Abstract
In the present article, a case study is reported regarding an investigation carried out in order to assess radioactivity concentration, heavy metals pollution and mineralogy of a beach stretch extending from Soverato to Squillace municipalities of the Ionian coast of Calabria, South of Italy, a popular tourist destination, especially in summer. The analysis of radionuclides contents was performed by using a High Purity Germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray detector, in order to quantify the average specific activity of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K natural radionuclides and 137Cs anthropogenic radioisotope. The absorbed dose rate and the annual effective dose equivalent radiological hazard indices were also estimated. Furthermore, X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry measurements were carried out for the quantitative elemental analysis of the sand, in order to investigate any possible chemical pollution by heavy metals. For this aim, different indices such as Enrichment Factor (EF), Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo), Contamination Factor (CF) and Pollution Load Index (PLI) were applied to estimate the level of toxicity imposed on the ecosystem by the detected heavy metals. Finally, in order to identify the crystalline mineral components of the investigated sand samples, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Micro-Raman Scattering (MRS) measurements were carried out.
Highlights
Environmental natural radioactivity, due to the presence of cosmogenic and primordial radionuclides in the Earth’s crust, provides the greatest contribution to the dose received by the population From the point of view of natural radioactivity, significant radionuclides are those belonging to 238 U, 232 Th, 235 U radioactive chains and primordial 40 K [1]
Different pollution indices, such as Enrichment Factor (EF), Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo ), Contamination Factor (CF) and Pollution Load Index (PLI) were calculated in order to estimate the level of toxicity imposed on the ecosystem by heavy metals
The pollution levels of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides and heavy metals of the beach stretch going from the Soverato to the Squillace municipalities, in the Ionian coast of Calabria, south of Italy, were investigated through High Purity Germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry
Summary
Environmental natural radioactivity, due to the presence of cosmogenic and primordial radionuclides in the Earth’s crust, provides the greatest contribution to the dose received by the population From the point of view of natural radioactivity, significant radionuclides are those belonging to 238 U, 232 Th, 235 U radioactive chains and primordial 40 K [1]. An alarming level of chemical pollutants is today present in many cities and coastal areas due to rapid industrialization and uncontrolled urbanization around these environments Among these contaminants, heavy metals are of major concern for their persistent and bio-accumulative nature [14,15,16,17]. Calculations of the absorbed dose rate and of the annual effective dose equivalent were performed with the aim of assessing any possible radiological hazards for tourists or the inhabitant population Different pollution indices, such as Enrichment Factor (EF), Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo ), Contamination Factor (CF) and Pollution Load Index (PLI) were calculated in order to estimate the level of toxicity imposed on the ecosystem by heavy metals
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