
nature!of!the!spatial!(both!horizontal!and!vertical)!distribution!of!artificial!radionuclides!in!the!soil!
of! stream! valleys! of! Degelen! low"mountain! massif.! Based! on! years! of! diverse,! integrated!
radioecological! studies! we! revealed! the! peculiarities! of! radioactive! contamination! of! natural!
ecosystems,!stream!valleys,!exposed!to!the!largest!contamination!with!artificial!radionuclides.!
Based!on!years!of!diverse,!integrated!radioecological!research!in!"Degelen"!area!we!managed!to!
reveal! the! peculiarities! of! radioactive! contamination! of! natural! ecosystems,! stream! valleys,!
exposed!to!the!largest!contamination!with!artificial!radionuclides.!
Distribution!of!radionuclides!137Cs,!90Sr,!241Am!and!239+240Pu!in!ecosystems!the!surface!water!"!soil!"!
groundwater! is! determined! by! the! orientation! of! the! total! runoff! from! the! upper! to! the! lower!
reaches,! but! these! processes! are! most! clearly! manifested! in! the! valleys! in! the! case! of! constant!
water! seepage! from! the! tunnels,! located! at! the! top.! The! basic! amount! of! 137Cs,! taken! out! with!
water!from!the!tunnel!cavities,!remains!near!the!portals,!often!on!gravel!and!rubble!filter.! 241Am!
and! 239+240Pu!with!water!flow!and!subsurface!runoff!extends!to!several!hundred!meters!from!the!
portal,! which! is! particularly! noticeable! in! the! case! of! the! powerful! water"saturated! layer! of! soil,!
lying!on!the!weathering!crust!of!solid!rock.!Fairly!high!migration!ability!of! 241Am!and! 239+240Pu!was!
unexpected,! confirmed! by! data! on! their! distribution! across! the! riverbed! as! well! as! depth.!
Radionuclide! 90Sr,! as! the! most! soluble! and! mobile! element,! is! able! to! spread! with! surface! and!
groundwater!within!the!unconsolidated!sediments!of!the!entire!valley.!
Despite! the! constant! removal! of! radionuclides! with! water! to! the! surfacewe! did! not! observe!
extremely! high! concentrations! in! environmental! media.! The! ratio! of! maximal! specific! activity! of!
radionuclides!in!the!water!to!specific!activity!of!radionuclides!in!the!soil!at!wellhead!areas!of!the!
tunnels!at!this!time!does!not!exceed!for!90Sr!"!10"3,!137Cs!"!10"5,!241Am!"!10"4!and!239+240Pu!"!10"6.!
A! specific! focus! of! radionuclides! migration! in! soils! of! the! valleys! is! due! to! peculiar!
geomorphological!conditions,!but!the!distance!they!travel!depends!on!the!initial!content!in!tunnel!
water,! slope! and! flow! intensity.! Chemical! properties! of! these! elements! are! important! in!
distribution!of!radionuclides,!that!is,!the!species!of!radionuclides!in!tunnels!water,!as!well!as!their!
interaction! with! soil! and! terrain.! It! should! be! noted! that! the! ecosystem! surface! water! "! soils! "!
groundwater! itself! is! very! dynamic,! and! artificial! radionuclides! to! be! found! in! this! system,are!
complementary!to!its!non"equilibrium!by!processes!of!sorption,!desorption.!
!
The!length!of!the!watercourses!of!the!tunnels!usually!can!be!tens!and!hundreds!of!meters,!but!the!
radionuclides!remain!within!the!mountain.!The!main!reason!for!their!sudden!disappearance!within!
the! valleys! is! the! presence! of! cracks,! small! and! large! faults,! by! which! water! is! drained! into! an!
underground!pool,!however,!reduction!of!soils! contamination!in!the!valleys!of!the!streams!from!
tunnel!portals,!especially!with!water!seepage!down!the!riverbed!is!caused!not!only!by!geological!
and!geomorphological!conditions!of!the!site!as!well!as!chemical!characteristics!of!these!elements,!
but!also!physical!and!chemical!properties!of!soil,!which!absorb!and!retain!these!radionuclides.!
Thus,! despite! the! complexity! of! the! processes! taking! place! in! this! ecosystem,! artificial!
radionuclides! remain! within! «Degelen»! test! site! and! do! not! flow! beyond! its! borders! with! the!
surface,!subsurface!runoff.!
!
!
!
PROMPT!MEASUREMENT!OF!C"14!IN!GASEOUS!RELEASES!OF!NUCLEAR!POWER!
PLANTS!
I.!SVETLIK1,2,!V.MICHALEK2,!M.!FEJGL2!AND!L.!TOMASKOVA1!
1
Nuclear!Physics!Institute,!Czech!Republic!
National!Radiation!Protection!Institute,!Czech!Republic!
2
!
Radiocarbon! is! responsible! for! a! major! contribution! to! the! collective! effective! dose! from! all!
radionuclides!released!by!nuclear!power!plants!(NPP)!with!light"water!pressurized!reactors!(LWPR)!
during!normal!operation.!The!monitoring!of!gaseous!and!liquid!releases!from!NPPs!consists!from!
routine! determinations,! performed! by! NPP’s! staff,! and! also! extended,! supervisory,! sampling!
performed! by! research! institutions.! Monitoring! of! 14C! in! stack! air! of! NPPs! is! based! on! 14CO2!
accumulation! in! 3M! NaOH! solution.! Combustible! 14C! chemical! forms! (with! prevailing! 14CH4)! are!
transformed! into! 14CO2! utilizing! catalytic! combustion.! Activity! of! 14C! combustible! forms! is!
subsequently!calculated!as!a!difference!of!sum!of!all!chemical!forms!and!14CO2.!Activities!of!14C!are!
usually! measured! by! liquid! scintillation! counting! of! BaCO3! precipitate! in! suspension! with!
scintillation! cocktail.! Several! years! ago! we! started! to! examine! direct! measurement! of! exposed!
NaOH!solution!as!a!preliminary!determination!of!14C!activity.!For!this!purpose!we!are!measuring!in!
counting! window! above! maximal! energy! of! tritium! beta! emissions! (3H! occurs! in! such! samples!
frequently).!To!avoid!overestimation!given!by!presence!of!other!interfering!radionuclides!we!are!
applying!indication!methods!based!on:!(1)!spectrum!check!in!regions!above!maximal!energy!of!14C!
and! (2)! repeated! measurement! one! week! later! at! minimum.! The! value! obtained! by! “BaCO3!
routine”!would!be!preferred!when!presence!of!interfering!radionuclides!will!be!indicated.!In!our!
contribution! the! results! of! 14C! determination! utilizing! BaCO3! precipitation! and! applying! direct!
measurement!of!exposed!NaOH!solution!will!be!compared!and!discussed.!
!
!
A!COMPARATIVE!STUDY!OF!PU!AND!AM!MIGRATION!CAPABILITY!IN!CLAY!AND!
SOIL!MATRIXES!
G.!LUJANIEN)1,!P.!BENEŠ2,!K.!ŠTAMBERG2,!J.!ŠA P O L A IT ) 1,!E.!RADŽI:TE;1!AND!T.!S*IGLO1!
1
SRI!Center!for!Physical!Sciences!and!Technology,!Lithuania!
2
Czech!Technical!University,!Czech!Republic!
!
Comparative! study! of! americium! and! plutonium! sorption! to! natural! matrixes! of! different! origin!
containing!various!amounts!of!organic!substances!(from!0.034!to!12.5%)!was!carried!out!with!the!
aim! of! estimation! of! their! migration! capability! in! the! environment.! Plutonium! and! americium!
sorption! to! three! well! characterized! samples! of! Triassic! clay! at! trace! concentrations! was!
investigated! in! laboratory! experiments! as! a! function! of! pH! and! composition! of! solutions! and!
contact! time.! The! character! of! Pu! and! Am! bonding! to! the! clay! samples! was! investigated! by!
sequential! extraction! (SE).! Solvent! extraction! techniques! (using! TTA,! HDEHP,! DBM! and! PMBP),!
ultrafiltration! and! alpha! spectrometry! as! well! as! ICP"MS! were! employed! to! characterize! the!
oxidation! states! of! the! formed! plutonium! species.! In! addition,! two! Chernobyl! soil! cores! 5! cm! in!
diameter!and!7!cm!in!depth!were!analyzed!on!the!vertical!distribution!of!Pu!and!Am,!their!bonding!
to!soil!components!as!well!as!on!Pu!oxidation!state!distribution!in!the!soil!layers.!
Experimental! data! obtained! from! laboratory! and! field! observations! was! used! in! modeling.! The!
kinetic!curves! were! evaluated! by! fitting! the! experimental! data! with! six! different! types! of! kinetic!
models! derived! for! the! following! six! control! processes:! mass! transfer! (DM),! film! diffusion! (FD),!
diffusion! in! the! inert! layer! (ID),! diffusion! in! reacted! layer! (RLD),! chemical! reaction! (CR)! and! gel!
diffusion!(GD).!The!modeling!results!have!indicated!that!kinetics!of!sorption!of!Pu(IV)!and!Am(III)!
to!natural!clay!materials!is!controlled!by!diffusion!in!the!so"called!inert!layer!of!solid!phase!(ID).!
The!control!process!of!chemical!reaction!(CR)!found!for!Pu!sorption!on!clay!7!containing!carbonate!
minerals! is! an! exception.! The! analyses! of! data! obtained! from! sorption! experiments,! field!
observations! and! speciation! of! radionuclides! have! indicated! a! slightly! higher! migration! potential!
for!Am!both!in!the!Chernobyl!soil!and!the!natural!clay!minerals.!
Acknowledgements.! The! research! was! supported! by! the! Agency! for! Science,! Innovation! and!
Technology!of!the!Republic!of!Lithuania!(contract!No.!TAP"36/2010)!and!the!Research!council!of!
Lithuania!(contract!No.!TAP"54/2010)!as!well!as!by!the!Ministry!of!Education!of!the!Czech!Republic!
(contract!No.!MSM!6840770020).!The!financial!support!is!greatly!acknowledged.!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
UNDERGROUND!MIGRATION!OF!ARTIFICIAL!RADIONUCLIDES!BEYOND!THE!
DEGELEN!MOUNTAINS!
S.!B.!SUBBOTIN1,!S.!N.!LUKASHENKO1,!V.!V.!KASHIRSKIY1,!Y.!Y.!YAKOVENKO1!AND!L.V.!BAHTIN2!
1
National!Nuclear!Center!of!the!Republic!of!Kazakhstan,!Kazakhstan!
2
Institute!of!Geophysical!Research,!Kazakhstan!
!
For! the! territory! of! the! Semipalatinsk! test! site! (STS)! the! issue! of! distribution! of! radioactive!
products!from!underground!nuclear!explosions!(UNE)!with!a!flow!of!groundwater!outside!the!test!
areas!is!critically!important!with!respect!to!Degelen!site.!Primarily!this!is!due!to!the!peculiarities!of!
the!geological!structure!and!hydrogeological!conditions!of!Degelen!Mountain,!which!determined!
the! mechanism! of! groundwater! contamination! and! conditions! of! further! artificial! radionuclides!
migration!in!water!bodies.!It!should!be!noted!that!the!groundwater!of!the!area!is!marked!by!the!
highest!value!of!the!content!of!artificial!radionuclides,!greatly!exceeding!the!permissible!values!for!
drinking!water!(137<s!up!to!700!Bk/l,! 90Sr!up!to!2000!kBq/l,! 3H!up!to!1300!kBq/l!and! 239+240Pu!up!to!
110!Bq/l).!!
Projected! estimates! made! based! on! current! knowledge! and! data! show! that! in! groundwater! of!
Degelen! Mountain! flowing! outside! the! central! zones! of! UNEs! in! the! absence! of! abrupt! changes!
there! will! be! slow! decrease! in! the! concentration! of! 90Sr! and! 137Cs! and! the! weak! increase! in!
concentration!of! 239+240Pu.!Thus,!it!is!possible!that!in!the!foreseeable!future!outside!the!"Degelen"!
test!area!significant!changes!in!radiological!environment!may!occur.!To!control!the!possible!entry!
of! contaminated! groundwater! from! the! sites! of! nuclear! tests! into! underground! water! of! clean!
areas,!as!well!as!for!rapid!detection!of!the!initial!stage!of!any!adverse!trends!in!the!development!
of! radio"ecological! situation,! the! main! areas! of! groundwater! withdrawal! beyond! the! Degelen!
Mountain!there!is!need!for!radioecological!study!of!groundwater!and!install!observation!wells!for!
long"term!groundwater!monitoring.!
This! problem! has! become! particularly! relevant! now! in! integrated! studies! for! the! possibility! of!
transferring!part!of!the!STS!territory!into!the!economy.!It!is!clear!that!to!fully!assess!the!safety!of!
potential!for!the!transfer!of!territory!it!is!required!not!only!data!on!the!concentrations!of!artificial!
radionuclides!in!groundwater!spreading!within!STS!test!grounds,!but!also!forecasts!the!possibility!
of!entry!of!contaminated!groundwater!from!the!UNE!venue!in!the!underground!waters!of!lands!to!
be!transferred.!This!review!article!presents!the!results!of!works!carried!out!by!NNC!RK!divisions!in!
different!years!to!study!this!problem.!
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MONITORING!RADON!EMISSION!ANOMALIES!AT!STROMBOLI!ISLAND!AS!
PRECURSORS!OF!ERUPTIVE!EVENTS!AND!VOLCANICALLY!INDUCED!EARTHQUAKES!
G.!GERVINO1,!A.!LAVAGNO2,!M.!LAIOLO3,!C.!CIGOLINI1,!D.!COPPOLA1!AND!C.!MARINO1!
1
University!of!Turin,!Italy!
Polytechnic!University!of!Turin,!Italy!
2
!
Geophysical!survey!is!actually!largely!employed!for!natural!hazard!and!geological!risk!mitigation!in!
many! different! natural! context.! ! The! real"time! monitoring! of! several! geochemical! and! physical!
parameters!!has!been!applied!especially!regarding!the!surveillance!of!volcanic!and!seismic!area.!In!
this! view,! monitoring! gas! emanation! from! soil! is! a! useful! tool! to! get! information! about! volcano!
activity,!fault!surveillance!as!well!as!the!analysis!of!the!hydrothermal!systems.!
Radon!emission!from!soil!at!Stromboli!Island!have!been!monitored!since!2000!up!to!present!days.!
We!measured!great!radon!anomalies!before,!during!and!after!the!major!eruptive!events!occurred!
along!the!last!ten!years!and!we!noticed!a!common!behaviour:!paroxysmal!eruptions!are!preceded!
by!relative!minima!in!radon!emission!at!stations!located!at!the!base!of!the!cone,!whereas!at!the!
summit! radon! concentration! reached! peak! values! (around! 20000! Bq/m3! or! higher! for! the! major!
volcanic! events)! 10"15! days! before! eruptions.! Radon! emissions! at! or! above! such! high! threshold!
values!are!proposed!to!result!from!the!dynamic!response!of!the!fracture!network!due!to!degassing!
process!associated!with!magma!!ascent.!We!explain!the!relative!minima!at!the!base!of!the!cone!
with!a!sort!of!“self"sealing”!effect!of!the!related!fractures!due!to!hydrothermal!system!eventually!
coupled! with! atmospheric! stack"effect! [1].! But! radon! anomalies! were! recorded! also! far! from!
eruptions.! Long! term! measurements! have! outlined! that! anomalies! are! also! related! to! structural!
setting! of! the! Island,! hydrothermal! feature! in! the! volcanic! field! and! volcanic! earthquakes! [2].!
Several! environmental! parameters! contribute! to! the! recorded! variations! of! radon! activity! and!
multiparametric! on"line! monitoring! network! is! collecting! data! of! atmospheric! pressure,! soil!
humidity,!air!and!soil!(1!m!depth)!temperature!together!with!radon!emission![3].!The!radon!data!
have! been! correlated! with! these! environmental! parameters! in! order! to! investigate! their!
contributions! to! fluctuations! of! radon! exhalation! from! soil.! We! present! for! the! first! time! the!
results! of! the! correlated! data! analysis! and! we! point! out! that! the! key! variable! to! investigate! the!
radon!transport!throughout!soils!and!consequently!explain!the!concentration!values!measured!at!
21! surface! stations! placed! on! Stromboli! flanks! along! its! main! faults,! is! the! emanation! factor.!
Emanation!factor!is!related!to!the!capability!of!radon!to!move!from!soil!grains!to!the!pores!!and!
has! been! evaluated! in! the! range! from! 0.002! to! 0.02.! Emanation! factor! shows! a! strict! positive!
correlation! with! seasonal! variation! of! radon! concentration! and! with! soil! thermal! gradient.!
Evidence! for! correlation! between! emanation! factor! and! soil! humidity! has! been! found:! data!
analysis! shows! soil! humidity! contributes! to! short"time! (few! ! hours)! drastic! radon! activity!
increment.!From!the!analysis!of!our!wide!set!of!data!we!propose!a!method!that!may!discriminate!
between!changes!in!radon!activity!due!to!“shallow!degassing”!effects,!regarding!soil"air!process,!
humidity!and!atmospheric!conditions,!and!variations!related!to!changes!in!volcanic!activity!and/or!
regarding!ascending!of!magma!towards!the!surface.!
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[1]!C.!Cigolini!et!al.,!Geophys.!Res.!Lett.!32!(2005)!L12308!
[2]!G.!Gervino!et!al.,!Physica!A!340!(2004)!402!
[3]!G.!Gervino!et!al.,!Nucl.!Instr.!and!Meth.!Phys.!Res.!A!518!(2004)!452!
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RADIONUCLIDES!SPECIES!IN!SOILS!OF!THE!WATERCOURSE!ECOSYSTEM!AT!
