Areas For Recreational Purposes Research Articles

Risk assessment of human exposure to radionuclides in soil of urban areas (public parks and open playgrounds) in Krusevac, Serbia

This study aims to obtain data on terrestrial radioactivity coming from naturally occurring (40K, 226Ra, 232Th, and 238U) and artificial (137Cs) radionuclides in surface soil (0-10 cm) of selected eighteen public-access urban areas in Krusevac city, Serbia, and to assess the corresponding health effects for citizens using those areas for recreational purposes. The specific activities of investigated radionuclides were analyzed using HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry. The mean specific activity of 40K, 226Ra, 232Th, 238U, and 137Cs was found to be 353, 39.8, 38.9, 41.0, and 5.9, respectively, in compliance with their values in other parts of Serbia and neighboring countries reported in similar researches. To evaluate the human health risk associated with radionuclides, conservative exposure assumptions and models recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency were employed taking into account three exposure routes: ingestion, inhalation of soil, and external irradiation. The absorbed gamma dose rate in the air due to natural radionuclides in soil was calculated. The calculated indices suggested that the radiation risk arising from natural and artificial radionuclides was not significant. The total excess lifetime cancer based on the 95 % upper confidence limit of the specific activities mean was calculated to be 5.89?10?6, lower than the tolerable risk for regulatory purposes (10?4). Among investigated radiation exposure pathways, external exposure was the most contributing one for the health risk. The results obtained for the city's parks and playgrounds suggested their safe use for recreational purposes from the radioecological point of view.

Post-industrial urban quarries as places of recreation and the new wilderness – a South African perspective

The objective of this article is threefold: To re-evaluate the concept of wilderness as a place to be experienced by human beings as part of their outdoor recreational needs; to investigate if reclaimed post-industrial urban quarries can fulfil these needs, and to investigate the legislative frameworks in South Africa within which such reclamation and re-use can be undertaken. The objective is not to present detailed case studies of post-industrial urban quarries that have been rehabilitated or redeveloped for a different land use, but rather to demonstrate the potential of such quarries. The majority of South Africa’s population is urbanised and has hardly any prospect, due to various constraints, of ever visiting natural or even ‘man-made wilderness’ areas for recreational purposes. The currently held concept of wilderness is critically evaluated and the need to change our perception of wilderness is discussed. The biophysical and socio-economic nature, as well as the legal framework, within which the redevelopment potential of our ubiquitous post-industrial urban quarries must be viewed, are examined to determine whether they can be reclaimed as outdoor recreation places and a new ‘urban wilderness’. It is shown, through a literature review and examining five case studies, that reclaimed quarries can satisfy urban dwellers’ innate need for outdoor recreational spaces and natural or wilderness areas, albeit man-made and despite the procedural challenges posed by the requirements of the South African regulatory urban spatial planning frameworks and Acts. Keywords: Derelict land, legislative frameworks, outdoor recreation, post-industrial urban sites, quarries, wilderness

Subjective responses to aircraft noise in an outdoor recreational setting: a combined field and laboratory study

The knowledge about human perception of noise in outdoor recreational areas is limited. The aim of the present study was to study the relationship between different noise indicators and subjective responses to aircraft noise, aiming at developing applicable noise indicators in areas for recreational purposes. The perception of aircraft noise was investigated in a combined field and laboratory approach. The partially controlled outdoor field study was conducted in a recreational area close to Fornebu airport, the main airport in Oslo (until August 1998). A group of subjects were asked to score their perceived annoyance and acceptability of actual flyovers during a 50 min session as well as the total annoyance for the whole session. The subjects were later presented to the same aircraft noises, as recorded during the field session, in a laboratory experiment simulating outdoor exposure. Subjects exposed both in field and laboratory responded similarly under both conditions. In both test situations a high correlation was found between different noise indices, as well as between all noise indices and responses to single events. A significant relation was found between the number of aircraft noise events judged as “not acceptable” and the total annoyance response. The present observations showed a correspondence between subjective responses to aircraft noise, both immediate and total judgements, and personal attitudes towards the noise source, but not with self reported noise sensitivity.