Concentrations of U,U, U,Th, Th,Th, Ra,Ra, Ra,Po, Pb and Pb in drinking water in Italy: reconciling safety standards based on measurements of gross α and β

Some important naturally occurring α- and β-radionuclides in drinking water samples collected in Italy were determined and the radiological quality evaluated. The mean activity concentrations (mBq L⁻¹) of the radionuclides in the water samples were almost in the order: 26 ± 36 (²³⁴U) > 21 ± 30 (²³⁸U) > 8.9 ± 15 (²²⁶Ra) > 4.8 ± 6.3 (²²⁸Ra) > 4.0 ± 4.1 (²¹⁰Pb) > 3.2 ± 3.7 (²¹⁰Po) > 2.7 ± 1.2 (²¹²Pb) > 1.4 ± 1.8 (²²⁴Ra) > 1.1 ± 1.3 (²³⁵U) > 0.26 ± 0.39 (²²⁸Th) > 0.0023 ± 0.0009 (²³⁰Th) > 0.0013 ± 0.0006 (²³²Th). The mean estimated dose (μSv yr⁻¹) to an adult from the water intake was in this order: 2.8 ± 3.3 (²¹⁰Po) > 2.4 ± 3.2 (²²⁸Ra) > 2.1 ± 2.1 (²¹⁰Pb) > 1.8 ± 3.1 (²²⁶Ra) > 0.94 ± 1.30 (²³⁴U) > 0.70 ± 0.98 (²³⁸U) > 0.069 ± 0.087 (²²⁴Ra) > 0.036 ± 0.044 (²³⁵U) > 0.014 ± 0.021 (²²⁸Th) > 0.012 ± 0.005 (²¹²Pb) > 0.00035 ± 0.00029 (²³⁰Th) > 0.00022 ± 0.00009 (²³²Th). It is obvious that ²¹⁰Po, ²²⁸Ra, ²¹⁰Pb and ²²⁶Ra are the most important dose contributors in the drinking water intake. As far as the seventeen brands of analysed drinking water were concerned, the committed effective doses were in the range of 2.81–38.5 μSv yr⁻¹, all well below the reference level of the committed effective dose (100 μSv yr⁻¹) recommended by the WHO. These data throw some light on the scale of the radiological impact on the public from some naturally occurring radionuclides in drinking water, and can also serve as a comparison for the dose contribution from artificial radionuclides released to the environment as a result of human practices. Based on the radionuclide composition in the analysed waters, comment was made on the new screening level for gross α activity in guidelines for drinking-water quality recommended by the WHO, 2004.     

Recent changes in Red Lake (Romania) sedimentation rate determined from depth profiles of Pb and Cs radioisotopes

This work presents a first estimation of the sedimentation rate for the Red Lake (Romania). The sediment accumulation rates were determined by two well-known methods for recent sediment dating: ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs methods. Both techniques implied used the gamma emission of the above-mentioned radionuclides. The ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in the sediment were measured using a gamma spectrometer with a HpGe detector, Gamma-X type. Activities ranging from 41 ± 7 to 135 ± 34 Bq/kg were found for ²¹⁰Pb and from 3 ± 0.5 to 1054 ± 150 Bq/kg for ¹³⁷Cs. The sediment profile indicates acceleration in sedimentation rate in the last 18 years. Thus, the sedimentation process for the Red Lake can be divided in two periods, the last 18 years, and respectively, the period before that. Using the Constant Rate of ²¹⁰Pb Supply method values between 0.18 ± 0.04 and 1.85 ± 0.5 g/cm² year (0.32 ± 0.08 and 2.83 ± 0.7 cm/year) were obtained. Considering both periods, an average sedimentation rate of 0.87 ± 0.17 g/cm² year (1.17 cm/year) was calculated. Considering an average depth of 5.41 m for the lake and the sedimentation rate estimated for the last 18 years, it could be estimated that the lake will disappear in 195 years.     