DEGELEN!MOUNTAIN!OF!FORMER!SEMIPALATINSK!TEST!SITE!
A.!E.!KUNDUZBAEVA,!A.!M.!KABDYRAKOVA!AND!S.!N.!LUKASHENKO!
National!Nuclear!Center!of!the!Republic!of!Kazakhstan,!Kazakhstan!
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This! paper! studies! the! species! of! artificial! radionuclides! 137Cs! and! 90Sr,! 241Am! and! 239+240Pu! in!
meadow! soil! of! the! watercourses! ecosystem! at! "Degelen"! site! of! the! former! Semipalatinsk! test!
site.!As!the!main!objects!of!study!we!selected!watercourse!ecosystems!of!tunnels!N176!and!177!at!
Degelen! Mountain.! To! determine! the! species! of! radionuclides! in! the! soil! we! used! well"known!
method! of! sequential! extraction,! which! is! based! on! selective! leaching! by! various! reagents! of!
radionuclides!compound!groups,!differing!in!the!degree!of!mobility.!In!ecosystem!soils!in!the!area!
of!tunnel!number!176!the!following!main!species!of! 137Cs!and! 90Sr!in!soil!were!identified:!water"
soluble,! exchange,! mobile! and! fixed,! in! soils,! we! used! for! this! purpose,! respectively,! reagents:!
distilled!water,!1!n.!solution!CH3COONH4,!1M!and!6M!solutions!of!HCl.!Number!of!radionuclides!
remaining!in!the!samples!of!soil!after!leaching,!were!classified!as!tightly!bound!form.!In!the!soils!of!
the!tunnel!area!N177!we!defined!the!forms!associated!with!soil!organic!matter!extracted!by!the!
solution!of!1!n.!NaOH.!The!study!of!the!species!of!transuranic!radionuclides! 241Am!and! 239+240Pu!in!
ecosystems!soils!around!the!tunnel!N177!was!carried!out!by!short!plan,!highlighting!the!exchange!
forms,!forms!associated!with!organic!matter,!mobile!and!tightly!bound!forms.!
In!order!to!characterise!the!meadow!soils!we!identified!such!indicators!of!physical!and!chemical!
properties! as! the! total! humus! content,! granulometric! composition,! pH! of! the! aqueous! extract!
(actual!acidity),!total!exchangeable!bases,!the!content!of!readily!soluble!salts!by!standard!methods!
in!soil!science.!Based!on!data!obtained!it!may!be!noted!that!the!soils!are!well!humus"containing,!
especially!in!the!centre!of!the!channel,!well!washed!from!soluble!salts!and!carbonates.!pH!of!the!
aqueous!suspension!is!rarely!neutral,!frequently!alkalescent!or!alkaline.!Cation!of!Ca!dominates!in!
the! soil! "! absorption! complex.! By! its! mechanical! makeup! on! the! site! of! a! detailed! survey! of! the!
watercourse!ecosystem!of!tunnel!N176!the!soils!are!mostly!loamy!and!sandy!loam,!rarely!medium!
loam,!while!watercourse!area!of!tunnel!N177!among!the!loose!deposits!medium!and!heavy!loam!
dominate!(according!to!Kachinskiy!classification).!
Conclusions!based!on!the!results!obtained!can!be!used!to!assess!and!forecast!the!species!of!the!
studied! radionuclides! in! the! meadow! soils! of! Degelen! Mountain! as! a! whole,! taking! into! account!
the!variability!of!soil!characteristics!and!nature!of!radioactive!contamination.!
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INSIGHTS!ON!RADON!SURVEYS!AT!STROMBOLI!VOLCANO!
M.!LAIOLO,!C.!CIGOLINI,!D.!COPPOLA!AND!G.!GERVINO!
University!of!Turin,!Italy!
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The!volcanoes!geochemical!survey!can!be!very!helpful!in!order!to!track!their!activity!and,!hence,!is!
one! of! the! mostly! used! for! the! mitigation! of! risk! in! volcanic! area.! With! the! aim! to! better!
investigate! the! relationship! between! volcanic! activity! and! in"soil! radon! concentration,! we!
deployed!in!May!2002!a!network!of!21!sampling!sites,!at!Stromboli!island.!Periodic!measurements!
were! made! by! means! of! two! different! passive! methods.! Both! instruments! give! integrated!
measurements! of! radon! activity! during! their! time! of! exposure.! EPERM®! electretes! have! been!
exposed! from! 2! to! 6! days! and! allow! us! to! record! short! (daily/weekly)! variations! in! radon!
emissions;! conversely,! LR115! tracketches! detectors! give! us! a! monthly! average! 222Rn!
concentrations.!
This! wide! surveys! on! a! large! sector! of! the! island! outline! the! occurrence! of! diffuse! degassing! at!
Stromboli;!noteworthy,!higher!222Rn!emissions!are!related!to!the!main!structural!alignment!and!to!
the! proximity! at! the! crater! area.! On! the! large! dataset! acquired! by! using! EPERM®! electrets! has!
been! applied! a! statistical! analyses! in! order! to! detect! the! background,! threshold! and! anomalous!
values!on!each!measurements!sites.!However,!considering!the!entire!network,!the!activity!values!
ranging!(in!space!and!in!time)!from!0.3!to!30!kBq/m3.!Track"etches!acquired!data!has!been!used!to!
construct! a! timeseries! on! the! 2002"2007! lapse! of! time.! Results! confirm! the! relation! between!
volcanic! activity! and! in"soil! 222Rn! activity;! particularly! the! higher! concentrations! was! recorded!
during!the!two!effusive!events!interesting!Stromboli!volcano!(Dec!28,!2002!–!Jul!21,!2003!and!Feb!
27! –! Apr! 2,!2007,! respectively).! During! the! considered! period! a! relation! between! seismic!events!
occurring!in!the!Southern!Tyrrhenian!area!and!radon!emissions!have!been!observed.!
Starting!from!April!2007,!the! 222Rn!measurements!at!Stromboli!are!acquired!in!real"time!thanks!to!
the! installation! of! two! multi"parametric! fully"automated! stations! capable! to! acquire! 222Rn!
concentration,! soil! temperature! and! atmospheric! pressure! values! each! 15! minutes.! Data! are!
instantaneously!transferred,!stored!and!visualized!in!a!PC!(that!can!be!remotely!checked)!placed!at!
COA!of!Stromboli.!The!automated!dataset!outline!the!influence!of!environmental!parameters!(e.g.!
soil!temperature!and!atmospheric!pressure)!on!the!capability!of! 222Rn!to!move!from!depth!to!the!
surface.! These! preliminary! results! are! very! useful! in! order! to! better! understand! the! radon!
transport!processes!trough!the!soil!and,!finally,!to!recognize!the!different!causes!able!to!promote!
variations!in!radon!emissions!in!volcanic!area.!
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ASSESSMENT!OF!GROUNDWATER!CONTAMINATION!WITH!TRITIUM!BY!ITS!
CONTENT!IN!THE!VEGETATION!COVER!AT!THE!TERRITORY!OF!FORMER!
SEMIPALATINSK!TEST!SITE!
N.!V.!LARIONOVA,!S.!N.!LUKASHENKO,!O.!N.!LYAKHOVA,!S.!B.!SUBBOTIN!AND!S.!A.!AIDARKHANOV!
National!Nuclear!Center!of!the!Republic!of!Kazakhstan,!Kazakhstan!
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One!of!the!problems!of!the!former!Semipalatinsk!test!site!is!the!groundwater!areas!contaminated!
with! radionuclide! 3H.! To! date,! the! concentration! of! 3H! in! the! groundwater! outside! the! Degelen!
Mountain! (former! "Degelen"! site)! is! tens! of! kilobecquerels! per! kilogram,! and! at! the! particular!
sectors! of! Shagan! River! the! concentration! reaches! hundreds! of! kilobecquerels! per! kilogram.!
Particular! importance! of! the! situation! is! endangered! by! including! the! latter! in! a! single!
hydrodynamic!system;!in!this!regard!the!problem!is!able!to!acquire!a!regional!character.!
Due!to!the!priority!of!this!issue!there!is!a!need!to!develop!a!method!that!would!allow!assessing!the!
content! of! 3H! in! the! ground! water! without! expensive! drilling.! In! this! work,! as! indicators! of! 3H!
content! in! the! groundwater! we! used! plants.! Vegetation! was! studied! by! separate! methods! of!
geobotanical! describe! with! the! allocation! of! major! types! of! vegetation! and! plant! species!
composition.!The!objects!of!study,!selection!of!which!was!based!on!their!classification!in!relation!
to! water,! were! the! representatives! of! hygrophytes,! mesophyte,! xerophyte,! as! well! as! a! special!
group!"!phreatophytes!with!deeply!penetrating!roots!reaching!the!ground!water.!The!test!samples!
of!herbaceous!plants!were!aboveground!parts!of!shrubs!and!trees!"!current!annual!increment,!the!
content! of! 3H! was! determined! in! the! free! water! of! plants.! For! a! comparative! analysis! of! the! 3H!
content! in! the! studied! plants! with! its! contents! in! groundwater! in! some! research! sites!
hydrogeological!wells!were!drilled!from!which!sampling!of!groundwater!was!made.!Measuring!the!
specific! activity! of! radionuclide! 3H! was! conducted! in! prepared! samples! by! the! method! of! liquid!
scintillation!spectrometry!for!TRI"CARB!2900!TR!liquid!scintillation!spectrometer.!
According!to!the!results!of!the!research,!there!was!determined!dependence!of!the!concentration!
of! 3H! in! the! plants! on! its! content! in! groundwater.! We! revealed! the! most! suitable! in! terms! of!
accumulative! bioindication,! plants:! reeds! (Phragmites! australis),! which! is! hygrophytes! and!
phreatophytes!"!poplar!(Populus!nigra),!willow!(Salix!triandra),!cheegrass!(Achnaterum!splendens),!
licorice! (Glycyrrhiza! uralensis)! and! salt! tree! (Halimodendron! halodendron).! The! assessment! was!
done!for!groundwater!contamination!with! 3H!flowing!beyond!Degelen!Mountain!by!its!content!in!
the!vegetation!cover.!
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OPTIMISATION!OF!SR"90/SR"89!MEASUREMENTS!
M.!HERRANZ,!R.!IDOETA!AND!F.!LEGARDA!
University!of!the!Basque!Country!(UPV/EHU),!Spain!
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In!the!case!of!an!emission!of!radionuclides!from!a!nuclear!installation,!90Sr!appears!with!89Sr,!both!
beta!emitters.!At!the!time!of!fission!the!ratio!of!89Sr/90Sr!activities!is!around!150.!
For! their! analysis! in! any! sample,! as! 89Sr! and! 90Sr! are! isotopes! of! the! same! element,! they! are!
isolated! together! in! the! radiochemical! extraction! process! of! Sr! and! 90Y! starts! growing! from! 90Sr,!
being!its!half!life!2.8!days.!Each!one!of!these!three!radionuclides!interferes!in!the!measurement!
process! of! the! others.! Making! two! different! measurements! of! the! sample,! following! the!
radiochemical!purification!process!of!Sr,!at!two!different!times,!t1!and!t2,!allows!the!calculation!of!
the!90Sr!activity!in!the!sample,!as!well!as!89Sr!activity.!
One!of!the!main!points!to!take!into!account!in!this!method!is!the!choice!of!the!times,!t1!and!t2,!at!
which!the!measurements!will!be!done.!The!choice!depends!on!the!required!detection!limits!and!
uncertainties.!That!is,!on!the!desired!quality!of!the!results!to!be!obtained.!!
In! this! work! formulae! to! calculate! the! 89Sr! and! 90Sr! activities! in! the! sample,! their! uncertainties,!
decision!thresholds!and!detection!limits!are!provided!as!a!function!of!t1!and!t2.!Establishing!t1,!the!
time! interval! between! measurements! and! the! initial! activities! of! 89Sr! and! 90Sr! as! independents!
variables,! an! analysis! of! the! behaviour! of! the! detection! limits! and! the! relative! uncertainties! has!
been! carried! out.! The! analysis! has! been! done! for! radiation! counting! carried! out! with! a! gas! flow!
proportional!counter.!And!different!conclusions!have!been!derived:!
"!the!detection!limit!as!well!as!the!relative!uncertainty,!for!both!radionuclides!increase!with!t1!and!
decreases!with!the!time!interval!between!measurements;!
"!the!relative!uncertainty!from!each!radionuclide!increases!with!the!activity!concentration!of!the!
other!one!and!decreases!with!its!own!activity!concentration;!
"!the!detection!limit!from!each!radionuclide!increases!with!the!activity!concentration!of!the!other!
one!and!does!not!depend!on!its!own!activity!concentration.!
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RADIOCHEMICAL!ANALYSIS!OF!WATERS!AND!MUD!OF!EUGANEAN!THERMAL!
DISTRICT!(PADUA)!
C.!CANTALUPPI,!A.!FASSON,!F.!CECCOTTO,!A.!CIANCHI!AND!S.!DEGETTO!
National!Research!Council,!Italy!
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The! area! around! the! Euganean! Hills! (North"East! Italy)! is! concerned! with! thermal! phenomena!
known!and!used!for!therapeutic!purposes!since!ancient!times.!
The!thermal!waters!collected!in!this!area!have!taken!a!natural!radionuclides!content!due!to!the!
leaching!of!hot!and!permeable!deep!rocks,!with!which!they!come!in!contact,!before!their!rising!to!
the!surface.!During!the!maturation!process!of!mud,!used!for!treatment!purposes,!the!contact!of!
thermal!waters!with!mud!results!in!an!enrichment!phenomenon!for!some!radionuclides.!
In!this!work!the!first!radiochemical!analysis!extended!to!all!Euganean!Thermal!District!is!reported.!
In!particular,!chemical!analyses!of!mud,!as!well!as!radiochemical!analyses!of!both!mud!and!waters!
were! performed;! also,! the! enrichment! of! the! radioisotopes! in! mud! used! for! treatments! was!
established.!
The!results! show!that! 226Ra!content!in!mud,!during!maturation!process,!presents!an!enrichment!
even!of!two!orders!of!magnitude!with!respect!to!the!value!found!in!the!unprocessed!mud.!
Furthermore,!in!the!same!thermal!waters,!high!concentrations!of!unsupported!222Rn!have!been!
found,!which!have!shown!to!be!not!negligible!both!for!people!under!treatment!and!particularly!for!
spa!workers.!
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FORMATION!OF!TRITIUM!CONTAMINATION!OF!AIR!BASIN!AT!THE!SITES!OF!
UNDERGROUND!NUCLEAR!EXPLOSIONS!AT!THE!FORMER!SEMIPALATINSK!TEST!
SITE!AREA!
O.!N.!LYAKHOVA,!S.!N.!LUKASHENKO!AND!N.!V.!LARIONOVA!
National!Nuclear!Center!of!the!Republic!of!Kazakhstan,!Kazakhstan!
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The!objectives!is!assessing!the!level!and!distribution!of!tritium!in!the!atmospheric!air!and!study!the!
formation! of! tritium! contamination! of! the! air! medium! on! the! sites! of! underground! nuclear!
explosions!at!the!Semipalatinsk!test!site!(STS)!within!the!Degelen!Mountain.!
During! the! period! of! testing! from! 1945! to! 1962! on! territory! of! Degelen! Mountain! in! horizontal!
mines! "! the! tunnels! 209! underground! nuclear! explosions! were! produced.! Many! tunnels! have!
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seasonal!water!seepage!in!the!form!of!streams,!through!which!there!is!removal!of!tritium!from!the!
UNE!venues!to!the!surface.!Concentration!of!tritium!in!streams!is!up!to!n*105!Bq/kg!of!order!of!
magnitude.!
Investigation! of! the! level! and! distribution! of! tritium! in! the! atmospheric! air! was! carried! by! the!
example!of!ecosystem!tunnels!N176!and!N177!with!water!seepage!located!in!Degelen!Mountain.!
The!main!feature!of!the!selected!sites!is!the!presence!of!tunnels!with!water!seepage!in!the!form!of!
an! open! watercourse! flowing! out! to! the! surface! at! the! tunnel! portal.! The! length! of! the!
watercourse!is!about!400"600!m,!with!a!gradual!drying!out!as!the!distance!from!the!portal.!The!
average!specific!activity!of!tritium!in!water!is!350!Bq/kg!and!550!Bq/kg!at!tunnels!N176!and!N177,!
respectively.!
As!objects!of!study,!we!chose!water,!vegetation,!soil!moisture!and!tunnel!air,!as!the!most!probable!
sources!of!contamination!of!the!air!with!tritium!in!the!area.!
Investigation! of! the! tritium! concentration! level! in! the! atmosphere! was! carried! out! through!
sampling!of!water!vapor,!and!further!liquid!scintillation!beta"spectrometric!analysis.!Sampling!of!
water!vapor!from!atmospheric!and!tunnel!air,!soil!moisture!was!carried!out!by!cryogenic!freezing.!
The! selection! of! plants! was! based! on! the! study! of! vegetation! by! individual! methods! of!
geobotanical! description! with! the! allocation! of! major! vegetation! types,! the! definition! of! a!
projective!cover!and!species!composition!of!plants!and!was!based!on!their!classification!in!relation!
to!moisture.!The!content!of!tritium!was!determined!in!the!free!water!of!plants.!
Investigation!of!the!level!and!distribution!of!tritium!in!air!in!the!vicinity!of!the!tunnels!with!water!
seepage!was!carried!out!by!assessing!the!concentration!of!tritium!in!the!air!along!the!watercourse!
of! tunnel! brook,! and! on! profiles! located! in! a! transverse! direction! relative! to! the! channel,! with!
gradual!leaving!from!it.!
