Barbara Kubica

Radioactive contamination of Polish mushrooms

Abstract The results of a 5-year investigation on the radioactive contamination of mushrooms are presented. More than 400 samples of various mushrooms species have been examined for γ-emitters. Some samples have also been analysed for strontium-90 and plutonium isotope content. Maps of caesium-137, caesium-134 and potassium-40 activities, based on the measurements of 278 samples of Xerocomus badius collected in 1991 throughout Poland are presented. The highest measured activity of caesium-137 was 157 kBq/kg dry mass ( Xerocomus badius ). A dosimetric interpretation of the observed contamination levels is proposed.

Chemistry of sediments from the Dobczyce Reservoir, Poland, and the environmental implications.

Abstract Sediments samples of the Dobczyce Reservoir (South Poland) were taken in three successive years (2004–06) at 17 points, analyzed for 12 elements by atomic absorption spectrometry. Substantial variations in elemental composition due to hydrological and environmental reasons were found. The use of statistical and chemometric tools enabled objective and effective analysis of the data obtained, both in case of long term observations as well as in terms of interpretation of incidental changes in metal concentrations. The proposed methodology can be useful in: a) dividing monitored territories (lakes, rivers, catchments) into similar and dissimilar areas; b) distinguishing between typical and non-typical contaminants distribution; c) reducing the number of essential analytes and sampling points that should be controlled in the future, without loss of important environmental information.

Hexacyanoferrate Composite Sorbent in Removal of Anionic Species From Waters and Waste Waters

The potential application of the magnetic polymer based on nickel(II)-potassium hexacyanoferrate(II/III) (denoted as KNF) for the sorption and separation of anionic species was presented. For the investigations the Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes with iminodisuccinic acid (IDS) as well as Cr(VI) and As(V) were chosen. Several factors such as resin dose, pH, temperature, phase contact time, concentration, and the presence of interfering ions were studied and optimalized. It was found that more than 90% of the IDS complexes were sorbed on KNF within 30 min of contact time and the process involved the external mass transfer and the intraparticle diffusion. The adsorption could be described by the Temkin and the Dubinin-Radushkevich adsorption equations.

Lake biota response to human impact and local climate during the last 200 years: A multi-proxy study of a subalpine lake (Tatra Mountains, W Carpathians).

Element content, loss-on-ignition, chironomid analysis and (210)Pb dating were applied on a sediment core from a subalpine Tatra lake (Popradské pleso) to reveal the response of aquatic biota to eutrophication induced by human activities in the lake catchment. The lead dating indicates that the 0-8 cm section of the core represents the past ca 200 years, ending at ~1814 AD. Comparing the key changes of the proxies with human activities that are historically well documented, four phases of the recent lake development were distinguished: (1) a pre-tourism phase, (2) a phase of increasing touristic activity and early cottage development, (3) a phase of eutrophication, and (4) a phase of post-eutrophication. Neither touristic activity, nor early cottage development around the lake (1st and 2nd phases) had considerable influence on the chironomid assemblage structure or organic content of the lake. The most significant change both in chironomid assemblage structure and loss-on-ignition occurred during the 3rd phase, when a big tourist hotel was built close by the lake and started contaminating it via direct wastewater input. However, the structure of the chironomid assemblage has not changed significantly over time and the dominating taxa remained the same during the whole period. Parallel with the nutrient signal of the paleo assemblage, a secondary signal has been identified as the ratio of rheophilic taxa on total abundance that did not correlate with the sediments organic content, and is most likely driven by local climatic oscillations. Changes of most of metal elements concentrations reflected rather bigger scale changes of industrial activities than local scale human disturbances. Our results indicate that hydromorphological properties can moderate the impact of organic pollution on the lake biota.

Concentrations of 137Cs and 40K radionuclides and some heavy metals in soil samples from the eastern part of the Main Ridge of the Flysch Carpathians

The aim of the study is to present the results of determination of radioactivity of artificial 137Cs and natural 40K and certain heavy metals in soil samples collected from the eastern part of the Main Ridge of Carpathians, including the Beskid Niski Mts and the Bieszczady Mts. The evaluation of level of radionuclides was based on the bulk density analysis of the soil. A valuable finding of the study was a good linear correlation between the level of 137Cs concentration and bulk density of the soil as well as an inverse correlation between radioactivity of natural 40K and tested soil density. This might indicate though a high competitiveness of these elements between each other. Moreover, a good correlation between the concentrations of artificial element 137Cs and Pb has been also observed in soil samples collected from the Beskid Niski Mts. In most cases, the level of artificial 137Cs was lower comparing to an average 137Cs concentration established for soils in Poland.

SAMPLE PREPARATION PROCEDURE FOR PIXE ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS ON SOFT TISSUES

Trace element analysis is one of the most important field in analytical chemistry. There are several instrumental techniques which are applied for determinations of microscopic elemental content. The PIXE (Proton Induced X-ray Emission) technique is one of the nuclear techniques that is commonly applied for such purpose due to its multielemental analysis possibilities. The aim of this study was to establish the optimal conditions for target preparation procedure. In this paper two different approaches to the topic are presented and widely discussed.1,2 The first approach was the traditional pellet technique and the second one was mineralization procedure. For the analysis soft tissue such as liver was used. Some results are also presented on water samples