Luigi Bruzzi

Proposal for a method of certification of natural radioactivity in building materials

The need for a standardised procedure for the determination of the natural radioactivity content of building materials arises from the growing attention that is paid to its potential effects and the consequent concern of many producers of such materials. Gamma spectrometry has been carried out on samples of several building materials produced in Italy. In particular, reference has been made to the 609 keV peak of and to the 238 keV peak of , to determine the specific activity of members of the and decay chains, respectively. The determination of content has been performed through its 1460 keV peak. Grinding monolithic samples may cause the release of a considerable amount of , thus perturbing the equilibrium within the decay chain, so that the activity of may be representative of that of its parent isotope only after a period of about 30 days. The build-up of and its daughters has been studied both from a theoretical and experimental point of view. The results show that the asymptotic values of specific activity, extrapolated on the basis of theoretical equations, are in accord with experimental values. A fast and reliable certification method may therefore include extrapolation of the final specific activity from values obtained in measurements performed in the first few days after grinding.

Monitoring of natural radioactivity in working places

Abstract Radioactive materials are treated and transformed mainly in nuclear industries. However, non-nuclear industries use raw materials containing significant levels of natural radionuclides; the processing of these materials can expose workers and people living near such sites to radiation levels well above the natural background. This radioactivity is due to nuclides belonging to the 238 U and 232 Th decay chains and to 40 K. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and gamma-ray spectrometry have been used together to determine uranium and thorium concentration and the conditions of secular equilibrium in their decay chains for samples from ceramic and phosphate-fertiliser plants. In fact, the knowledge of the secular equilibrium conditions is necessary in order to make correct assumptions for the dose assessment. The results indicate that the secular equilibrium is verified for the samples from ceramic plants, whereas a situation of disequilibrium between parents and daughters of the natural chains is detected in phosphate fertilisers.

Evaluation of gamma and alpha doses due to natural radioactivity of building materials

A method of calculation was developed for evaluating the contributions of external (gamma) and internal (alpha) doses due to the natural radioactivity of building materials. The radionuclides examined are 40K and members of the 235U, 238U and 232Th radioactive decay chains. The method makes it possible to correlate the specific activities of these radionuclides in material used for constructing the walls of a room with the alpha and gamma dose absorbed by an individual at the centre of the room. The results obtained are in agreement with the experimental data and with values calculated by other authors.

Environmental management policy in a coastal tourism municipality: the case study of Cervia (Italy)

The sustainability concept applied to human activities implies the need to harmonise the protection of environment with a satisfactory economic and social development. This is particularly true for tourism development: a misuse of the natural resources can cause a degradation of the tourist appeal of the destination, bringing it finally to its economic decline. This problem is particularly important in coastal tourism destinations. The implementation of an environmental management system is a powerful way for progressing towards better environmental performances. In this paper, the main results obtained in applying the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme procedure to the municipality of Cervia, a well-known tourist destination located on the Adriatic coast of Italy are described. This research puts into evidence that the main environmental pressures in the summer season are related to the supply of potable water, the production of solid wastes and wastewater air pollution and noise, etc. However, if correctly planned and managed, tourism can also contribute to environmental protection, to the conservation of biodiversity and to a sustainable use of natural resources.

Natural radioactivity in refractory manufacturing plants and exposure of workers to ionising radiation.

This paper shows the results of a survey carried out at some refractory manufacturing plants. During the first part of the survey, the concentration of natural radioactivity in raw materials and end-products, coming from four plants, was assessed. Several raw materials and, as a consequence, some end-products as well have shown activity concentrations exceeding a few hundreds of Bq kg(-1) of (238)U and (232)Th. In some important raw materials, such as bauxite and corundums, a remarkable radioactive disequilibrium was observed; this is probably due to the high temperature processes undergone by these materials. The second part of the survey focussed on the measurements of ambient equivalent dose rates, airborne dust concentrations and radon indoor. On the basis of results obtained, the effective dose for the standard worker was estimated. Two different types of refractory plants were investigated. Effective doses for both plants were lower than 1 mSv y(-1).

Territorial Observatory on Sustainability in the Republic of San Marino: A Case Study

To improve the sustainability of a territory, its development has to be measured through specific indicators. The main function of a Territorial Observatory on Sustainability is to stimulate a positive social attitude towards sustainability by providing the best available information, facilitating the decision-making and stakeholders participation. It can provide various services, such as integrated monitoring of the sustainability of the development, supporting policymaking in prioritization and allocation of resources and community participation process, developing thereby capabilities and knowledge through the supply of information and ensuring appropriate dissemination of results based on scientific research. The chapter describes the process applied to the Republic of San Marino and is based on the results of a study performed in the framework of collaboration between the University of Bologna and the “Coordinamento Agenda 21 San Marino”.

Pollutants and Greenhouse Gases Emissions Produced by Tourism Life Cycle: Possible Solutions to Reduce Emissions and to Introduce Adaptation Measures

© 2012 Serrano-Bernardo et al., licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Pollutants and Greenhouse Gases Emissions Produced by Tourism Life Cycle: Possible Solutions to Reduce Emissions and to Introduce Adaptation Measures

Environmental Impact And Risk Assessment Of A Zircon Mineral Plant Emissions

In this paper we present a study of the effects of particulate emissions of a zircon mineral processing plant on the air quality of an industrial area, It is well known that zircon minerals contain significant levels of natural radioisotopes (500-+1 000 Bq/kg for 232Th and 1000+5000 Bq/kg for 238U). For this reason, the industrial processes of these minerals require specific impact analysis of the health effects and potential risk for people living near by the plant. The case study we analysed is located in an industrial area in the North-East part of Italy. The plant mills zircon sands reducing them to a size lower than 5 pm, for foundry or ceramic industrial uses. Sands come from Australia, South Africa and Ukraine and their natural radioactivity is in the range of 1800+3200 Bq/kg for 23*U. The presence of many other industrial plants in the area of concern requires particular attention in evaluating the environmental effects of this kind of mill process, as a consequence of new European and National legislation (Directive 29/96/EURATOM [1], Italian Legislative Decree n, 241/2000 [2]), too. The analysis we describe in this paper has been performed using gaussian models to simulate the dispersion and deposition of radioactive particulate on the neighbour sites. The results of the simulation models have been used as guidelines for a monitoring sampling campaign to verify the long term effects of the mill process. The radioactivity concentration has been determined by gamma-ray spectrometry using HPGe detector connected to a multi-channels analyser, The simulation models results have been used to make a risk evaluation of the effective absorbed dose, too.