During! the! study,! an! overall! picture! of! distribution! was! seen! which! is! typical! for! the! selected!
ecosystems! that! represents! the! isosurface! which! has! a! dome! shape! cross! section.! The! highest!
concentrations! of! tritium! in! the! atmosphere! are! typical! for! the! areas! where! tunnel! streams! are!
located! with! high! concentrations! of! tritium! in! water.! The! concentration! of! tritium! in! the!
atmosphere! is! significantly! reduced! with! increasing! the! distance,! both! along! the! channel! of! the!
tunnel!creek!and!aside!from!it.!
When! studying! the! basic! mechanisms! and! distribution! of! tritium! in! the! air! ecosystems! the!
following!mechanisms!were!identified!and!investigated:!
"!distribution!of!tritium!in!the!system!water!"!atmospheric!air;!
"!distribution!of!tritium!in!the!system!tunnel!air!"!atmospheric!air;!
"!distribution!of!tritium!in!the!system!soil!air!"!atmospheric!air;!
"!distribution!of!tritium!in!the!system!plant!"!atmospheric!air.!
Investigation! of! the! concentration! levels! of! tritium! in! air! of! Degelen! Mountain! in! locations! of!
tunnels!with!water!seepage!showed!that!the!contamination!of!the!atmosphere!with!tritium!in!the!
estuarine!areas!of!the!tunnels!was!formed!by!a!few!major!sources.!They!are!soil!air!in!places!of!
shallow!groundwater,!surface!water!and!vegetation.!The!main!areas!that!have!been!contaminated!
!
with!tritium!are!located!along!the!course!of!streams,!by!the!removal!of!tritium!with!watercourses!
from! tunnel! cavity.! Tritium! concentration! that! was! recorded! in! air! on! estuarine! areas! of! the!
tunnels!in!some!cases,!reaches!more!than!1000!Bq/m3!that!does!not!exceed,!but!is!close!to!the!
limit! of! allowable! annual! average! volume! activity! in! the! air! for! the! population,! which! equals! to!
1900!Bq/m3.!
The! results! of! this! work! will! allow! predictions! of! air! contamination! with! tritium! at! relatively!
contaminated!areas!at!the!nuclear!tests!sites,!as!well!as!in!activities!related!to!nuclear!industry.!
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!
STUDY!OF!RATIO!OF!PU"241!AND!AM"241!ACTIVITIES!IN!SOIL!OF!THE!MAIN!TEST!
GROUNDS!AT!STS!
V.!V.!KASHIRSKIY,!S.!N.!LUKASHENKO,!O!YU.!KOROVINA!AND!A.!N.!SHATROV!
National!Nuclear!Center!of!the!Republic!of!Kazakhstan,!Kazakhstan!
!
This!research!was!conducted!to!study!the!ratio!of! 241Pu/241Am!in!the!soil!at!the!main!test!grounds!
of!the!former!Semipalatinsk!test!site!(STS)!and!to!identify!the!areas!where!it!has!constant!nature.!
This!is!of!great!importance!during!radio"ecological!studies,!because!it!becomes!possible!to!assess!
the! concentration! of! 241Pu! by! the! results! of! the! gamma"spectrometric! analysis! of! 241Am,! which!
leads!to!a!significant!reduction!in!labour!costs,!due!to!the!fact!that!the!instrumental!determination!
of!241Am!is!much!easier!and!cheaper!than!the!radiochemical!determination!of!241Pu.!
In!order!to!determine!the!activity!of! 241Am!and! 241Pu!we!took!surface!soil!samples!from!the!main!
test!grounds!of!the!former!STS!(Degelen,!Atomic!Lake,!Experimental!field,!radiological!weapon!test!
ground).!
Measurements! of! 241Am! activity! were! done! by! instrumental! gamma"spectrometric! method!
employing!a!planar!(BE!2020)!germanium!detector!from!«CANBERRA»!company!by!three!parallel!
samples!weighing!200!g,!prepared!from!one!sample.!
To!determine!241Pu!concentration,!there!was!developed!and!tested!a!method!of!liquid!scintillation!
beta"spectrometric!determination!of!241Pu!activity.!The!detection!limit!was!20!Bq/kg.!
The!article!presents!the!results!of! 241Pu!and! 241Am!activity!measurements,!as!well!as!their!relation!
to!soil!of!main!test!grounds!of!the!former!STS.!These!ratios!range!from!1.3!to!18.9.!For!local!areas!
the! ratio! is! constant,! there! are! exceptions! only! for! "Radiological! weapon! test! ground"! and!
"Degelen"!site.!
Measurements! of! 241Pu! activity! were! performed! by! liquid"scintillation! using! a! liquid! scintillation!
beta"spectrometer! TRI"CARB! 2900! with! preliminary! radiochemical! separation! of! plutonium!
isotopes.!
!
PECULIARITIES!OF!RADIONUCLIDE!CONTAMINATION!OF!SHAGAN!RIVER!
A.!O.!AIDARKHANOV,!S.!N.!LUKASHENKO,!S.!B.!SUBBOTIN,!V.!I.!EDOMIN,!S.!V.!GENOVA!AND!N.V.!LARIONOVA!
National!Nuclear!Center!of!the!Republic!of!Kazakhstan,!Kazakhstan!
!
Shallow!Shagan!River!with!the!feeder!Ashisu!is!the!main!river!artery!in!the!territory!of!the!former!
Semipalatinsk! test! site.! It! is! a! left"bank! tributary! of! the! Irtysh! River,! flows! along! the! eastern!
boundary!of!the!test!site.!
On! January! 15,! 1965! at! the! confluence! of! the! rivers! Shagan! and! Ashisu! at! a! depth! of! 178! m!
thermonuclear!explosion!with!ejection!of!the!soil!was!produced.!The!blast!created!a!crater!with!
diameter! along! the! crest! of! 408! m,! 100! m! deep! and! a! volume! of! 10! million! m3.! After! filling! the!
crater! water! reservoir! was! created! that! was! named! "Atomic"! lake.! From! the! earliest! days! this!
object! has! been! subject! to! strict! radiation! control.! For! example,! it! is! known! that! the! level! of!
gamma!radiation!in!the!vicinity!of!the!crater!by!the!end!of!the!first!day!was!up!to!0.3!Sv/h,!in!10!
days!"!dropped!to!0.01!Sv/h,!and!currently!at!20"30!mSv/h!,!which!is!2!orders!of!magnitude!higher!
than!the!natural!background!radiation.!However,!even!at!distances!of!1"2!km!from!the!crest!of!the!
crater!level!of!gamma!radiation!decreases!to!background!values.!The!same!pattern!was!observed!
with!the!content!of!radionuclides! 241Am,! 239+240Pu,! 137Cs,! 90Sr,! 152Eu,! 154Eu!in!the!soil,!although! in!
the! zone! of! soil! pile! their! concentrations! are! thousands! of! Bq/kg.! Artificial! radionuclides!
concentrations! in! the! water! at! the! outlet! of! the! «atomic»! lake! now! are! below! the! permissible!
levels!defined!in!Radiation!Safety!Standards!of!the!Republic!of!Kazakhstan!and!are!not!dangerous.!
According!to!the!works!done!it!was!found!that!at!the!interval!of!4!to!5!km!from!the!"Atomic"!lake!
there! is! discharge! of! groundwater! contaminated! with! tritium! into! the! surface! watercourse! of!
Shagan! River.! The! source! of! contamination,! apparently,! is! the! groundwater! migrating! from! the!
warfare! wells! of! "Balapan"! site! where! in! the! period! from! 1961! to! 1989! 131! underground! high!
power! nuclear! explosions! were! conducted! (up! to! 150! kilotons! of! TNT! equivalent)! in! vertical!
excavations!"!boreholes.!The!specific!activity!of! 3H!in!water!at!this!site!reaches!680!kBq/kg.!Such!
water! is! actually! a! liquid! radioactive! waste.! This! site! is! a! source! of! secondary! contamination! of!
ecosystem!components!with!tritium,!such!as!air,!plants!and!livestock!products.!
Currently,!the!Institute!of!Radiation!Safety!and!Ecology!NNC!has!initiated!a!program!to!transfer!the!
lands! of! the! former! test! site! that! are! not! affected! by! nuclear! testing! into! commercial! use.! The!
discovered!fact!of!that!significant!radioactive!contamination!of!the!Shagan!River!stretch!dictates!
holding! a! range! of! other! activities! aimed! at! the! removal! of! potentially! hazardous! lands! from!
commercial!use.!
At!the!present!day!studies!are!being!performed!on!nature!of!the!areal!tritium!distribution!in!the!
groundwater!of!the!territory!adjacent!to!the!Shagan!River.!
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RAPID!MEASUREMENT!OF!PU"241!ACTIVITY!AT!ENVIRONMENTAL!LEVELS!USING!
LOW"LEVEL!LIQUID!SCINTILLATION!ANALYSIS!
J."S.!OH,!P.!WARWICK!AND!I.!CROUDACE!
National!Oceanography!Centre,!United!Kingdom!
!
A!straightforward!and!rapid!method!has!been!developed!for!the!determination!of!241Pu!activities.!
Pu!is!chemically!separated!from!the!sample,!purified!and!electrodeposited!to!produce!a!source!for!
alpha! spectrometric! determination! of! 238Pu! and! 239,240Pu.! Pu! is! stripped! from! the! disc! with!
concentrated! nitric! acid! and! extracted! into! TOPO/toluene.! The! organic! extract! is! then! mixed!
directly!with!commercial!liquid!scintillant!without!any!further!preparation!and!the!sample!counted!
on! a! Wallac! 1220! Quantulus! liquid! scintillation! counter.! 241Pu! activity! is! estimated! via! the! 242Pu!
yield! monitor! acquired! by! alpha! spectrometry! measurement.! Experimental! results! for! the!
performance!testing!of!a!low"level!liquid!scintillation!spectrometer!(Quantulus!1220)!and!the!data!
for!the!evaluation!of!the!method!using!standard!reference!materials!are!presented.!
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!
RADIOCARBON!CONSTRAINTS!FOR!SOIL!CARBON!ACCUMULATION!AND!CARBON!
RELEASE!OF!BOREAL!FORESTS!AND!TUNDRA!ECOSYSTEM!IN!ALASKA!
M.!KONDO1,!M.!UCHIDA1,!Y.!KIM2,!Y.!TAKAHASHI1,!T.!SHINOZAKI1,!3,!M.!UTSUMI3!AND!Y.!SHIBATA1!
1
National!Institute!of!Environmental!Study,Japan!
2
University!of!Alaska,!USA!
3
University!of!Tsukuba,!Japan!
!
High"latitude! soil! organic! carbon! (SOC)! stocks! are! of! particular! interest! because! warming! is!
expected! to! be! greatest,! thawing! permafrost! and! induce! acceleration! of! SOC! decomposition! at!
high!latitudes,!raising!questions!about!the!fate!of!SOC.!However,!merely!knowing!the!size!of!the!
reservoir! of! carbon! stored! soils! in! sufficient! for! predicting! its! potential! to! influence! atmospheric!
CO2!concentrations.!We!must!know!something!about!soil!carbon!dynamics!in!high"latitudes.!Soil!
and!soil!CO2!above!the!permafrost!were!collected!along!the!Dalton!Highway,!between!Fairbanks!
and! Deadhorse! near! the! Arctic! coast.! The! observation! area! extends! from! Tundra! in! the! Arctic!
coast,! mountain! area! in! the! Brooksrange,! then! boreal! forests! in! the! south! of! Brooksrange.! ! We!
measure!C!contents!of!SOC!and!the!radiocarbon!age!of!SOC!and!ecosystem!respiration.!Thick!moss!
and!detrital!layers!were!found!in!poorly!drained!soils.!!According!to! 14C!data,!the!thickness!of!the!
recent!detritus!accumulated!after!1960s’!were!from!10!cm!to!14!cm!in!boreal!forests!and!from!8!
cm! to! 13! cm! in! Tundra! ecosystem.! Bomb! 14C! contents! and! TOC! down! profiles! suggested! that!
boreal! forests! had! large! amount! of! SOC! above! permafrost! and! high! accumulation! rates! which!
corresponded! to! 6.6! –! 8.2! kg! m"2! for! past! 60! years.! We! also! discuss! origin! of! soil! respired! CO2!
based!on!14C!in!this!conference.!
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RADIOACTIVITY!IN!GROUNDWATER!FROM!THE!SOUTH"EASTERN!UNITED!ARAB!
EMIRATES!
A.!MURAD1,!A.!ALDAHAN1,2,!X.!L.!HOU3,!S.!HUSSEIN1!AND!G.!POSSNERT2!!
1
United!Arab!Emirates!University,United!Arab!Emirates!
2
Uppsala!University,!Sweden!!
3
Technical!University!of!Denmark,!Denmark!
!
Groundwater!composes!a!vital!resource!in!arid!regions,!including!the!UAE,!where!identification!of!
its! quality! and! origin! is! indispensable.! Two! main! (shallow! and! deep)! groundwater! sources! are!
commonly! recognized! in! the! southeastern! UAE.! The! origin! of! the! shallow! sources! is! related! to!
surface! recharge,! whereas! the! source! of! the! deep! groundwater! is! rather! obscure.! Groundwater!
was! sampled! from! wells! (deep! source)! drilled! in! fractured! carbonate! rocks! along! the! foothill! of!
about! 1200! m! absl! high! mountain! (Jabel! Hafit)! and! wells! (shallow! source)! drilled! in! clastic!
sediments!from!a!nearby!plain!(Al!Jawa!Plain).!Water!from!the!mountain!foothill!is!rather!warm!
(thermal! water)! and! commonly! used! for! recreational! activities,! artificial! ponds! and! watering.!
Groundwater!of!the!plain!region!is!commonly!used!for!agriculture!and!household.!A!combination!
of! chemical! composition! and! radioactivity! were! used! to! characterize! the! water! types.! Relatively!
high! temperature! (up! to! 50! °C)! and! high! TDS! (up! to! 7000! mg/L)! associate! the! thermal! water!
compared!to!the!groundwater!of!the!plain!(T!<35oC!and!TDS!<350!mg/L).!The!thermal!water!also!
shows!relatively!high!concentration!of!chloride!and!sodium!as!well!as!bicarbonate!and!sulphate.!
Results!of!the!radioactivity!measurements!indicate!wide!difference!between!the!two!water!types.!
The! thermal! groundwater! is! characterized! by! 2"3! orders! of! magnitude! higher! concentration! of!
222
Rn!and!226Ra!than!the!groundwater!from!the!plain!region.!Similarly!is!the!range!of!variability!for!
gross!alpha,!but!the!gross!gamma!activity!indicates!only!1!order!of!magnitude!difference!between!
the!two!water!types.!The!high!radioactivity,!temperature!and!salinity!of!the!thermal!groundwater!
suggest!transport!through!radioactively"richer!and!likely!deeper!aquifers!than!the!groundwater!of!
the!plain.!The!thermal!water!may!reflect!signature!of!deep!basinal!fluids!along!the!southeastern!
part!of!the!Oman!ophiolite!zone.!
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I"129!ENVIRONMENTAL!POLLUTION!IN!THE!BALTIC!SEA!
A.!ALDAHAN1,2,!P.!YI1,!X.!L.!HOU3!AND!G.!POSSNERT1!
1
Uppsala!University,!Sweden,!!
United!Arab!Emirates!University,United!Arab!Emirates!
3
Technical!University!of!Denmark,!Denmark!
2
!
Concern! about! discharge! and! entrapment! of! pollutants! in! the! Baltic! Sea! has! been! going! on! for!
many!years!and!governmental!agencies!and!scientists!are!putting!a!lot!of!effort!to!delineate!the!
problems! and! find! remedial! measures.! In! some! cases,! the! pollutant! may! not! pose,! at! present,! a!
direct!environmental!threat,!but!evaluation!of!its!concentration!and!distribution!paths!in!the!Baltic!
Sea!are!necessary!in!order!to!avoid!unpredicted!environmental!problem!in!the!future.!An!example!
of! such! situation! is! given! by! the! radioactive! isotope! iodine"129.! Despite! reports! showing! 1000"
10000! higher! than! natural! values! increase! of! the! isotope! concentrations! in! the! Baltic! Sea,!
investigations!of!the!isotope!spatial!and!temporal!variability!are!sparse.!!The!relatively!long!half"
life!(=16!million!years)!may!reduce!the!radioactivity!dose!effect!in!the!environment.!Nevertheless,!
caution!about!radioactive!pollution!and!detailed!studies!of!the!isotope!load!in!the!Baltic!Sea!are!
indispensable.! We! here! present! results! from! a! regional! survey! of! the! isotope! variability! in! the!
Baltic!Sea!water!during!2007!and!2008.!The!data!reveal!large!differences!in! 129I!concentration!and!
suggest!that!over!time!of!about!50!years!there!has!been!an!increase!in!the!basins!of!Kattegat!and!
Baltic! Proper! whereas! the! concentration! remained! rather! constant! or! partly! decreased! in! the!
Skagerrak!Basin.!Standing!crop!(inventory)!of! 129I!in!the!water!of!the!basins!sums!up!to!a!total!of!
30"40!kg,!residing!differently!in!the!water!layers.!Model!calculation!indicates!that!the!major!source!
of! the! isotope! is! seawater! inflow! from! the! North! Sea,! but! some! input! is! also! supplied! from!
sediment!releases!particularly!in!the!relatively!anoxic!deep!parts!of!the!Baltic!Sea.!The!sediment!
release! can! add! more! 129I! to! the! Baltic! Sea! water! in! a! future! globally! warmer! climate.! Presently!
there!is!no!concise!on!the!129I!cycling!in!the!different!compartments!(water"biota"sediment)!of!the!
Baltic! Sea,! which! is! crucial! to! the! estimate! of! present! and! future! radioactivity! hazards! resulting!
from!129I!intake!and!effects!on!the!human!body.!
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ENVIRONMENTAL!IMPLICATIONS!OF!ANTHROPOGENIC!I"129!IN!THE!NORDIC!SEAS!
