Assessment of Natural Radioactivity and Radiological Risks in River Sediments from Calabria (Southern Italy)
Source abstract
Abstract
This study was developed to carry out a comprehensive radiological assessment of natural radioactivity for river sediment samples from Calabria, southern Italy, and to define a baseline background for the area on a radiation map. In the studied area, elevated levels of natural radionuclides are expected, due to the outcropping acidic intrusive and metamorphic rocks from which the radioactive elements derive. To identify and quantify the natural radioisotopes, ninety river sediment samples from nine selected coastal sampling points (ten samples for each point) were collected as representative of the Ionian and the Tyrrhenian coastline of Calabria. The samples were analyzed using a gamma ray spectrometer equipped with a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector. The values of mean activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K measured for the studied samples are (21.3 ± 6.3) Bq kg−1, (30.3 ± 4.5) Bq kg−1 and (849 ± 79) Bq kg−1, respectively. The calculated radiological hazard indices showed average values of 63 nGy h−1 (absorbed dose rate), 0.078 mSv y−1 (effective dose outdoors), 0.111 mSv y−1 (effective dose indoors), 63 Bq kg−1 (radium equivalent), 0.35 (Hex), 0.41 (Hin), 0.50 (activity concentration index) and 458 µSv y−1 (Annual Gonadal Equivalent Dose, AGED). In order to delineate the spatial distribution of natural radionuclides on the radiological map and to identify the areas with low, medium and high radioactivity values, the Surfer 10 software was employed. Finally, the multivariate statistical analysis was performed to deduce the interdependency and any existing relationships between the radiological indices and the concentrations of the radionuclides. The results of this study, also compared with values of other locations of the Italian Peninsula characterized by similar local geological conditions, can be used as a baseline for future investigations about radioactivity background in the investigated area.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Radioactivity and Radon Measurements · Radioactive contamination and transfer · Radiation Dose and Imaging
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Department of Mathematics and Informatics, Physics and Earth Sciences (MIFT), University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d’Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Sezione di Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo and Milazzo Office, Via dei Mille 46, 98057 Milazzo (ME), Italy
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (SZN), Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy
Environmental Protection Agency of Calabria, Italy (ARPACal), Department of Reggio Calabria, Via Troncovito SNC, 89135 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging SASTAS Section, University of Messina, Viale Annunziata, 98168 Messina, Italy
References (32)
Show source-provided references
1. United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) (2000). Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation. Report of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation to the General Assembly, United Nations.
2. Influence of geology and soil particle size on the surface-area/volume activity ratio for natural radionuclides10.1007/BF02042608 ↗
3. Gamma-ray measurements of naturally occurring radioactive samples from Cyprus characteristic geological rocks10.1016/S1350-4487(03)00028-3 ↗
4. Edaphic and physiographic factors affecting the distribution of natural gamma-emitting radionuclides in the soils of the Arnas catchment in the Central Spanish Pyrenees10.1046/j.1365-2389.2002.00488.x ↗
5. Uptake and distribution of natural radioactivity in wheat plants from soil10.1016/j.jenvrad.2004.08.007 ↗
6. Natural radionuclides and trace elements in rice field soils in relation to fertilizer application: Study of a chronic kidney disease area in Sri Lanka10.1007/s12665-009-0179-1 ↗
7. Multi-stage melting in the lower crust of the Serre (southern Italy)10.1093/petrology/43.12.2191 ↗
8. Radiological assessment, mineralogy and geochemistry of the heavy-mineral placers from the Calabrian coast (South Italy)10.1088/1748-0221/14/05/P05015 ↗
9. Study of the spatial distribution of natural radioactivity in the upper Egypt Nile river sediments10.1016/j.radmeas.2007.02.054 ↗
10. A methodological approach to a radioactive sample analysis with low-level γ-ray spectrometry10.1088/1748-0221/13/09/P09022 ↗
11. Natural radioactivity measurements and dosimetric evaluations in soil samples with a high content of NORM10.1140/epjp/i2017-11343-x ↗
12. The Calabria-Peloritani Orogen, a composite terrane in Central Mediterranean; Its overall architecture and geodynamic significance for a pre-Alpine scenario around the Tethyan basin
13. Pressure-temperature evolution of the late Hercyian Calabria continental crust: Compatibility with post-collisional extensional tectonics10.1111/j.1365-3121.2007.00777.x ↗
14. Metamorphic evolution of preserved Hercynian crustal section in the Serre massif (Calabria-Peloritani Orogen, southern Italy)10.1016/j.lithos.2009.12.008 ↗
15. Diagnostics techniques and dosimetric evaluations for environmental radioactivity investigations10.1088/1748-0221/11/10/C10012 ↗
16. Lichens as environmental risk detectors10.1140/epjp/i2017-11459-y ↗
17. An investigation on airborne particulate radioactivity, heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons composition in Calabrian selected sites, southern Italy
18. Caridi, F., Messina, M., Belvedere, A., D’Agostino, M., Marguccio, S., Settineri, L., and Belmusto, G. (2019). Food salt characterization in terms of radioactivity and metals contamination. Appl. Sci., 9.10.3390/app9142882 ↗
19. Caridi, F., D’Agostino, M., and Belvedere, A. (2020). Radioactivity in Calabrian (Southern Italy) wild boar meat. Appl. Sci., 10.10.3390/app10103580 ↗
20. Horizontal and vertical characterization of radionuclides and minerals in river sediments10.1016/j.apradiso.2010.07.020 ↗
21. Caridi, F., Pappaterra, D., Belmusto, G., Messina, M., Belvedere, A., D’Agostino, M., and Settineri, L. (2019). Radioactivity and heavy metals concentration in Italian (Calabrian) DOC wines. Appl. Sci., 9.10.3390/app9214584 ↗
22. Radioactivity, radiological risk and metal pollution assessment in marine sediments from Calabrian selected areas, southern Italy10.1140/epjp/i2018-11887-1 ↗
23. Pulsed laser treatments of polyethylene films10.1016/j.nimb.2010.05.067 ↗
24. Natural radioactivity of Australian building materials, waste and by-products10.1097/00004032-198501000-00007 ↗
25. Official Journal of the European Union (2015). Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom, Official Journal of the European Union.
26. Measurement of natural radioactivity in building materials of Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India using gamma-ray spectrometry10.1016/j.apradiso.2011.12.001 ↗
27. The assessment of natural radioactivity and its associated radiological hazards and dose parameters in granite samples from South Sinai, Egypt
28. (2020, November 17). Surfer 10 Software. Available online: https://www.goldensoftware.com/products/surfer.
29. (2020, November 16). XLSTAT: Statistical Software & Data Analysis Add-On for Excel. Available online: https://www.xlstat.com/en/.
30. Environmental screening for the assessment of potentially toxic elements content in PGI soils from the Mediterranean region (Italy and Turkey)10.1007/s12665-020-09245-3 ↗
31. International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) (1991). 1990 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. ICRP Publication 60. Ann. ICRP, 21, 1–3.
32. Spatial distribution and lifetime cancer risk due to gamma radioactivity in Yelagiri Hills, Tamilnadu, India