利用210Pb测年法探讨临海工程建设对厦门同安湾沉积速率的影响

采用铅-210地质年代学方法分析了厦门同安湾自高集海堤及其它临海工程兴建以来的淤积现象。结果表明:陆续的临海工程兴建,尤其是高集海堤修建,海湾水动力条件明显变化,致使整个海湾基本上处于接受沉积状况;沉积速率明显增加;近海堤主航道的淤积超过了海湾东、西、南三侧岸滩。     

Organic pollutants in riparian wetlands of the Lippe river (Germany)

Organic-geochemical investigations were performed on layers of a dated sediment core taken from a riparian wetland of the Lippe river, Germany. The samples were collected from two distinct depth intervals representing sedimentation periods of 1944–1952 and 1972–1984, respectively. Comprehensive screening analyses by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed a complex mixture of anthropogenic contaminants. Here, we report the quantitative distribution of selected persistent lipophilic organic substances characterizing municipal as well as industrial emissions. Considering both geochemical and geochronological data, we deduced time-dependent information about industrial production and domestic effluents for the region investigated. In addition, usage and subsequent emission of characteristic pollutants into the riverine system were interpreted for both time periods monitored.     

Catastrophic Decline in Mollusc Diversity in Eastern Tasmania and Its Concurrence with Shellfish Fisheries

Abstract:  We used historical patterns of deposition of mollusc shells to infer changes to inshore benthic assemblages in the southeastern Tasmanian region over the past 120 years. We identified and counted shells in slices embedded within 1m long ²¹⁰Pb-dated sediment cores were collected at 13 sites in water depths of 8–16 m. Declines in mollusc species richness and shell production occurred during the past century at all sites studied, with a mean decline per 5-cm sediment slice from 21 species in 1890 to 7 species in 1990 and in shell abundance from 150 to 30 individuals over the same period. The time course of decline notably corresponded with the history of the scallop dredge fishery, presumably either because scallop dredging caused general declines in populations of mollusc species or because other factors caused a catastrophic regional decline in molluscs that included scallops. As a consequence, the fishery was forced to close. Of major concern is that losses had not previously been recognized but extended throughout the 100-km coastal span of the study. Given that fishing and other anthropogenic impacts, as well as a lack of observational data, are virtually ubiquitous for the coastal zone, major recent losses in mollusc biodiversity may be globally widespread but have gone unnoticed.     

云南省程海现代沉积物中137Cs、210Pb的分布及计年研究

程海沉积物柱芯中存在三个峰形完好的137Cs蓄积峰。 94%的137Cs累计值分配于 1985年以前 ,表明程海沉积物中的13 7Cs能较好地保存在沉积年代的相应层节中。该沉积物柱芯中2 10 Pbex的分布特殊 ,据此将近五十年来程海的沉积过程分为三个稳定沉积阶段和两个快速沉积阶段。两种计年方法的结合有助于认识沉积速率变化较大情况下湖泊的沉积状况 ,也有助于加深对核素计年方法的理解     

Measurements of 210Pb concentrations in airborne in Kuwait

The concentrations of ²¹⁰Pb in the atmosphere of Kuwait Cityhave been monitored over a period of five years (January 1994 toDecember 1998) using cellulose air filters for analysis with liquid scintillation counting for gross beta. Results show thatthe distribution of daily averaged ²¹⁰Pb concentrations varied from 0.002 to 2.53 mBqm^-3 with an average of 0.896 mBqm^-3 and a geometric mean of 0.687 mBqm^-3. The studysuggests that the existence of ²¹⁰Pb in air in Kuwait originates mainly from re-circulated fraction of ²¹⁰Pb whichwas already deposited on ground surface, not from direct decay of radon.The long-term trend pattern for the five years shows a seasonalvariation with maximum concentrations occurring in the autumn season.     

中国边缘海柱样沉积物中239+240Pu的分布与时标价值

根据中国边缘海已研究的77根^239+240Pu柱样沉积物,分析了柱样沉积物中^239+240Pu的来源、分布和时标特征.结果表明理论上给出的利用²¹⁰Pb、¹³⁷Cs和^239+240Pu 3种核素进行定年可能出现的26种情况,与实际情况完全吻合.中国边缘海海陆交汇,柱样沉积物中不同来源的^239+240Pu沉积叠加使得近岸海域（尤其是河口区）柱样沉积物中^239+240Pu的峰型轮廓明显.从近岸到远海,受到沉积物来源方式、海水深度、黑潮混合、扩散效应和边界清除效应等综合因素的影响,柱样沉积物中^239+240Pu的分布可能出现双峰（多峰）、单峰和无峰的情况.其中,柱样中^239+240Pu呈现单峰分布时,与全球大气沉降的高峰年1963年相对应,时标价值可靠.不同海洋环境条件下²¹⁰Pb、¹³⁷Cs和^239+240Pu定年的可靠性,应根据具体海洋沉积环境进行分析;海水中¹³⁷Cs和^239+240Pu核素沉积性质的差异,可能导致沉积峰不一致而影响定年的判断.     