V.!ALFIMOV1,!A.!ALDAHAN2,3,!AND!G.!POSSNERT2!
1
ETH!Zurich,!Switzerland!
Uppsala!University,!Sweden,!!
3
United!Arab!Emirates!University,United!Arab!Emirates!
2
!
!
Large!amounts!of!the!radioactive!iodine"129!isotope!have!been!accumulating!and!circulating!in!the!
Nordic! Seas! since! the! beginning! of! the! nuclear! era.! Although! the! anthropogenic! input! of! the!
isotope! may! not! produce! radioactive! ecological! hazards,! information! about! concentration! and!
inventory! is! vital! for! evaluation! of! existing! situation! and! application! to! identification! of! water!
masses! and! circulation! in! the! region.! We! present! here! data! about! distribution! of! 129I! in! several!
water!depth!profiles!(ranging!from!the!surface!to!about!900!m)!collected!in!the!Nordic!Seas!during!
the!period!of!May"June!2002.!In!general,!the!results!indicate!that!concentrations!in!the!top!100!m!
of!the!Nordic!Seas!are!1,000"50,000!times!more!than!the!natural!level!(~4x105!atoms! 129I/L)!and!
have! usually! a! downward! gradient! with! depth,! reaching! at! 900! m! 1,000"3,000! times! the! natural!
level.! The! North! Atlantic! inflows! away! from! the! European! coastline! are! even! lower! in! 129I,!
exhibiting! only! 50"150! times! of! natural! level.! In! addition! to! the! wide! range! of! variability! in! the!
isotope!concentration!depth!wise,!there!is!also!a!quite!distinctive!signature!of!water!masses!and!
their! circulation! pattern! in! the! Nordic! seas.! Before! entering! the! Barents! Sea,! the! 129I"rich! water!
masses!spilt!into!two!branches,!one!diverts!towards!the!Barents!Sea!and!other!one!follows!with!
the!West!Spitzbergen!Current!towards!the!Fram!Strait!and!into!the!Arctic!Ocean.!Although!most!of!
anthropogenic! 129I! resides! in! the! Arctic! Ocean,! some! of! it! together! with! that! recirculated! with!
return! water! masses! from! the! West! Spitzbergen! Current! enter! into! the! East! Greenland! Current.!
This! 129I! further! travels! across! the! Denmark! Strait! and! increases! 129I! concentration! in! the! water!
masses.! ! The! anthropogenic! 129I! contamination! provides! clear! signature! of! water! outflows! from!
the!Denmark!Strait!that!further!continues!into!the!North!Atlantic.!Our!data!also!support!another!
source! of! 129I! back! contamination! into! the! North! Atlantic! through! deep! outflows! at! the! Faeroe!
Bank!Channel.!
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TECTONIC!AND!GEOLOGICAL!CONTROLS!ON!SOIL!GAS!RADON!IN!SEISMICALLY!
ACTIVE!AREAS!OF!DHARAMSHALA!AND!CHAMBA!REGION!OF!HIMACHAL!PRADESH,!
INDIA!
V.!ARORA1,!B.!SINGH!BAJWA1,!S.!SINGH1!AND!G.!S.!GILL2!
1
Guru!Nanak!Dev!University,!India!
2
Punjab!University,!India!!
!
Radon!is!a!radioactive!gas!which!makes!the!primary!contribution!to!the!natural!radiation!to!which!
people!are!exposed.!Considering!its!carcinogenic!health!effects,!great!importance!is!attributed!to!
the!determination!of!radon!concentration!levels!in!water,!indoor!air!and!soil!gas.!In!this!present!
investigation,!wide!range!of!soil!gas!Radon!measurements!in!different!formations! were!made!in!
Chamba! and! Dharamshala,! Himachal! Pradesh,! India! in! order! to! establish! possible! correlation!
between! soil! gas! Radon! concentration! and! geology/active! tectonics! of! study! region.! It! has! been!
observed! that! Radon! emission! is! strongly! influenced! by! deep! seated! thrusts! and! various!
lithological!units!present!in!the!study!area.!
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CA"41,!C"14!AND!BE"10!CONCENTRATIONS!IN!CORAL!CACO3!FROM!THE!NUCLEAR!
TEST!SITE!BIKINI!ATOLL!DETERMINED!WITH!LOW!ENERGY!AMS!
J.!LACHNER,!V.!ALFIMOV,!M.!CHRISTL,!P.!KUBIK,!T.!SCHULZE"KÖNIG,!I.!HAJDAS,!L.!WACKER!AND!H."A.!SYNAL!
ETH"Zurich,!Switzerland!
!
Measurements!of!the!activation!of!materials!exposed!to!nuclear!bomb!explosions!are!widely!used!
to!reconstruct!the!neutron!flux!(DS02,!2005).!Especially!in!biological!material!the!concentrations!of!
radioisotopes!like!41Ca!can!be!used!for!retrospective!dosimetry![1,!2].!
At!the!low"energy!AMS!facilities!of!ETH!Zurich!a!variety!of!long"lived!radioisotopes!can!be!studied,!
e.g.! 10Be![3],! 14C![4]!and! 41Ca![5].!In!several!sediment!samples!from!the!Bikini!atoll!the! 41Ca/40Ca!
and!14C/12C!ratios!and!also!the!10Be!concentration!have!been!measured.!Elevated!values!have!been!
found! for! all! isotopes! in! a! highly!contaminated!sample! from! the!crater! of! the! high! yield! nuclear!
explosion!Castle!Bravo!(1954).!The!results!are!compared!with!existing!Plutonium!isotope!ratio!and!
activity!concentration!data!of!the!same!samples![6].!
In! the! special! assembly! of! a! high! yield! nuclear! explosion! on! top! of! a! coral! island! the! available!
targets!for!the!production!of!41Ca,!14C!and!10Be!are!the!coral!CaCO3!(possibly!containing!also!other!
target! nuclides)! and! H2O.! Predominantly! the! radionuclides! initially! produced! in! the! CaCO3!
molecule! are! expected! to! be! at! least! partially! preserved! in! the! present"day! sediment,! which!
consists! almost! exclusively! of! coarse! grained! CaCO3! sand.! The! aim! of! this! study! is! to! test! the!
!
applicability!of!the!coral!CaCO3!as!a!biogenic!neutron!flux!dosimeter!for!this!case.!In!a!first!step!the!
measured!values!of!the!radionuclides!are!compared!to!the!expected!concentrations!from!the!cross!
sections!for!their!respective!production!from!a!pure!CaCO3!target.!The!results!indicate!that!more!
complex! scenarios! than! a! simple! CaCO3! irradiation! have! to! be! discussed,! e.g.! input! from! other!
production!processes,!from!further!targets!in!the!coral,!from!the!following!bomb!tests!at!the!same!
site!or!from!subsequent!bioproductivity.!
!
[1]! A.! Wallner! et! al.! (2010),! Ca"41! in! Tooth! Enamel.! Part! I:! A! Biological! Signature! of! Neutron!
Exposure!in!Atomic!Bomb!Survivors,!Radiation!Research!174,!137"145!
[2]! W.! Rühm! et! al.! (2010),! Ca"41! in! Tooth! Enamel.! Part! II:! A! Means! for! Retrospective! Biological!
Neutron!Dosimetry!in!Atomic!Bomb!Survivors,!Radiation!Research!174,!146"154!
[3]!A.!M.!Müller!et!al.!(2010),!Competitive!Be"10!measurements!below!1!MeV!with!the!upgraded!
ETH"TANDY! AMS! facility,! Nuclear! Instruments! and! Methods! in! Physics! Research! B! 268! (17"18),!
2801–2807!
[4]! H."A.! Synal! et! al.! (2007),! MICADAS:! A! new! compact! radiocarbon! AMS! system,! Nuclear!
Instruments!and!Methods!in!Physics!Research!B!259!(1),!7"13!
[5]!T.!Schulze"König!et!al.!(2010),!Comparison!of!Ca"41!analysis!on!0.5!MV!and!5!MV"AMS!systems,!
Nuclear!Instruments!and!Methods!in!Physics!Research!B!268!(7"8),!752–755!
[6]! J.! Lachner!et! al.!(2010),! Isotopic! signature! of! Plutonium! at! Bikini! atoll,! Applied!Radiation! and!
Isotopes!68,!979"983!
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!
!
INDOOR!RADON!CONCENTRATION!MEASUREMENTS!USING!ELECTRET!ION!
CHAMBER!MONITORS!
T.!O.!SANTOS1,!Z.!ROCHA1,!A.!A.!BARRETO1,!A.!F.!DIAS1,!M.!G.!MARTINS!LINHARES1!AND!A.!H.!DE!OLIVEIRA2!
1
Nuclear!Technology!Development!Center"CNEN,!Brasil!
2
Federal!University!of!Minas!Gerais!(UFMG),!Brasil!
!
Radon! has! been! receiving! considered! global! attention! because! of! the! radiation"induced! public!
health! hazards.! To! address! this! concern,! indoor! radon! concentration! measurements! were!
performed!in!the!Metropolitan!Region!of!Belo!Horizonte,!Brazil!by!using!the!E"PERM®!Electret!Ion!
Chamber!method.!It!also!presents!a!preliminary!characterization!of!the!radioactivity!in!the!main!
radon! sources:! soil! and! building! construction! material.! Most! part! of! the! inhabitants! of! this! area!
lives!in!a!granitic!bedrock!region,!which!has!higher!uranium!contents!than!the!average!value!for!
the! earth! crustal! and! consequently,! radon! potential! production.! The! results! show! a! general! log"
!
normal! distribution! for! the! indoor! radon! concentration,! with! an! average! value! of! 108! Bq! m"3,!
standard!deviation!of!170!Bq!m"3,!median!of!70!Bq!m"3!and!geometric!mean!equal!to!76!Bq!m"3.!
About!15%!of!these!results!are!over!the!United!States!Environmental!Protection!Agency!(U.S.!EPA)!
action!level,!which!is!148!Bq!m"3.!The!equilibrium!factor!(F)!was!determined!in!14!typical!dwellings!
by! using! a! solid! state! alpha! spectroscope,! the! DOSEman! PRO! (Sarad),! for! radon! progeny! and!
simultaneously!with!a!continuous!detector!AlphaGUARD!PQ200PRO!(Saphymo!GmbH),!in!passive!
mode,!for!radon!gas.!It!was!found!an!average!equilibrium!factor!of!the!0.3.!Measurements!of!soil!
gas!radon!concentration!were!carried!out!with!AlphaGUARD!PQ200PRO!(Saphymo!GmbH),!in!flow!
mode,! and! the! average! was! found! to! be! 34! kBq! m"3.! The! radionuclide! activity! concentrations! in!
construction! material! samples! were! measured! through! Neutron! Activation! Analysis! and! through!
gamma"ray!spectrometry!(HPGe!detector).!It!was!found!that!all!the!analyzed!construction!material!
samples,!except!gypsum,!!presented!significant!activity!for!the!Unatural,! 232Th,! 214Bi!(226Ra),! 212Pb!
(224Ra).! Based! on! indoor! results,! the! approximate! average! of! the! effective! dose! to! RMBH!
inhabitants! was! 2.0! mSv,! according! to! the! calculation! model! presented! in! the! UNSCEAR! 2000!
report.!
!
!
!
RADIOACTIVITY!OF!DUMPS!IN!MINING!AREAS!OF!THE!UPPER!SILESIAN!COAL!BASIN!
IN!POLAND!
B.!KOZ7OWSKA,!A.!WALENCIK,!J.!DORDA!AND!W.!ZIPPER!
University!of!Silesia,!Poland!
!
Underground!coal!mining!is!associated!with!large!quantities!of!gangue.!In!the!past,!the!majority!of!
gangue!was!not!utilized!but!was!placed!in!the!vicinity!of!coal!mines!forming!cone"shaped!dumps.!
Some! of! them! contained! even! millions! of! tones! of! rocks.! Nowadays,! environmental! precautions!
extort! larger! utilization! of! any! kind! of! waste! materials,! for! example! in! road! construction,! civil!
engineering! or! as! stowing! in! underground! abandoned! workings.! Any! economical! utilization! of!
waste! materials! requires! former! studies! assuring! their! lack! of! hazardous! influence! on! natural!
environment! and! humans,! including! radioactivity.! Examination! of! the! radioactivity! of! wastes! is!
quite!important!due!to!the!fact!that!they!may!be!used!in!production!of!building!materials!used!in!
residential!constructions.!
The! paper! presents! results! of! a! radiological! survey! carried! out! in! several! dumps! located! in! the!
Upper!Silesian!Coal!Basin!in!the!south!of!Poland.!Measurements!of!samples!were!carried!out!with!
the! use! of! a! gamma! spectrometer! made! of! a! semi"conductor! detector! Ge(Li),! Camac! system!
electronics!and!TUKAN!4096!channel!analyzer.!The!analyses!of!spectra!were!performed!by!means!
of!GANNAS!program.!!
Activity!concentrations!results!of!radioactive!elements!of!uranium!and!thorium!decay!chains!will!
be!discussed.!
!
RADIOACTIVE!TRACERS!FOR!LONG!RANGE!TRANSPORT!OF!BIOMASS!BURNING!
AEROSOLS!
K.!ELEFTHERIADIS,!E.!DIAPOULI,!M.!GINI!AND!P.!KRITIDIS!
NCSR!Demokritos"Institute!of!Nuclear!Technology!and!Radiation!Protection,!Greece!
!
Biomass! burning! caused! by! anthropogenic! activity! such! as! agriculture! practices! or! naturally!
occurring!forest!fires!is!a!frequent!phenomenon!causing!global!environmental!concern!for!many!
reasons.!Release!of!certain!radioactive!or!other!hazardous!compounds!from!forest!fires!occurring!
over!contaminated!land!is!one!such!issue!for!concern.!The!physicochemical!processing!occurring!
on!smoke!particles!released!in!the!atmosphere!during!long!range!transport!is!also!another!topic!of!
interest.!
This!work!presents!first!results!from!atmospheric!measurements!conducted!during!August!2010!in!
the!Demokritos!ERL!sampling!site!for!ambient!TSP!aerosol!collected!by!a!High!Volume!Sampler!and!
analyzed!for!total!>!radioactivity!and!#!spectrometry.!Filters!were!analyzed!after!a!period!of!4!days!
past! sampling! in! order! to! allow! decay! of! short! lived! Radon! and! Thorn! daughters.! Parallel!
measurements! of! aerosol! physicochemical! properties! at! the! GAW! DEM! station! were! also!
employed.!
It!was!observed!that!enhanced!levels!for!total!beta!radioactivity!were!observed!in!the!period!of!
12"18! of! August! compared! to! the! remaining! period.! An! average! value! of! 2.0! ±! 0.3! mBq/m3! was!
measured!over!the!first!period!compared!to!1.0!±!0.2!mBq/m3!found!for!the!rest!of!the!sampling!
period.! The! latter! is! found! equivalent! to! the! background! levels! observed! at! the! site! during! the!
summer!months.! It! was! also! observed! that! during! the!enhancement! in!radioactivity! organic!and!
elemental!carbon!levels!were!also!enhanced!above!the!mean!value!of!long!term!observations!at!
the!site.!Especially!for!organic!carbon!a!higher!mean!value!of!4.4!±!1.1!-g/m3!was!observed!during!
the!“episode”!period!compared!to!the!rest!of!the!time!when!2.4!4!±!0.7!-g/m3!was!measured.!
Air!mass!back!trajectory!analysis!indicated!that!the!origin!of!the!air!mass!crossing!Athens!during!
the! 12"18! of! August! was! the! European! Russian! central! plains! where! extensive! forest! fires! were!
raging.! The! enhanced! organic! carbon! values! is! a! strong! sugnal! for! forest! fires.! The! enhanced!
radioactivity!is!initially!attributed!to!higher!amounts!of!natural!radioactive!isotopes!like! 210Po![1],!
40
K!and!7Be!normally!found!in!vegetation!and!released!in!the!smoke.!
[1]!Savidou,!A.,!Kehagia,!K.,!Eleftheriadis,!K.!(2006)!Concentration!levels!of!210Pb!and!210Po!in!dry!
tobacco!leaves!in!Greece!J.!of!Environ.!Radioactivity,!85!(1),!94"102!
!
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!
!
ANALYSIS!OF!THE!REPRESENTATIVENESS!OF!THE!TAKASAKI,!GUNMA!(RN38)!IMS!
STATION!USING!INCREASING!RESOLUTION!METEOROLOGICAL!MODELLING!
D.!ARNOLD1,2,!D.!PINO1,3!AND!A.!VARGAS1!
1
Technical!University!of!Catalonia,!Spain!
University!of!Natural!Resources!and!Applied!Life!Sciences,!Austria!
3
Institute!for!Space!Studies!of!Catalonia,!!Spain!
2
!
Within! the! Comprehensive! Nuclear! Test! Ban! Treaty! Organisation! (CTBTO),! receptor"oriented!
atmospheric!transport!modelling!(ATM)!is!used!to!assess!the!origin!of!air!masses!sampled!at!the!
International! Monitoring! System! (IMS)! stations.! Typically,! the! ATM! is! driven! by! global!
meteorological! models,! such! as! the! ECMWF! (European! Centre! for! Medium"Range! Weather!
Forecasting),! at! a! coarse! horizontal! resolution! of! 1! degree.! However,! in! topographically! highly!
structured!areas,!where!some!of!the!IMS!stations!are!located,!this!resolution!may!not!suffice.!In!
this!context,!the!Japanese!RN38!station!has!been!selected!as!one!of!the!target!stations!included!in!
a!research!project!funded!by!a!voluntary!contribution!of!the!State!Signatory!Spain!to!the!CTBTO!
