ABSTRACT
From early April 2020, wildfires raged in the highly contaminated areas around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (CNPP), Ukraine. For about 4 weeks, the fires spread around and into the Chernobyl exclusion zone (CEZ) and came within a few kilometers of both the CNPP and radioactive waste storage facilities. Wildfires occurred on several occasions throughout the month of April. They were extinguished, but weather conditions and the spread of fires by airborne embers and smoldering fires led to new fires starting at different locations of the CEZ. The forest fires were only completely under control at the beginning of May, thanks to the tireless and incessant work of the firefighters and a period of sustained precipitation. In total, 0.7-1.2 TBq 137Cs were released into the atmosphere. Smoke plumes partly spread south and west and contributed to the detection of airborne 137Cs over the Ukrainian territory and as far away as Western Europe. The increase in airborne 137Cs ranged from several hundred µBq·m-3 in northern Ukraine to trace levels of a few µBq·m-3 or even within the usual background level in other European countries. Dispersion modeling determined the plume arrival time and was helpful in the assessment of the possible increase in airborne 137Cs concentrations in Europe. Detections of airborne 90Sr (emission estimate 345-612 GBq) and Pu (up to 75 GBq, mostly 241Pu) were reported from the CEZ. Americium-241 represented only 1.4% of the total source term corresponding to the studied anthropogenic radionuclides but would have contributed up to 80% of the inhalation dose.
Subject(s)
Air Pollutants, Radioactive , Chernobyl Nuclear Accident , Fires , Wildfires , Air Pollutants, Radioactive/analysis , Cesium Radioisotopes/analysis , Europe , UkraineABSTRACT
Thorium is a radionuclide highly widespread in the earth's crust with a relevant contribution to the exposure to radiation of living organisms. Natural concentrations of thorium in the soil can be altered due to human activities such as mining, agriculture, and cattle industry. Mining and related industry have been operating for centuries in Zacatecas State, Mexico, leaving mining waste dumps that can release trace elements to the topsoil. There are not enough previous studies of thorium concentration in this area. Thirty-three soil samples from different locations from Zacatecas State were analyzed, using alpha-spectrometry and ICP-MS, to estimate the reference value for thorium in surface soil in order to provide regulatory agencies with a tool to verify possible disturbances due to anthropogenic activities. Geoaccumulation indexes and enrichment factors did not reveal significant alterations in topsoil thorium concentration. The average concentration was 13.6 ± 7.6 mg kg-1, which is consistent with the estimated average concentration in the earth crust and is then proposed as average basal concentration for this region. A slight disequilibrium has been found between the natural isotopes of thorium due to the semi-arid nature of the areas and climatic factors.
Subject(s)
Soil Pollutants, Radioactive , Thorium , Animals , Cattle , Mexico , Mining , Soil , Soil Pollutants, Radioactive/analysis , Thorium/analysisABSTRACT
Se ha realizado el estudio radiológico del agua del manantial del Balneario de San Nicolás en la provincia de Almería. Este estudio ha consistido en la determinación cuantitativa de los radionucleidos naturales más importantes desde el punto de vista de la protección radiológica existentes en las aguas del balneario. La medida del contenido radiactivo de las aguas constituye un tema cuyo estudio resulta de gran interés. Las aguas con elementos radiactivos disueltos pueden producir, como consecuencia directa de su consumo, dosis de irradiación interna tanto por ingestión como por inhalación de estos elementos. Debido a esto es necesario, en algunos casos, proceder al análisis y posterior evaluación de la dosis asociada a este consumo (AU)
Radio activity analysis of San Nicolás Spa water was carried out by the CIEMAT Laboratory of Environmental Radioactivity. With this aim the most important natural radionuclides were determined in water from spring water. The measurement and knowledge of radioactivity level in water is an interesting and convenient topic. The consumption of water which has dissolved some radionuclides could lead to internal irradiation both by ingestion and by inhalation. Therefore it is necessary, in some cases, to determine the water radioactivity level in order to assess the dose (AU)
Subject(s)
Thermal Water/analysis , Hot Springs/analysis , Hot Springs/chemistry , Radioisotopes/analysis , Radioisotopes/chemistry , Thermal Water/ethnology , Radioactivity , Radioisotopes/toxicityABSTRACT
Se ha realizado el estudio radiológico del agua del manantial del Balneario de Villavieja en la provincia de Castellón. Este estudio ha consistido en la determinación cuantitativa de los radionucleidos naturales más importantes desde el punto de vista de la protección radiológica existentes en las aguas del balneario. La medida del contenido radiactivo de las aguas constituye un tema cuyo estudio resulta de gran interés. Las aguas con elementos radiactivos disueltos pueden producir, como consecuencia directa de su consumo, dosis de irradiación interna tanto por ingestión como por inhalación de estos elementos. Debido a esto es necesario, en algunos casos, proceder al análisis y posterior evaluación de la dosis asociada a este consumo (AU)
Radio activity analysis of Villavieja Spa water was carried out by the CIEMAT Laboratory of Environmental Radioactivity. With this aim the most important natural radionuclides were determined in water from spring water. The measurement and knowledge of radioactivity level in water is an interesting and convenient topic. The consumption of water which has dissolved some radionuclides could lead to internal irradiation both by ingestion and by inhalation. Therefore it is necessary, in some cases, to determine the water radioactivity level in order to assess the dose (AU)
Subject(s)
Water Pollution, Radioactive/analysis , 24961 , Thermal Water/analysis , Mineral Waters/analysis , Radioisotopes/isolation & purification , Activation Analysis/methods , Hot Springs/analysisABSTRACT
Se ha realizado el estudio radiológico del agua del manantial del Balneario de Olmedo en la provincia de Valladolid. Este estudio ha consistido en la determinación cuantitativa de los radionucleidos naturales más importantes desde el punto de vista de la protección radiológica existentes en las aguas del balneario. La medida del contenido radiactivo de las aguas constituye un tema cuyo estudio resulta de gran interés. Las aguas con elementos radiactivos disueltos pueden producir, como consecuencia directa de su consumo, dosis de irradiación interna tanto por ingestión como por inhalación de estos elementos. Debido a esto es necesario, en algunos casos, proceder al análisis y posterior evaluación de la dosis asociada a este consumo
Radioactivity analysis of Olmedo Spa water was carried out by the CIEMAT Laboratory of Environmental Radioactivity. With this aim the most important natural radionuclides were determined in water from spring water. The measurement and knowledge of radioactivity level in water is an interesting and convenient topic. The consumption of water which has dissolved some radionuclides could lead to internal irradiation both by ingestion and by inhalation. Therefore it is necessary, in some cases, to determine the water radioactivity level in order to assess the dose