Escaping radioactivity from coal-fired power plants (CPPs) due to coal burning and the associated hazards: a review

Coal, like most materials found in nature, contains trace quantities of the naturally occurring primordial radionuclides, i.e. of ⁴⁰K and of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and their decay products. Therefore, the combustion of coal results in the released into the environment of some natural radioactivity (1.48 TBq y⁻¹), the major part of which (99 %) escapes as very fine particles, while the rest in fly ash. The activity concentrations of natural radionuclides measured in coals originated from coal mines in Greece varied from 117 to 435 Bq kg⁻¹ for ²³⁸U, from 44 to 255 Bq kg⁻¹ for ²²⁶Ra, from 59 to 205 Bq kg⁻¹ for ²¹⁰Pb, from 9 to 41 Bq kg⁻¹ for ²²⁸Ra (²³²Th) and from 59 to 227 Bq kg⁻¹ for ⁴⁰K. Fly ash escapes from the stacks of coal-fired power plants in a percentage of 3-1% of the total fly ash, in the better case. The natural radionuclide concentrations measured in fly ash produced and retained or escaped from coal-fired power plants in Greece varied from 263 to 950 Bq kg⁻¹ for ²³⁸U, from 142 to 605 Bq kg⁻¹ for ²²⁶Ra, from 133 to 428 Bq kg⁻¹ for ²¹⁰Pb, from 27 to 68 Bq kg⁻¹ for ²²⁸Ra (²³²Th) and from 204 to 382 Bq kg⁻¹ for ⁴⁰K. About 5% of the total ash produced in the coal-fired power plants is used as substitute of cement in concrete for the construction of dwellings, and may affect indoor radiation doses from external irradiation and the inhalation of radon decay products (internal irradiation) is the most significant. The resulting normalized collective effective doses were 6 and 0.5 man-Sv (GW a)⁻¹ for typical old and modern coal-fired power plants, respectively.     

博斯腾湖流域沉积物中多环芳烃的时空分布、来源及生态风险评价

在新疆博斯腾湖及其上游采集了8个表层沉积物和1根湖心沉积柱样品,分析了其中16种多环芳烃(PAHs)的含量,对其时空分布特征、来源和潜在生态风险进行了研究,并采用~(210)Pb同位素测年法分析了沉积速率和沉积柱的时间跨度.结果表明:表层沉积物样品中PAHs含量范围为57.37～360.24 ng·g~(-1)(干重),开都河沉积物中PAHs以低分子量PAHs(2～3环)为主,博斯腾湖沉积物中PAHs以高分子量PAHs(4～6环)为主.开都河和博斯腾湖沉积物中萘(Nap)、菲(Phe)、苯并(b)荧蒽(BbF)和茚并(1, 2, 3-cd)芘(IP)等单体的含量较高.空间分布呈现出上游河流开都河高于博斯腾湖区,且湖区污染主要集中在湖心处的污染特征.沉积柱样品中15种PAHs含量范围为29.85～211.13 ng·g~(-1),沉积速率为0.18 cm·a~(-1),PAHs组成以5环和6环为主.沉积时间跨度为1852—2016年,PAHs含量峰值出现在1994年.采用比值法对表层沉积物和沉积柱样品进行源解析表明,博斯腾湖流域PAHs主要来源于生物质和煤热解过程,近年来有向煤炭和石油燃烧复合源转变的倾向.效应区间低/中值法(ERL/ERM)和平均效应区间中值商法(M-ERM-Q)评估结果表明,博斯腾湖及其上游表层沉积物中PAHs表现出低生态风险.