Provisional!Technical!Secretariat.!This!study!aims!at!evaluating!how!the!use!of!a!high"resolution,!
nested! meteorological! model! in! the! ATM! calculations! would! influence! on! the! obtained! Source"
Receptor! sensitivity! (SRS)! fields! and! how! this! would! affect! the! representativity! of! the! selected!
stations.!In!order!to!obtain!the!better!resolved!meteorological!fields,!the!well"known!limited"area!
PSU/NCAR!mesoscale!model!(known!as!MM5)!is!used!in!combination!with!the!Lagrangian!particle!
model!FLEXPART!v6.2!(one!version!ahead!the!one!
currently!used!by!the!CTBTO),!to!compute!the!SRS!fields!and!compare!them!with!the!product!of!
the!ATM!ECMWF"based!CTBTO!calculations.!Differences!are!evaluated!under!various!scenarios.!
!
!
!
INTEGRATED!APPROACH!FOR!THE!OPTIMIZATION!OF!&!SPECTROSCOPY!
METHODOLOGY!FOR!ENVIRONMENTAL!RADIOACTIVITY!
G.!CINELLI,!L.!TOSITTI!AND!B.!CAPACCIONI!
University!of!Bologna,!Italy!
!
The! study! of! environmental! radioactivity! [1],! through! the! determination! of! radionuclide!
components!present!in!soils!and!rocks!gives!us!the!possibility!to:!
"!identify!areas!contaminated!by!artificial!radionuclides;!
"! study! the! distribution! of! NORM! (Naturally! Occurring! Radioactive! Material)! and! TENORM!
(Technologically"Enhanced!Naturally!Occurring!Radioactive!Material);!
!
"!construct!maps!of!U,!Th!and!K!distributions!that!on!the!basis!of!the!geochemical!diversity!allow!
to!characterize!!the!origin!of!local!soil!and!assess!surface!discontinuity!connected!to!the!geological!
origin,!the!use!and!the!management!of!soil.!
The!ability!to!obtain!a!sufficient!amount!of!information!to!construct!reliable!maps!of!distribution!!
is!based!on!the!availability!of!a!large!number!of!data,!and!whose!collection!takes!advantages!from!
the!use!of!“in!situ”!gamma!spectrometry.!
The!methodology!described!in!this!work!is!based!on!“in!situ”!measurements!using!a!NaI!detector,!
that!allows!to!collect!quickly!a!lot!of!data![2,!3].!
In!situ!#!spectrometry!has!been!supported!by!new!and!older!calibration!techniques!(Monte!Carlo!
Method! "! Point! sources! "! Calibration! Pads)! and! it! has! been! combined! with! measurements! in!
laboratory!using!HPGe!detectors!and!with!XRF,!both!for!independent!analytical!check!and!for!the!
characterization!of!secondary!standards.!
This! integrated! approach! provide! a! valuable! methodology! of! great! environmental! interest! and!
finds!a!wide!range!of!applications.!
References:!
[1]! UNSCEAR,! REPORT! Vol.! I,! Sources! and! effects! of! ionizing! radiation,! annex! b,! Exposures! from!
natural!radiation!sources,!2000.!
[2]! Beck,! H.L.,! Decampo,! J.A.,! Gogolak,! C.V.,! In"SituGe(Li)! and! NaI(Tl)! Gamma"ray! Spectroscopy,!
Report!HASL"258,!US!AtomicEnergy!Commission,!New!York.!1972.!
[3]! Chiozzi,! P.,! Field! gamma"ray! spectrometry! on! the! Vulcano! island! (Aeolian! Arc,! Italy).! Applied!
Radiation!and!Isotopes!51,!1999,!247–253.!
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SESSION!III!
!
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ATMOSPHERIC!RADIOACTIVITY!MONITORING!IN!SLOVAKIA!
K.!HOLÝ1,!P.!POVINEC1,!A.!ŠIVO1,!I.!SÝKORA1,!M.!JEŠKOVSKÝ1,!M.!RICHTÁRIKOVÁ1,!M.!BULKO1,!M.!M@LLEROVÁ1,!O.!
HOLÁ2!AND!J.!ŠIMON3!
1
Comenius!University!of!Bratislava,!Slovakia!
2
Slovak!Technical!University,!Slovakia!
3
University!of!Žilina,!Slovakia!
!
Several! radionuclides! (14C,! 7Be,! 40K,! 137Cs,! 210Pb! and! 222Rn)! were! studied! during! the! last! two!
decades! in! the! Slovakia! air! with! the! aim! to! better! understanding! processes! taking! place! in! the!
atmosphere,! a! quantification! of! the! atmospheric! contamination! and! its! trend,! as! well! as! an!
evaluation! of! possible! health! risks.! 14C! content! in! the! atmosphere! was! investigated! in! two!
localities,!in!Bratislava!and!Zlkovce.!The!samples!taken!in!Bratislava!station!(city!with!0.5!million!
inhabitants)! correspond! to! highly! industrialized! region.! The! second! station! Zlkovce! is! situated!
approximately! 60! km! NE! from! Bratislava! in! a! flat! agricultural! area.! A! high! variability! in! 14C!
concentration!in!the!atmospheric!CO2!was!observed!at!these!stations!until!1993.!In!this!period!the!
annual! mean! values! of! delta! 14C! in! heavily! polluted! atmosphere! of! Bratislava! were! about! 50! %!
lower,!and!at!Zlkovce!about!20!%!lower,!compared!to!delta! 14C!in!European!background!air.!Since!
1994!the!annual!mean!of!delta!14C!has!been!at!both!sites!close!to!each!other.!This!behaviour!could!
be! explained! by! the! decrease! of! the! fossil! fuel! CO2! emissions! in! Slovakia! after! 1990,! and! their!
stabilization!after!1994.!
7
Be,! 40K,! 137Cs! and! 210Pb! in! the! ground! level! atmosphere! of! Bratislava! were! collected! on! aerosol!
nitro"cellulose!filters.!The!concentrations!of! 210Pb!and! 7Be!ranged!from!0.22!to!2.37!mBq!m"3!with!
the! mean! value! of! 0.73±0.03! mBq! m"3,! and! from! 0.23! to! 5.1! mBq! m"3! with! the! mean! value! of!
2.49±0.06! mBq! m"3,! respectively.! The! aerosol! component! of! the! ground! level! atmosphere! in!
Bratislava!showed!typical!values!of!activity!concentrations!also!for! 137Cs!and! 40K,!as!expected!for!
the!Central!Europe.!
The! 222Rn!activity!concentration!was!continuously!monitored!in!the!surface!air!since!1991!using!a!
large!volume!scintillation!chamber.!In!the!period!1991!–!2009!the!average!annual!activity!varied!
from!4.1!to!7.2!Bq!m"3!with!arithmetic!mean!of!5.2!Bq!m"3.!The!average!daily!courses!of!the!radon!
activity!for!individual!months!have!a!form!of!variations!with!maximum!in!the!morning!hours!and!
minimum!in!the!afternoon.!The!highest!amplitude!of!the!daily!variations!was!found!out!in!August!
(2.7!Bq!m"3)!and!the!lowest!in!December!(0.7!Bq!m"3).!The!average!annual!radon!course!calculated!
on! the! basis! of! all! the! measured! data! reaches! minimum! in! April! and! maximum! in! October,!
seasonal!variations!ranged!from!3.7!to!6.6!Bq!m"3.!The!annual!radon!courses!differ!from!each!other!
for!various!years!and!periods!of!the!day.!These!differences!can!be!explained!by!various!levels!of!
stability! of! the! surface! layer! of! the! atmosphere.! The! results! of! the! radon! investigation! have!
contributed!to!better!understanding!of!the!processes!in!the!surface!layer!of!the!atmosphere!under!
variable!meteorological!conditions,!and!for!more!precise!estimation!of!the!public!radiation!dose!
due!to!inhalation!of!222Rn!and!its!decay!products.!
!
!
!
RADIOCARBON!DATING!FOR!PALEOENVIROMENTAL!PEAT!ARCHIVE:!THE!CASE!
STUDY!OF!PLANT!CELLULOSE!FROM!PEAT!CORE!REACHED!TO!15KA!IN!NORTHERN!
JAPAN!
T.!SHINOZAKI1,!2,!M.!UCHIDA1,!M.!KONDO1,!K.!MINOURA2,!Y.!SHIBATA1!
1
National!Institute!for!Environmental!Studies!,Japan!
2
Tohoku!University,!Japan!
!
Peat!sediment!is!one!of!the!most!important!archives!to!reconstruct!a!past!climate.!From!previous!
study,! we! found! that! stable! carbon! isotope! ratio! (913C)! of! peat! cellulose! is! used! as! indicators! of!
East! Asian! monsoon! variability! since! the! last! deglaciaion! including! abrupt! climate! change!
(Shinozaki! et! al.,! in! submission).! The! 913C! values! recorded! variability! of! rainfall! amount! related!
with!Northern!hemispheric!climate!change!including!Asian!monsoon.!The!amount!of!rainfall!seems!
to!be!negatively!correlated!with!the!plant!913C!values.! Thus,!it!is!crucial!to!establish!correct!age!
model! with! decadal! to! centennial! time! resolution.! However,! peat! exists! in! forms! of! matrixes! of!
organic! matter! such! as! intact! plant! and! plant! debris! with! soil! mineral.! In! this! study,! we! present!
radiocarbon!dates!of!intact!plant!(Sphagnum),!plant!cellulose,!and!bulk!organic!matter!from!same!
horizons! of! peat! core! to! investigate! adequate! dating! candidates.! Results! of! radiocarbon! dates!
from! plant! cellulose! were! compared! with! those! of! bulk! organic! matter! and! intact! plant!
(sphagnum).!In!addition,!we!tried!three!cellulose!extraction!methods!to!decide!the!most!suitable!
one;! procedure! (I)! extended! Acid"Alkali"Acid! procedure,! (II)! removed! lipids! using! solvent!
processing! and! (III)! extended! cuprammonium! solution! (CUAM)! procedure.! To! check! their! purity,!
we!measured!each!recovery!rate!(%),!TOC!(%),!TON!(%),!913C!(‰)!and!NMR!analysis.!From!these!
measurements,! we! have! concluded! that! procedure! (I)! is! the! most! pure! and! efficient! cellulose!
extraction!method.!Additionally,!we!measured! 14C!content!of!cellulose,!extracted!with!procedure!
(1),! bulk! sediment! and!sphagnum! of! same!layers.! As! a! result,! 14C! absolute! age! of! sphagnum!are!
older!than!bulk!sediments!and!cellulose.!Sphagnum!does!not!have!roots!and!grows!in!an!upward!
direction!from!the!apex.!There!is!a!little!possibility!that!the!sphagnum!influence!to!the!underlying!
peat.! Therefore,! when! the! peat! sediment! consists! of! mainly! sphagnum,! it! is! desired! to! pick! up!
sphagnum! for! 14C! dating.! Meanwhile,! the! 14C! of! cellulose! have! large! age! difference! to! that! of!
sphagnum!by!500!yrs,!compared!to!that!of!bulk!sediments.!In!the!case!that!the!sphagnum!cannot!
have! obtained! sufficient! amount! or! almost! decomposed,! bulk! organic! matter! is! better! than!
cellulose!for!14C!dating.!
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!
!
A!SENSITIVE!AND!ACCURATE!METHOD!FOR!SIMULTANEOUS!DETERMINATION!OF!
PB"210!AND!PB"212!IN!DRINKING!WATER!SAMPLES!
G.!JIA,!G.!TORRI!AND!L.!MAGRO!
National!Institute!of!Environmental!Protection!and!Research,!Italy!
!
A!sensitive!and!accurate!method!for!determination!of! 210Pb!and! 212Pb! in!drinking!water!samples!
was! developed.! In! the! method! Pb! was! pre"concentrated! as! hydroxides,! separated! from! alkaline!
earth!elements!as!PbS!precipitate,!purified!by!an!anion!exchange!resin!chromatography!column,!
precipitated! as! PbSO4! for! source! preparation! and! counted! by! a! low! background! >"counter.! The!
procedure! was! checked! with! a! reference! material! supplied! by! the! IAEA,! and! the! obtained! data!
were! in! good! agreement! with! the! recommended! values,! showing! the! recommended! procedure!
can!provide!reliable!results.!The!minimum!detectable!activity!of!the!method!was!0.039!mBq!L"1!for!
210
Pb!and!0.033!mBq!L"1!for! 212Pb!if!a!48!litre!of!water!sample!was!analysed.!Seventeen!drinking!
water! samples! were! analysed! with! a! Pb! recovery! of! 88.8±5.5%,! and! the! typical! activity!
concentrations! were! in! the! range! of! 0.191"15.1! mBq! L"1! for! 210Pb! and! of! 1.12"5.77! mBq! L"1! for!
212
Pb.! The! estimated! committed! effective! doses! to! the! adult! member! of! public! in! Italy! due! to!
intake! of! 210Pb! and! 212Pb! in! drinking! water! were! in! the! range! of! 0.096"7.59! -Sv! yr"1! and! 0.0049"
0.0253!-Sv!yr"1,!respectively.!
!
!
!
MEASUREMENT!OF!CS"137!IN!SOIL!IN!KOREA!BY!USING!A!LOW"LEVEL!
BACKGROUND!GAMMA"RAY!SPECTROMETER!
S."H.!LEE,!SUN!A.!LEE,!J.!MAN!LEE,!T.!SOON!PARK,!K.!B.!LEE,!P."J.!OH!AND!M.!KIE!LEE!
Korea!Research!Institute!of!Standards!and!Science,!Korea!
!
137
Cs! in! the! soils! collected! from! Korea! from! 2006! to! 2008! was! measured! by! using! the! low"level!
background! gamma"ray! spectrometer! which! was! designed! and! was! developed! by! KRISS! (Korea!
Research!Institute!of!Standards!and!Science).!The!objectives!of!this!study!are!to!evaluate!the!new!
developed! low"level! background! gamma"ray! spectrometer! and! consequently! to! provide!
information!on!the!horizontal!and!vertical!distribution!of!137Cs!in!the!soil!in!Korea.!
137
Cs! concentrations! in! surface! soil! varied! from! 12.8! ±! 0.9! to! 108! ±! 4! Bq! kg"1! and! the! vertical!
profiles! of! 137Cs! from! Nari! basin! in! Ulleung! Island! in! the! East! Sea/Sea! of! Japan! and! Seongsan!
Ilchulbong! Peak,! Jeju! Island! showed! a! higher! concentration! at! the! surface! layer! and! gradually!
decreased.! On! the! other! hand,! the! 137Cs! concentration! in! the! soils! collected! from! Bukhan!
Mountain!National!Park!in!Seoul!showed!a!subsurface!maximum!and!decreased!with!depth.!The!
137
Cs! inventories! in! the! soil! column! were! calculated! to! be! 1830! to! 4360! Bq! m"2! with! a! mean! of!
!
2770!Bq!m"2!which!was!the!same!order!of!magnitude!as!the!global!fallout!inventories!in!the!mid"
latitude!region!of!the!Northern!Hemisphere.!
!
!
!
MONITORING!PHYSICAL!PROPERTIES!OF!A!SUBMARINE!GROUNDWATER!
DISCHARGE!SOURCE!AT!KALOGRIA!BAY,!SW!PELOPONNISSOS,!GREECE!
A.!P.!KARAGEORGIS1,!V.!P.!PAPADOPOULOS1,!D.!GEORGOPOULOS1!AND!E.!PAPATHANASSIOU1!
1
Hellenic!Centre!for!Marine!Research,!Greece!
!
In!this!study!long!term!time"series!are!presented!from!a!monitoring!project!studying!a!submarine!
groundwater!discharge!(SGD)!in!Kalogria!Bay,!Greece.!The!major!point!source!was!located!inside!a!
karstic! cavity! at! 25! m! depth.! Continuous! monitoring! of! water! emanating! from! the! major! point!
revealed! in! detail,! the! annual! cycle! of! the! discharged! water! velocity,! volume,! and! salinity!
variations,!since!they!are!the!crucial!parameters!for!the!potential!exploitation!of!the!out"flowing!
water.!The!emerging!flow!and!the!physical!characteristics!of!the!upwelling!water!were!recorded!
by!means!of!a!rotor!flow!meter!and!a!CT!probe.!Both!were!deployed!mounted!on!a!metallic!frame!
which!was!placed!by!divers!at!the!sea!bottom!near!/!inside!the!karstic!cavity.!During!dry!periods!
the!underwater!discharge!was!not!very!strong!and!salinity!values!($!20)!were!indicating!brackish!
water! outflow,! while! during! wet! periods! the! water! outflow! velocities! were! increased! rapidly!
(reaching! values! of! 0.8! "! 0.9! m/s)! and! the! recorded! salinity! values! were! decreased! significantly.!
However,!at!some!cases!the!physical!properties!of!the!water!were!revealed!unexpected!behavior!
leading!us!to!consider!the!volatile!geomorphology!of!the!region.!The! out!flowing! water!was!not!
always!concentrated!as!a!single!jet!flowing!from!the!bottom!of!the!cave!towards!the!surface,!but!it!
was! scattered! and! emanated! under! rocks! and! through! little! cracks.! In! summary,! the! obtained!
monitoring! data! demonstrate! a! strongly! turbulent! and! unstable! SGD,! regulated! by! the!
geomorphologic!(karstic)!structure!of!the!coastal!zone!and!modulated!by!factors!as!the!local!yearly!
precipitation!cycle!and!the!tidal!regime.!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
A!NEW!ANALYTICAL!METHOD!TO!CALIBRATE!BOREHOLE!SCINTILLATION!
DETECTORS!
M.!I.!ABBAS!
Beirut!Arab!University,!Lebanon!
!
The! borehole! scintillation! detectors! (with! central! borehole)! are! useful! for! the! identification! and!
quantification! of! unknown! gamma"ray! emitting! radionuclides! in! geological! and! environmental!
samples!due!to!the!near!4,!solid!angle!that!can!be!obtained!with!them.!In!addition,!the!4,!gamma!
ray"counting!is!a!well!established!method!for!direct!activity!measurements,!and!is!especially!suited!
for! radionuclides! with! complex! gamma"ray! spectra.! A! straightforward! theoretical! approach! was!
carried! out! to! calculate! the! efficiencies! (total! ! and! geometrical! )! of! borehole! scintillation!
detectors.!The!approach!depends!on!the!accurate!calculation!of!two!important!factors;!the!path!
length,! d,! the! photon! traverses! within! the! active! volume! of! a! gamma! detector,! and! the!
geometrical!solid!angle! !subtended!by!the!source!to!the!detector!at!the!point!of!entrance.!These!
two! factors! are! theoretically! derived! through! straightforward! analytical! formulae.! Furthermore,!
the! attenuation! of! photons! by! the! source! container! and! the! detector! housing! materials! is! also!
treated!by!calculating!the!photon!path!length!through!these!materials.!The!comparisons!with!the!
experimental!and!Monte!Carlo!method!works!reported!in!the!literature!indicate!that!the!present!
approach!is!useful!in!the!efficiency!calibration!of!such!complicated!gamma!"!ray!spectrometer.!
!
!
!
MEASUREMENTS!OF!INDOOR!RADON/THORON!LEVELS!AND!RADON!IN!DRINKING!
WATER!BY!USING!RAD7!
K.!BADHAN1,!R.!MEHRA1!AND!R!G!SONKAWADE2!
1
National!Institute!of!Technology,!India,!!
Inter!University!Accelerator!Centre,!India!
2
!
Radon,!thoron!and!their!progenies!are!the!most!important!contributions!to!human!exposure!from!
natural!sources.!Radon!exists!in!soil!gas,!building!materials,!Indoor!atmosphere!etc.!Among!all!the!
natural!sources!of!radiation!dose!to!human!beings,!inhalation!of!radon!contributes!a!lot!therefore!
it! is! very! important! to! measure! indoor! radon/thoron! levels! and! radon! concentration! levels! in!
drinking! water.! The! present! study! represents! the! set! of! measurements! for! indoor! radon/thoron!
concentration! levels! and! radon! concentrations! in! drinking! water! using! electronic! radon! meter!
(RAD7).!The!measurements!have!been!taken!for!indoor!air!and!drinking!water!in!the!dwellings!of!
Nawanshahar!district!of!Punjab,!India.!The!radon!concentration!in!drinking!water!has!been!found!
to!vary!from!1.26!to!11.00!BqL 1!with!an!average!value!of!4.71!BqL 1.!The!measured!indoor!radon!
!
and!thoron!concentration!values!vary!from!35.15!to!264.92!Bqm 3!and!65.49!to!75.11!Bqm 3!with!
average!values!of!89.21!Bqm 3!and!53.87!Bqm 3!respectively.!
!
!
!
ESTIMATION!OF!GAMMA!AND!BETA!ORGAN!DOSES!DUE!TO!RN"222!PROGENY!IN!
ADULT!ORNL!PHANTOMS!
S.!BANARI!BAHNAMIRI!
Ferdowsi!University!of!Mashhad,!Iran!
!
The!most!important!source!of!natural!radioactivity!is! 222Rn.!For!this!reason,!radon!dosimetry!has!
attracted!quite!a!lot!of!attention!which!resulted!in!a!vast!number!of!research!activities!carried!out!
in! scientific!communities! by! scientists.! A! great! deal! of! work! has! been! devoted! to! determine! the!
damage!caused!by!alpha!radiation!emitted!from!radon!and!its!progeny.!Radon"222!daughters!such!
as and! ! deposit! in! human! lungs! and! emit! gamma! quanta! followed! by! the! beta! particles! which!
cause! smaller! damage! in! comparison! with! alpha! particles.! In! this! study! dose! from! gamma! rays!
emitted!by!radon!progeny!in!the!lungs!have!been!calculated!in!all!main!organs!using!MCNP!code!
for!adult!ORNL!male!and!female.!
!
!
!
BEHAVIOR!OF!RADIONUCLIDES!IN!WASTEWATER!TREATMENT!PLANTS!
!
M.!MONTAÑA1,!A.!CAMACHO1,!I.!VALLÉS1,!R.!DEVESA2,!R.!CÉSPEDES2,3,!I.!SERRANO1,!S.!BLÀZQUEZ1!AND!V.!
BARJOLA1!
1
Technical!University!of!Catalonia,!Spain!
Waterwork!Society!of!Barcelona,!Spain!
3
Water!Technological!Centre!of!Barcelona,!Spain!
2
!
Waterworks!and!sewage!treatments!facilities!can!produce!sludge!containing!measurable!amounts!
of! radioactivity.! The! radionuclides! concentrated! in! this! process! can! originate! from! radionuclides!
present!in!the!original!source!of!water!or!from!water!treatment.!
!
The! aim! of! the! present! work! is! to! study! the! temporal! evolution! of! radioactivity! in! liquids! and!
sludge!generated!in!wastewater!treatment!plants!because!information!is!limited!and!there!is!an!
increase!of!usage!in!Spain!as!a!result!of!frequent!drought!periods.!
The! activity! of! various! radionuclides! was! measured! in! liquids! and! sludge! from! 3! municipal!
wastewater! treatment! plants! in! Northeast! Spain.! A! total! of! 12! campaigns! were! carried! out! in!
different! seasons! in! the! period! 2007"2009.! A! detailed! study! of! radioactivity! in! influent,! primary!
effluent,!secondary!effluent!and!final!effluent!were!performed.!
Two!wastewater!treatment!plants!included!sedimentation!and!biological!treatment!and!one!also!
uses!tertiary!treatment.!The!residence!time!of!the!water!in!the!wastewater!treatment!plants!was!
between!1!to!4!days.!!
Gross! alpha! (co"precipitation! method)! and! gross! beta! (evaporation! method)! activities! were!
determined!in!waters!and!sludge!by!ZnS!solid!scintillation!detectors!and!low"background!gas"flow!
counters.! Uranium! isotopes! were! measured! by! alpha! spectrometry.! Gamma! radionuclides! (40K,!
7
Be,! 214Bi,! 214Pb;! 210Pb,! 208Tl,! 212Pb,! 228Ac)! in! the! sludge! were! analyzed! with! a! semi"conductor!
germanium!detector.!
!
The! gross! alpha! and! gross! beta! activities! in! the! influent! and! effluents! from! the! wastewater!
treatment!plants!are!presented.!A!wide!range!of!gross!alpha!activities!(<0.004!to!0.129!Bq/L)!and!
gross! beta! activities! (0.052! to! 1.53! Bq/L)! in! liquid! samples! were! obtained.! It! was! checked! that!
gross!alpha!activities!in!influent!and!effluent!from!wastewater!treatment!plants!were!produced!by!
uranium!isotopes.!
Gross! alpha! activities! measured! in! sludge! samples! range! from! 58! to! 203! Bq/kg! and! gross! beta!
activities! were! between! 147! to! 625! Bq/kg.! Mean! values! for! gamma! emitted! radionuclides! in!
samples! from! wastewater! treatment! plants! were! 13! Bq/kg! for! 226Ra! (214Pb),! 17! Bq/kg! for! 232Th!
(228Ac)!and!165!Bq/kg!for!40K.!
All! the! test! procedures! were! validated! according! to! the! quality! requirements! of! the! ISO! 17025!
standard.!
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!
RADON!POTENTIAL!MAPPING!OF!PIEMONTE!(NORTH"WEST!ITALY):!AN!
EXPERIMENTAL!APPROACH!
E.!CHIABERTO,!M.!MAGNONI,!E.!SERENA,!S.!PROCOPIO,!A.!PRANDSTATTER!AND!F.!RIGHINO!
Institute!of!Environmental!Protection"Piemonte,!Italy!
!
Early! radon! studies! in! Piemonte,! an! administrative! district! in! North"West! Italy! (25,200! kmq,!
around!4,300,000!inhabitants)!were!conducted!since!(1990"1991),!when!a!general!radon!survey!of!
the! dwellings! of! Piemonte! was! performed! in! order! to! assess! the! average! radon! exposure! of! the!
whole!population.!
After!this!first!step,!radon!researches!were!continued!in!different!areas!of!Piemonte!and!involved!
schools! as! well! as! dwellings.! These! extensive! radon! monitoring! programs! led! to! the!
implementation!of!a!large!radon!database!of!more!than!3500!radon!measurements!distributed!all!
over!the!Piemonte!Region.!Starting!from!this!point!it!was!then!possible!to!produce!a!reliable!radon!
mapping.!
In!order!to!minimize!a!possible!bias!due!to!the!well!known!radon!fluctuations!both!on!daily!and!
seasonal! basis,! we! considered! only! long! term! measurements! (annual),! performed! using! the!
nuclear!track!etch!detectors!technique!(LR!115!or!CR"39).!
The! radon! potential! mapping! of! the! whole! Piemonte! was! then! achieved! by! developing! a!
“geolithological!correlation!model”,!based!on!a!statistical!analysis!of!the!radon!experimental!data!
and!on!the!underlying!geological,!lithological!and!radiometric!characteristics!of!the!soils!and!rocks.!
In! this! way! it! was! possible! to! estimate! not! only! the! average! radon! levels! in! all! of! the! 1209!
Municipalities! of! ! Piemonte! but! also! to! assess! the! percentage! of! the! population! exposed! to! a!
radon! concentration! ! above! a! given! value.! This! being! an! important! achievement! in! order! to!
evaluate!the!possible!effects!on!health!for!the!population.!
The!results!showed!an!average!value!for!the!dwellings!of!Piemonte!of!70!Bq/m3,!with!considerable!
differences!within!the!Region,!being!the!radon!levels!generally!lower!in!the!Po!Plain!than!in!the!
mountain!areas,!where!the!average!radon!value!in!certain!Municipalities!exceeds!200!Bq/m3.!
!
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!
A!THEORETICAL!MODEL!FOR!THE!RESUSPENTION!FACTOR!
M.!MAGNONI!
Institute!of!Environmental!Protection"Piemonte,!Italy!
!
The!atmospheric!resuspention!of!radionuclides!is!a!well!known!phenomenon!that!consists!in!the!
re"injection! ! into! the! atmosphere! of! previously! deposited! radioactivity.! The! process! is! driven! by!
the! action! of! wind! on! surfaces! and! can! act! as! an! additional! source! of! radiation! exposure! by!
inhalation,!after!the!deposition!has!finished.!A!resuspention!factor!is!thus!defined!as!follows:!
!
generally! considered! as! a! time! depending! function! and! where! Ca! is! the! volumetric! air!
concentration!(Bq/m3)!while!I0!(Bq/m2)!is!the!radioactivity!deposition!at!time!t=0.!
The! resuspention! factor! concept! is! very! useful! in! radioprotection! in! order! to! estimate! the!
inhalation! of! radionuclides! resuspended! from! contaminated! surfaces! when! direct! atmospheric!
measurements!are!lacking!or!difficult!to!perform..!However,!the!choice!of!the!proper!values!of!K!is!
usually! not! a! simple! task,! being! quite! site! specific! and! related! to! the! meteorological,!
geomorphologic! and! environmental! characteristics! of! the! area! to! be! studied.! Moreover,! several!
investigations! showed! clearly! that! the! values! of! K! are! a! decreasing! function! of! time.! For! that!
reasons,!K!values!span!through!several!orders!of!magnitude:!typical!values!in!the!range!10"5!–!10"10!
m"1!are!reported!in!literature!for!different!environmental!conditions!and!time!intervals!since!the!
deposition!event.!The!current!available!models!of!the!resuspention!factor!are!based!on!empirical!
formulas! whose! parameters! are! highly! site! dependent! and! cannot! be! easily! related! to! some!
physical!quantity.!
In!this!paper!a!simple!physical!model!for!the!resuspention!factor!is!proposed!and!tested!with!the!
available! environmental! radioactivity! data! (137Cs),! collected! since! 1986! (Chernobyl! fallout).! The!
new! model! allows! not! only! a! satisfactory! description! of! the! experimental! data,! as! the! current!
empirical! models! also! do,! but! it! is! able! to! connect! the! K! values! to! quantities! with! a! physical!
meaning!and!that!are!related!to!processes!underlying!resuspention!as!well!(such!as,!for!example,!a!
diffusion"dispersion!coefficient).!
!
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!
!
BEHAVIOUR!OF!RADIONUCLIDES!IN!THE!!BACKGROUND!RADIATION!
ENVIRONMENT!
Y.!NARAYANA!
Mangalore!University,!India!
!
High! background! radiation! areas! are! of! special! interest! because! they! present! anomalous!
conditions!in!their!geological!and!geochemical!features!and!consequently!on!radiation!levels.!!High!
radiation! levels! are! attributed! to! the! enrichment! of! radioactive! minerals! in! certain! geological!
provinces!due!to!endogenous!or!sedimentary!processes.!!Major!anomalies!in!the!concentration!of!
radioactive!minerals!in!soil!and!sand!are!found!in!two!countries,!Brazil!and!India.!!One!of!the!prime!
sources! for! the! high! radiation! background! is! radioactive! mineral! monazite,! a! thorium! bearing!
phosphate!mineral.!!In!the!recent!years!thorium!has!assumed!significance!as!it!is!an!important!raw!
material!in!the!nuclear!fuel!cycle!for!power!generation.!!Though!studies!have!been!carried!out!on!
radiation!level!and!radionuclide!distribution!in!the!high!background!areas,!detailed!studies!were!
not! reported! on! the! enrichment! of! radionuclides! in! different! size! fractions! of! sand! in! the! high!
background!areas.!!In!view!of!this,!systematic!studies!were!carried!out!to!understand!the!selective!
enrichment! of! radionuclides! in! different! size! fractions! of! sand! in! high! background! area.! The!!
enrichment! pattern! of! important! minerals! such! as! monazite,! rutile,! and! zircon! in! different! size!
fractions!of!sand!in!the!high!background!areas!were!studied.!!The!monazite!content!in!different!
fractions!was!correlated!with!the!thorium!activity.!!The!results!of!these!systematic!investigations!
area!presented!and!discussed!in!the!paper.!
!
!
HIGHER!PLANTS!AS!BIOMONITORS!OF!RADIONUCLIDES!IN!URBAN!AIR!
J.!AJTIA1,!D.!TODOROVIA2,!D.!POPOVIA1!AND!JELENA!NIKOLIA2!!
1
University!of!Belgrade,!Serbia!
Institute!of!Nuclear!Sciences!Vin(a,!Serbia!
2
!
The!results!of!a!multiyear!study!(2002—2009)!on!the!content!of!radionuclides!in!higher!plants!and!
in! air,! in! the! city! of! Belgrade,! Republic! of! Serbia,! are! presented.! Plants! are! an! important! link! in!
transport!and!distribution!of!radionuclides,!heavy!metals!and!other!pollutants,!from!their!source!
to! man! and! environment,! and! are! often! used! as! biomonitors! of! atmospheric! pollution.! Since!
distinguishing! root! uptake! and! foliar! deposition! is! a! challenging! task,! higher! plants! are! not! as!
efficient!biomonitors!as!mosses!and!lichen.!However,!in!urban!areas,!where!mosses!and!lichen!are!
rarely!found,!higher!plants!present!a!satisfactory!replacement.!!
Activities! of! four! radionuclides,! 7Be,! 40K,! 210Pb! and! 137Cs! were! determined! in! leaves! of! two! tree!
genera,!Aesculus!hippocastanum!L.!(horse!chestnut)!and!Tilia!spp.!(linden:!Tilia!tomentosa!L.!and!
Tilia!cordata!Mill.),!both!common!in!Belgrade!city!parks.!The!leaves!were!collected!in!16!episodes,!
!
and!from!three!city!parks!within!different!Belgrade!areas.!The!aerosol!samples!were!collected!on!a!
monthly!basis!in!one!of!the!measuring!locations.!
Over!the!examined!period,!the!differences!in!the!activities!of!the!measured!radionuclides!between!
the! leaves! of! linden! and! chestnut! are! not! significant.! Moreover,! the! temporal! evolution! of! the!
activities! follows! the! same! general!pattern! across! all! of! the! locations.! Seasonal! variations! of! the!
activities!indicate!that!the!predominant!route!of!40K!uptake!is!through!the!root!system,!while!foliar!
deposition! seems! to! have! a! more! pronounced! influence! on! the! accumulation! of! the! other!
radionuclides.!In!addition,!the!mean!seasonal!activities!of! 7Be!and! 210Pb!in!leaves!agree!well!with!
the!seasonal!activities!in!air.!To!further!examine!the!contribution!of!foliar!deposition,!correlation!
coefficients!for!the!radionuclides’!activities!in!leaves!and!aerosols!are!calculated.!
!
!
!
RADON!DETECTION!IN!MINERAL!WATERS!BY!LIQUID!SCINTILLATION!TECHNIQUE!
AND!GEOLOGICAL!INVESTIGATION!IN!THE!NORTH!OF!IRAN!
S.!JOWZAEE!AND!M.!VAHABI"MOGHADDAM!
University!of!Guilan,!Iran!
!
The!generally!accepted!method!for!radon!and!radium!activity!analysis!of!drinking!water!in!Iran!is!
based! on! Radon! Emanation! method.! In! this! study,! liquid! scintillation! counting! (LSC)! technique!
which! requires! smaller! sample! quantities,! less! sample! preparation! time! and! less! operator!
intervention!has!been!used.!In!this!method,!an!Ultra"low!background!Wallac"Quantulus!1220!LSC,!
the! Mineral! Oil! cocktail! and! 20! ml! Polyethylene! vials! were! applied.! Moreover,! LSC! technique! is!
compared!with!Radon!Emanation!method.!A!total!of!27!mineral!spring!water!samples!from!three!
different!areas!located!in!the!north!of!Iran!were!collected!and!analysed!for!determination!of!222Rn!
and! 226Ra!content.!The!results!show!that!the!concentration!of!222Rn!and!226Ra!in!mineral!waters!
of!the!studied!area!are!from!less!than!0.5!Bq!L"1!to!54!Bq!L"1!and!less!than!14!mBq!L"1!to!297!mBq!L"
1
,!respectively.!Besides,!a!good!agreement!between!LSC!and!Radon!Emanation!results!is!observed.!
Considering!high!radon"content!of!some!samples!in!the!studied!area,!the!geological!studies!have!
been!performed.!
!
!
!
!
!
!
BE"7!ATMOSPHERIC!CONCENTRATIONS!AT!MID!LATITUDES!(40°N)!DURING!A!YEAR!
OF!SOLAR!MINIMUM!
E.!KOTSOPOULOU!AND!A.!IOANNIDOU!
Aristotle!University!of!Thessaloniki,!Greece!
!
The! variations! of! 7Be! concentrations! in! surface! air! of! Thessaloniki,! Greece! (40°! N)! over! the! year!
2009!a!year!of!a!deep!solar!minimum!and!as!a!consequence!a!year!of!maximum!concentrations!of!
7
Be!in!surface!air!are!presented.!For!first!time!in!our!measurements!in!Thessaloniki,!Greece,!we!
recorded!a!value!as!high!as!14.6!mBq!m"3.The!mean!annual!activity!concentration!of! 7Be!for!the!
year!2009!was!6.01!mBq!m"3.!The!variability!of!7Be!surface!concentrations!related!to!the!solar!cycle!
appeared!to!be!deviated!about!20%!from!maximum!to!mean!values.!During!a!year!of!maximum!
concentrations!of! 7Be!in!surface!air,!the!differences!in! 7Be!fluctuations!due!to!meteorological!and!
seasonal! variations! are! becoming! easily! to! be! revealed.! The! effect! of! temperature! and! relative!
humidity! on! atmospheric! concentrations! of! 7Be! was! studied.! A! positive! correlation! (R=0.97,!
p<0.0001)!was!revealed!between!the!activity!of!7Be!and!the!temperature!T(°C).!The!higher!activity!
concentrations! of! 7Be! especially! during! the! summer! period! have! their! explanation! to! the! solar!
heating!of!the!Earth!surface,!which!leads!to!the!heating!of!the!air!in!contact!with!the!surface!and!a!
convective!transport!to!be!occurred!carrying!surface!air!upward!and!bringing!downward!air!from!
higher!levels!enriched!in! 7Be.!The!anticorrelation!(R="0.65,!p<0.02341)!with!RH%!is!due!to!intense!
condensation!during!high!relative!humidity!conditions,!which!results!in!increased!aerosol!particle!
sizes!and!as!a!consequence!in!higher!scavenging!rate!of!aerosols!and!lower!concentration!of!7Be!in!
the! atmosphere.! No! day"night! variations! were! revealed,! while! the! intensity! and! the! direction! of!
wind! velocity! seem! to! have! no! influence! on! 7Be! atmospheric! concentrations! variability.! The!
influence! of! precipitation! on! the! 7Be! atmospheric! concentrations! variability! was! approximately!
10%,!with!greater!the!influence!of!rainfall!events!of!low!precipitation!rate!e.g.!drizzling.!However,!
the!removal!of! 7Be!from!the!atmosphere!by!rainfall!events!seems!to!be!invalidated!immediately!
after!the!events!and!the!7Be!concentration!in!air!to!be!reestablished!rapidly.!
!
!
OPTIMIZATION!OF!PLASTIC!SCINTILLATOR!THICKNESSES!FOR!ONLINE!BETA!
DETECTION!IN!MIXED!FIELDS!!
K.!POURTANGESTANI1,!R.!MACHRAFI1!AND!G.!BOGORODZKI2!
1
University!of!Ontario,!Canada!
CANBERRA!Ltd,!United!Kingdom!
2
!
A! Monte! Carlo! simulation! model! has! been! built! to! optimize! the! thickness! of! plastic! scintillator,!
used!in!whole!body!monitor,!for!efficient!beta!detection!in!a!mixed!field!beta!gamma!field.!The!
simulation!has!been!performed!using!MCNP/X!code!and!different!thicknesses!of!plastic!scintillator!
staring! from! 0.15! to! 0.6! mm.! The! relationship! between! the! thickness! of! the! scintillator! and! the!
!
efficiency!of!the!detector!has!been!analyzed.!For!0.15!mm!thickness!an!experimental!investigation!
has!been!conducted!with!different!gamma!sources!at!different!positions!on!the!scintillator!and!the!
counting!efficiency!of!the!unit!has!been!measured.!Evaluated!data!along!with!experimental!ones!
will!be!discussed.!
!
!
!
RADIOACTIVITY!IN!THE!INDUSTRIAL!EFFLUENT!DISPOSED!SOIL!
R.!D.!SENTHILKUMAR,!R.!NARAYANASWAMY!AND!V.!MEENAKSHISUNDARAM!
Middle!East!College!of!Information!Technology,!Oman!
!
Studies! on! radiation! and! radioactivity! distribution! in! the! soils! of! effluent! disposed! from! sugar!
industry!at!south!Tamil!Nadu,!India!had!been!conducted.!The!aim!of!this!study!was!to!explore!the!
radiation!level!and!to!provide!the!baseline!data!for!the!further!assessment!of!the!impact!of!the!
industrial! effluents.! The! external! gamma! dose! rates! in! air! have! been! measured! throughout! the!
study! area! using! an! Environmental! Radiation! Dosimeter.! The! activities! of! naturally! occurring!
radionuclides!in!the!soil!samples!were!also!measured!using!NAI(Tl)!gamma!ray!spectrometry.!The!
soil! samples! were! also! subjected! for! various! physicochemical! analyses.! This! study! revealed! that!
mean! value! of! 232Th,! 238U! and! 40K! activities! were! 40.06! Bq! kg"1,! 22! Bq! kg"1! and! 246.32! Bq! kg"1!
respectively! and! when! compared! to! the! world! average! value! (30! Bq! kg"1)! the! concentration! of!
232
Th!activity!is!higher!almost!by!a!factor!of!1.33!while!the!concentration!of!232U!and!40K!are!found!
lower!than!world!average!value.!It!was!also!observed!that!the!mean!activity!of!232Th!and!238U!were!
found! higher! values! compared! to! the! Indian! average! value! by! a! factor! of! 1.55! and! 2! times!
respectively.! A! moderately! good! correlation! between! the! heavy! metals! presented! in! the! soil!
samples!and!the!232Th!activity!was!observed.!
!
!
STABLE!ISOTOPES!AS!TRACERS!OF!SUBMARINE!GROUNDWATER!DISCHARGE!
P.!P.!POVINEC!
Comenius!University!of!Bratislava,!Slovakia!
!
Stable! isotopes! of! water! (2H! and! 18O)! have! been! used! for! tracing! submarine! groundwater!
discharge! in! coastal! zones.! They! have! been! analysed! in! precipitation,! river! water,! inland!
groundwater,!submarine!discharge!and!seawater!with!the!aim!to!better!understand!groundwater"
seawater! interactions! in! the! region! and! to! quantify! groundwater! admixture! in! submarine!
!
discharge.! Examples! of! isotope! investigations! of! submarine! groundwater! discharge! in! south"
eastern!Sicily!(Italy),!eastern!Brazil!and!western!Mauritius!are!presented!and!discussed.!
!
!
!
MONITORING!OF!RADIONUCLIDES!IN!THE!AIR!OF!MONACO!DURING!1997"2009!
M.!K.!PHAM1,!M.!BETTI1,!H.!NIES1!AND!P.!P.!POVINEC2!
1
IAEA!Environmental!Laboratories"Monaco!
Comenius!University!of!Bratislava,!Slovakia!
2
!
IAEA"MEL!has!been!carried!out!monitoring!of!radionuclides!in!the!air!of!Monaco!for!many!years.!
Several! natural! (cosmogenic,! radiogenic! and! primordial)! and! anthropogenic! radionuclides! have!
been!found!in!the!atmosphere.!The!measurements!have!been!used!to!study!temporal!variations!of!
radionuclides,!to!detect!any!irregularities!in!their!concentrations!resulting!from!natural!events!or!
human! accidents,! as! well! as! to! estimate! their! deposition! rates! to! Mediterranean! Sea.! Temporal!
variation!of! 137Cs!in!air!at!Monaco!from!1997!to!2009!is!presented!below.!The!peak!observed!in!
June!1998!was!due!to!the!Algeciras!(Spain)!accident.!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
ANNUAL!EFFECTIVE!DOSE!DUE!TO!COMBINED!CONCENTRATION!OF!RA"226!AND!
RA"228!IN!GROUNDWATER!SYSTEM:!A!CASE!STUDY!OF!UNIVERSITY!OF!ILORIN!
MAIN!CAMPUS,!NIGERIA!
L.!I.!NWANKWO!
University!of!Ilorin,!Nigeria!
!
An!estimation!of!the!annual!effective!dose!received!by!the!population!as!a!result!of!the!ingestion!
of! 226Ra!and! 228Ra!in!groundwater!within!the!Main!Campus!of!the!University!of!Ilorin,!Nigeria!has!
been!made.!Groundwater!samples!from!existing!boreholes!sited!inside!the!campus!were!analyzed!
by! #"ray! spectroscopy! to! determine! the! suitability! of! the! water! for! human! consumption.! The!
activity!concentration!values!from!the!analysis!range!from!0.03±0.02!to!4.79±1.26!Bq!L"1!for! 226Ra!
and!from!0.01±0.00!to!4.79±1.82!Bq!L"1!for! 228Ra.!The!computed!annual!effective!dose!received!by!
the!population!as!a!result!of!the!ingestion!of! 226Ra!and! 228Ra!is!thus!estimated!to!range!from!0!to!
0.49!mSv!y"1!and!0.003!to!1.21!mSv!y"1!respectively.!The!total!annual!effective!dose!received!as!a!
result!of!the!combined!ingestion!of! 226Ra!and! 228Ra!is!consequently!found!to!range!from!0.003!to!
1.45!mSv!y"1!with!an!average!of!0.59!mSv!y"1.!It!is!therefore,!observed!that!although!the!average!
combined!contribution!of! 226Ra!and! 228Ra!activities!to!the!committed!effective!dose!from!a!year's!
consumption!of!drinking!water!in!the!study!area!is!less!than!the!ICRP’s!recommended!limit!of!1!
mSv!y"1,!the!groundwater!from!some!of!the!boreholes!are!more!than!1!mSv!y"1.!For!this!reason,!it!
is!recommended!that!adequate!measures!should!be!taken!to!protect!the!youthful!populace!in!the!
study!area!from!consuming!radiologically!unsafe!drinking!water!from!the!affected!boreholes.!
!
!
!
THE!DIURNAL!AND!SEASONAL!VARIATIONS!OF!RADON!AND!ITS!PROGENY!
CONCENTRATIONS!IN!THE!LOWER!ATMOSPHERE!OF!BANGALORE,!SOUTH!INDIA!
G.!V.!ASHOK,!N.!NAGAIAH!AND!N.!G.!SHIVA!PRASAD!
Bangalore!University,!India.!
!
The! measurements! of! radon! and! its! progeny! concentrations! in! outdoor! air! were! carried! out!
simultaneously!with!a!time!interval!of!2!hours!for!a!period!of!3!days!in!every!month!for!one!year!
near!the!department!of!Physics,!Jnanabharathi,!Bangalore.!The!Low!Level!Radon!Detection!System!
(LLRDS)! and! air! flow! meter! with! glass! micro! fibre! filter! paper! were! used! to! measure! the!
concentrations!of!radon!and!its!progeny!respectively.!The!diurnal!and!seasonal!variations!of!radon!
and! its! progeny,! meteorological! parameters! and! the! variations! in! the! equilibrium! factors! were!
studied.! The! influence! of! meteorological! parameters! such! as! temperature! and! humidity! in! the!
variation! of! radon! and! its! progeny! concentrations! were! also! studied.! The! linear! regression!
technique!was!used!to!analyze!the!variations!of!radon!and!its!progeny!concentrations!in!the!lower!
!
atmosphere.! Average! daily! pattern! of! radon! and! its! progeny! concentrations! in! the! lower!
atmosphere!featured!a!minimum!in!the!late!afternoon!and!a!maximum!in!the!early!morning!hours.!
While!seasonally!the!concentrations!attain!maximum!average!in!winter!and!a!minimum!average!in!
rainy.! The! winter/rainy! ratio! of! radon! and! its! progeny! concentrations! are! found! to! be! 1.75! and!
2.31! respectively.! The! annual! geometric! mean! values! of! radon! and! its! progeny! in! outdoors! are!
found!to!be!8.2!±!2.5!Bq!m"3!and!0.46!±!0.16!mWL,!respectively.!
!
!
!
ABERRANT!CELL!DIVISIONS!IN!ROOT!MERISTEMS!OF!MAIZE!FOLLOWING!
EXPOSURE!TO!X"RAYS!LOW!DOSES!COMPARED!TO!SIMILAR!EFFECTS!OF!50!HZ!
ELECTROMAGNETIC!EXPOSURE!
R.!FOCEA1,!M.!RACUCIU2,!G.!CAPRARU3!AND!D.!CREANGA1!
1
Alexandru!Ioan!Cuza!University,!Romania!
Lucian!Blaga!University!of!Sibiu,!Romania!
3
Institute!of!Biolgical!Research,!Romania!
2
!
The! maize! response! to! radiation! exposure! was! investigated! by! both! cytogenetic! methods!
considering! the! importance! of! genotoxic! effect! for! environment! and! agricultural! purposes.!
Uniform!genophond!seeds,!freshly!germinated!were!exposed!to!relatively!low!radiation!dose!array!
using!radiotherapy!X"ray!applicator!from!hospital!irradiation!device.!Root!meristeme!aliquots!were!
taken! for! cytogenetic! investigation! based! on! microscopic! observations! and! cell! counting.!
Microscope! slides! were! prepared! by! specific! procedure! (squash! technique! and! Fuelgen! method!
based!on!modified!Carr!reactive!coloration).!Aberrant!cell!divisions!were!counted!and!classified!for!
every! mitosis! phase.! Mitotic! index! as! well! as! chromosomal! aberration! were! calculated! for! more!
than!30,000!cells!taken!into!account.!The!same!protocol!of!sample!preparation!and!quantitative!
investigation!was!applied!to!root!meristeme!samples!provided!by!maize!seeds!exposed!to!50!Hz!
electromagnetic! field! with! about! 10! mT! magnetic! induction! (generated! within! laboratory!
electromagnetic! coils).! Chromosomal! aberrations! such! as! interchromatidian! bridges,! retard! and!
expulsed! chromosomes! and! chromosome! fragments! were! evidenced! from! the! viewpoint! of!
qualitative! analysis! –! together! with! rare! micronuclei.! Comparison! was! carried! out! between! the!
curves! of! mitotic! index! versus! irradiation! times! underlying! the! potential! risk! of! environmental!
exposure! to! atmospheric! radiation! background! but! also! the! plant! sensitivity! to! electromagnetic!
low! frequency! fields.! Dose"response! functions! were! proposed! for! the! chromosomal! aberration!
percentage!versus!radiation!exposure!intensity.!One!may!conclude!that!the!radiation!sensitivity!of!
maize! during! early! ontogenetic! stages! is! important! also! for! biotechnological! applications!
considering! potential! control! of! plant! growth! by! means! of! physical! factors! of! electromagnetic!
nature.!
!
!
!
PATHOGEN!GERMS!RESPONSE!TO!LOW!DOSE!RADIATION!–!MEDICAL!APPROACH!
A.!POIATA1,!R.!FOCEA2!AND!D.!CREANGA2!
!
1
“Gr.T.Popa”!Romanian!University,!Romania!
2
Alexandru!Ioan!Cuza!University,!Romania!
!
The! side! effect! of! radiation! therapy! mediated! by! microbial! loading! of! irradiated! organs! was!
considered! as! phenomenological! basis! of! the! experiment! carried! out! on! Staphylococcus! aureus!
(ATCC!germ)!exposed!to!X"ray!irradiation.!The!inoculums!was!prepared!in!liquid!culture!medium!
with!standard!composition,!the!3!mL!identical!samples!(in!sterile!glass!tubes)!being!irradiated!in!
hospital!conditions.!Five!experimental!variants!were!developed!corresponding!to!irradiation!time!
durations!between!25!and!100!minutes.!Spectro"colorimetric!assay!was!accomplished!at!560!nm!
and! 420! nm! –! the! resulted! average! values! (for! three! repetitions)! being! analyzed! from! the!
viewpoint! of! cell! density! in! the! irradiated! variants! compared! to! control! ones.! The! resistance! to!
antibiotics! of! the! irradiated! bacteria! was! tested! on! agarized! cultures! against! five! antibiotic!
molecules:! ampicillin,! cloramphenicol,! tetracycline,! tobramicin! and! ofloxacin,! by! assessing! the!
diameter!of!inhibition!growth!areas!in!each!case.!The!increase!of!the!inhibition!area!diameter!with!
up! to! 15%! (in! the! case! of! tetracycline)! was! noticed! for! the! lowest! irradiation! time! for! all! five!
antibiotics! –! suggesting! the! lowering! of! the! bacteria! resistance! to! the! pharmaceutical! agents!
following!X"ray!treatment.!This!was!concordant!with!the!results!of!the!spectro"colorimetric!assay!
of!the!cell!density!within!the!directly!irradiated!bacteria!cultures.!The!main!issue!of!this!study!is!
concerning! the! optimization! of! the! radiotherapy! protocol! in! patients! with! potential! microbial!
loading.!
!
!
!
CHARACTERIZATION!OF!A!LABR3!GAMMA"RAY!SPECTROMETER!FOR!AMBIENT!DOSE!
EQUIVALENT!RATE!H*(10)!
A.!VARGAS1,!P.!SALVADOR1,!M.!ROIG1,!J.!M.!FERNÁNDEZ"VAREA2!AND!U.!STOEHLKER3,4!
1
Technical!University!of!Catalonia,!Spain!
2
University!of!Barcelona,!Spain!
3
German!Federal!Office!for!Radiation!Protection,!Germany!
4
Preparatory!Commission!for!the!Comprehensive!Nuclear"Test"Ban!Treaty!Organization,!Austria!
!
Experimental!gamma!exposures!together!with!Monte!Carlo!simulations!using!the!PENELOPE!code!
have!been!performed!for!the!characterization!of!a!gamma!spectrometer!probe,!based!on!a!LaBr3!
scintillator,! developed! by! the! German! Federal! Office! for! Radiation! Protection! (BfS).! The!
!
experimental!exposures!were!carried!out!in!the!accredited!calibration!laboratory!of!the!Institute!
of! Energy! Technologies! of! the! Technical! University! of! Catalonia! (INTE)! following! the! ISO! 17025!
standard.! The! LaBr3! is! a! 1”! diameter! cylindrical! BrilLanCe380! crystal! detector! from! the! Saint"
Gobain! Company! mounted! together! with! a! XP2060! Photonis! photomultiplier!tube!(PMT)! and! an!
AS2712!preamplifier.!The!signal!is!acquired!by!a!digital!multichannel!analyzer!(MCA)!from!the!XIA!
Company.!Laboratory!exposures!were!carried!out!using! 241Am,! 137Cs!and! 60Co!sources!in!order!to!
characterize! the! sensitivity! of! the! measured! ambient! dose! equivalent! rate! (H*(10))! to! energy,!
angular!gamma"ray!direction!and!temperature.!Monte!Carlo!simulations!for!surface!radioactivity!
contamination! and! air! radioactive! cloud! are! presently! being! conducted! in! order! to! analyse! the!
probe!response!to!hypothetical!radioactive!releases.!Both!experimental!exposures!and!the!Monte!
Carlo!simulation!results!will!be!presented!in!this!paper.!
!
!
!
EXPERIMENTAL!AND!MODELLING!STUDY!OF!THE!UPTAKE!KINETICS!OF!SR"90,!BA"
133,!CD,!CO,!CR,!AND!PB!IN!NATURAL!AQUEOUS!SUSPENSIONS!IN!THE!GIBRALTAR!
STRAIT!
N.!DEHBI1,!A.!BENKDAD1,!B.!RAMZI1,!R.!EL!MRABET1,!A.!LAISSAOUI1!AND!R.!C.!EL!MOURSLI2!
1
National!Center!for!Energy,!Sciences!and!Nuclear!Techniques!(CNESTEN),!Morocco!
2
University!Mohammed!V,!Morocco!
!
Studies! on! radionuclide! and! heavy! metal! behaviour! in! natural! waters! are! of! interest! because! of!
their!high!particle"affinity,!their!complex!chemical!behaviour!in!natural!systems,!and!their!effect!
on!human!and!environment!health!in!relation!to!accidental!spillage!and!planned!release.!
Interest!in!the!uptake!kinetics!of!radionuclides!and!heavy!metals!in!natural!aqueous!suspensions!
has! recently! increased! in! order! to! understand! and! reliably! model! the! dispersion! of! wastes! in!
aquatic! environments.! The! approaches! based! on! the! uptake! kinetics! are! more! appropriate! than!
those!based!on!the!distribution!coefficients,!kd.!
The! amount,! nature! and! dynamics! of! the! suspended! loads! highly! influence! the! behaviour! of!
particle"reactive! radionuclides! and! heavy! metals.! The! kinetics! of! this! process! has! a! very! fast!
component.! Changes! in! pH,! temperature! and! in! the! electrical! conductivity! are! influencing! the!
uptake!kinetics!and!the!final!partitioning!of!the!radioactivity.!
We!developed!a!numerical!model!able!to!reproduce!the!observed!kinetic!uptake!in!all!the!studied!
cases.!Then!this!model!was!adapted!and!incorporated!into!a!kinetic!reactive!transport!model!for!
aquatic! systems.! The! kinetic! coefficients! (and! the! factors! which! affect! their! variability)! can! be!
experimentally! determined! for! each! natural! system! of! interest.! ! This! model! represents! then! a!
powerful! tool! to! study! basic! processes! in! natural! systems! when! it! is! coupled! to! the! dynamic! of!
suspended!load!concentrations.!
!
!
PRACTICAL!POSSIBILITY!TO!PREDICT!AND!CONTROL!RADIONUCLIDE!
CONTAMINATION!OF!WATER!BY!THE!EXAMPLE!OF!THE!REGION!OF!KRIVOY!ROG!
V.!P.!SIZONENKO!
Institute!of!General!Energy!of!Ukraine,!Ukraine!
!
Heavily!anthropogenic!loading!on!ecosystem!of!the!Dnepr!River!basin!have!resulted!in!degradation!
of!all!ecosystems!and!in!particular!to!violation!access!to!safe!and!adequate!water!and!sanitation!
services! in! the! whole! regions! of! Ukraine.! One! of! most! critical! in! relation! to! quality! of! living!
conditions! and! quality! of! water! supply! is! the! region! of! Krivoy! Rog! supersaturated! by! mountain!
enterprises.!Uranium!deposit!located!near"by!Zoltje!Vody!City!in!the!region!of!Krivoy!Rog!is!one!of!
the!largest!on!territory!of!Ukraine.!One!of!main!mining!objects!of!the!city!is!a!mine!«Nova»,!which!
works!mine!of!ferrous!and!uranium!ores.!Mine!water!which!is!pumped!out!on!a!surface!saturated!
by!uranium,!sulfides,!chlorides!and!is!used!for!the!technological!necessities!of!mining!complex!and!
farther! brushes! off! in! tailing! dump! from! where! surpluses! of! water! brush! off! in! a! Zoltaja! River.!
Concentration!of!radionuclide!contamination!in!10!"!15!times!exceed!normative!during!the!events.!
This! in! the! turn,! results! in! contamination! of! waters! of! Ingulets! River! (tributary! of! the! Dnieper!
River)!and!Karachunovskoe!reservoir!"!basic!source!of!water"supply!of!whole!region.!!
In!work!are!examined!efforts!directed!to!decreasing!of!possible!consequences!of!conflict!events!of!
volley! inflow! of! the! muddy! by! radionuclide! mine! waters! in! Zoltaja! River,! prognostication! of!
possible!consequences!of!such!catastrophic!situations!and!study!of!possibilities!of!direct!influence!
on!flow!of!incident!by!application!of!water!protection!measures.!!
Results! of! calibration! of! the! model! on! a! dataset! of! field! measurements! through! critical! 1994,! a!
comparison!with!the!box!model!for!complete!mixing!and!validation!on!data!(90Sr)!through!1991,!
1999! critical! situations! (the! Kiev! reservoir! Dnieper! River)! are! given.! The! post"Chernobyl!
measurements!were!used.!
The!practical!efforts!to!mitigate!consequences!of!the!protracted!catastrophic!manmade!influence!
on!a!water!environment!and!possibilities!of!gradual!maintenance!of!the!water!system!in!the!whole!
region!of!Krivoy!Rog!are!analyzing!in!the!work.!Possibility! of!water!protection!is! explored!at!the!
catastrophic!discharge!of!mine!water!to!Zoltaja!River!by!dilution!by!waters!from!the!storage!pool!
of!Ingulets!River!and!washings!by!waters!of!Dnieper!River.!Such!measures!in!many!cases!enable!to!
access! to! safe! and! adequate! water! and! sanitation! services! during! the! catastrophic! events.! For!
providing!of!the!operative!use!a!program!complex!the!interface!of!user!which!provides!the!task!of!
initial!data!and!receipt!of!results!of!calculations!in!the!graphically!formalized!kind!was!developed.!
Results! of! modeling! of! escape! of! mine! water! of! muddy! by! 238U! to! Zoltaja! River! and! water!
protection!actions!are!given.!
The!principle!possibility!of!re"building!of!water!system!is!demonstrated.!It!is!possible!by!the!long!
time!gradual!complete!discharge!of!mine!waters!from!tailing!dumps!through!the!water!system.!
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EXPERIMENTAL!STUDY!OF!FEATURES!OF!ARTIFICIAL!RADIONUCLIDES!TRANSITION!
TO!ORGANS!AND!TISSUE!OF!SHEEP!UNDER!SNTS!CONDITIONS!
A.!V.!PANITSKIY,!ZH.!A.!BAIGAZINOV!AND!S.!N.!LUKASHENKO!
Institute!of!Radiation!Safety!and!Ecology!NNC,!Kurchatov,!Kazakhstan,!Panitskiy@nnc.kz!
!
The!paper!presents!the!results!of!field!studies!on!the!characteristics!of!the!artificial!radionuclides!
transition!into!the!organs!and!tissues!of!sheep!under!different!conditions!and!timing!of!their!flux.!
Studies!have!been!conducted!at!"Degelen"!experimental!site!(ES)!of!Semipalatinsk!test!site!(STS).!
We!took!the!Kazakh!fat"rumped!coarse!wool!sheep!breeds!as!the!subject!of!research.!!
There! was! performed! quantitative! estimation! of! uptake! of! radionuclides! 3H,! 137Cs,! 90Sr,! 239+240Pu!
and!241Am!with!the!components!of!the!environment:!air,!water!and!vegetation.!It!was!determined!
that!the!main!source!of!uptake!of!radionuclides! 137Cs,! 90Sr!in!animals!is!plant!food,!for! 3H!"!tunnel!
water.!
In! general,! the! presented! findings! in! this! paper! confirm! the! existing! data! on! the! nature! of!
metabolism! of! radionuclides! in! animals.! However,! the! obtained! transition! coefficient! (Ct)! of! 90Sr!
and! 137Cs! into! muscle! tissue! of! sheep,! in! the! equilibrium! state! proved! to! be! one! order! of!
magnitude!less!than!the!average!values!of!Ct!presented!in!the!IAEA!database.!Maybe!it!depends!on!
different!forms!of!ingestion!intake.!So!the!radionuclides!Ct!according!to!our!records,!at!different!
intake!with!water!or!food,!may!vary!up!to!one!order.!Perhaps!Ct!values!are!affected!by!the!natural!
and! climatic! features! (differences! of! micro",! macro"element! composition! of! environment!
components,! especially! the! concentrations! of! stable! Sr! and! Cs! and! their! chemical! analogues! in!
feeds)!as!well!as!the!species!of!radionuclides!in!environmental!media.!
The!results!obtained!allow!regulating!the!daily!rate!of!radionuclides,!excluding!excess!of!hygienic!
requirements! for! food! products! that! are!essential! in! assessing! the! possibility! of! the! STS! lands! in!
the!national!economy.!
Determined! dependence! of! distribution! of! radionuclides! 90Sr,! 137Cs! and! 3H! among! organs! and!
tissues!allows!by!one!organ!to!determine!the!content!of!radionuclides!in!the!whole!body,!or!even,!
giving! a! preliminary! assessment! of! radionuclide! concentrations! in! organs! and! tissues! of! wool!
without!slaughtering!the!animal.!It!should!be!noted!that!we!have!not!found!similar!work!carried!
out!previously.!
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DETERMINATION!OF!THE!RADIOACTIVE!ELEMENTS!IN!FISH!OF!THE!ARABIAN!GULF!
M.!MERZAA!
University!of!Bahrain,!Bahrain!
!
Fish! is! one! of! the! main! sources! of! food! in! the! Kingdom! of! Bahrain! and! most! countries! in! the!
Arabian! Gulf! region.! The! Arabian! Gulf! is! congested! with! marine! traffic! such! as! oil! tankers,!
commercial! ships! and! naval! vessels;! some! of! which! are! nuclear! powered.! In! addition! depleted!
Uranium! was! heavily! used! during! the! Gulf! wars! from! 1990! to! 2003.! Therefore,! the! Arabian! Gulf!
waters!could!be!contaminated!by!some!radioactive!materials!which!in!turn!lead!to!higher!levels!of!
radioactive!materials!present!in!fish!in!this!region.!This!work!is!carried!out!to!measure!the!level!of!
radioactive! materials! present! in! fish! with! special! emphasis! on! 137Cs,! 134Cs! and! 40K,! using! a! high!
purity! Germanium! detector.! Four! kinds! of! the! most! commonly! consumed! fish! in! Bahrain! were!
tested.!The!results!of!the!measurements!will!be!presented.!
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RADIOECOLOGICAL!IMPACTS!OF!NORM!FRACTIONATION!IN!PHOSPHATE!ROCK!
BENEFICIATION!PROCESSES!
A.!E.!M.!KHATER1,2!
1
King!Saud!University,!Saudi!Arabia!
National!Center!for!Nuclear!Safety!and!Radiation!Control,!Egypt!
2
!
Beneficiation!processes!(crushing,!screening,!washing,!magnetic!separation!and!wet!screening)!of!
phosphate!rock!aims!to!increase!the!phosphorus!content!of!the!run"of"mine!(ROM)!ore.!It!starts!
with!the!ROM!ore!and!ends!with!the!wet!rock,!and!different!rejects!(by"products).!These!rejects!
are! massive,! 1.8! Mt! annually,! about! 45%! of! ROM! ore.! They! have! a! potential! environmental!
hazards! due! to! their! content! of! Naturally! Occurring! Radioactive! Materials! –! NORM,! especially!
uranium"238!series.!They!have!also!potential!industrial!and!agricultural!useful!applications!due!to!
their! physicochemical! properties! such! as! relative! high! content! of! phosphorus,! clay! and! iron.!
Representative! samples! of! ROM! ore,! wet! rock,! and! beneficiation! processes! by"products! (wet!
screening,! magnetic! separation,! slim,! and! clay! and! dolomite! rocks)! were! collected.! Natural!
radionuclides! (238U,! 235U,! 232Th,! 40K,! 210Pb,! 210Po)! were! measured! using! gamma"ray! spectrometer,!
alpha! particle! spectrometer! and! ICP"MS! analytical! techniques.! Radiologically,! internal! hazards!
index,! external! hazard! index,! representative! level! index,! gamma! absorbed! dose! rate! and!
occupational! dose! equivalent! due! to! inhalation! were! calculated.! Potential! hazards! due! to!
beneficiation!processes!and!their!by"products!were!discussed.!Some!of!the!by"products!could!have!
potential!useful!applications!such!as!clay!rock!and!slim!for!agricultural!soil!reclamation.!
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DEVELOPMENT!OF!A!MULTI"CRITERIA!ANALYSIS!SYSTEM!TO!SUPPORT!DECISION!
PROCESSES!IN!RADIOLOGICAL!EMERGENCIES!IN!A!TROPICAL!CLIMATE!COUNTRY!
E.!R.!ROCHEDO1,!M.!A.!WASSERMAN2,!D.!N.!SILVA2!AND!P.!R.!ROCHEDO3!
1
Nuclear!Facilities!Management"CNEN,!Brasil!
Institute!of!Radioprotection!and!Dosimetry"CNEN,!Brasil!
3
Federal!University!of!Rio!de!Janeiro,!Brasil!
2
!
One!of!the!permanent!concerns!in!the!international!scenario!is!the!study!of!the!consequences!of!
nuclear! and! radiological! accidents! and! other! events! that! lead! to! the! contamination! of! the!
environment!and!the!exposure!of!members!of!the!public!as!a!consequence!of!this!contamination.!
Decision"making!in!such!situations!need!to!be!based!in!solid!technical!criteria!but!must!also!take!
into!account!the!actual!prevailing!circumstance!in!order!to!reach!optimized!measures!to!protect!
people!and!the!environment.!The!Multi"criteria!Analysis!Method!is!already!being!used!for!similar!
applications!in!some!European!countries!but!it!is!necessary!that!the!criteria!are!established!taking!
in! account! economic,! social! and! climatic! aspects! that! can! affect! the! selection! of! protective!
measures!applicable!to!specific!regions,!and!the!selection!of!the!different!weights!to!be!associated!
to!the!different!criteria!that!are!to!be!applied!to!different!social"politic!environments.!The!present!
work!describes!the!development!of!a!Multi"criteria!tool!to!support!the!decision!making!process!for!
the! implementation! of! protective! measures! to! protect! the! public! in! situations! of! radiological!
accidents,! with! the! degree! of! flexibility! to! be! easily! adapted! to! the! different! social,! political!and!
climatic! regions! of! Brazil,! through! the! comparison! of! different! options! considering! a! diversity! of!
aspects,!such!as!the!efficiency!of!the!measure!in!the!reducing!public!exposure,!the!radiation!doses!
that!would!be!received!by!the!workers,!the!characteristics!of!the!generated!wastes,!the!difficulty!
of!implementation!of!the!measures,!as!well!as!the!operational!costs!related!to!the!implementation!
of!the!measures.!For!urban!areas,!it!was!relatively!simple!to!derive!radiological!criteria!to!feed!a!
decision!making!process,!as!the!percent!reduction!on!doses!for!several!countermeasures!have!not!
shown! large! variation! among! the! different! scenarios! simulated.! For! rural! areas,! the! decision!
process! needs! to! consider! the! specific! situation! of! the! affected! area,! considering! source! term!
characteristics,! soil! type,! seasonal! aspects,! local! management! practices! and! ingestion! habits! of!
affected! populations,! particularly! the! self"sustaining! ingestion! of! relevant! food! items.! The! paper!
describes!the!steps!already!developed!and!the!current!status!of!the!system!under!development,!
discusses!the!difficulties!found!and!stresses!the!needs!for!future!developments.!
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