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Radioecology: The Fate of Radionuclides
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Radioecology: The Fate of Radionuclides

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 6766

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francesco Caridi

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Guest Editor
Department of Mathematics and Informatics, Physic and Earth Sciences (MIFT), University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy
Interests: environmental radioactivity; gamma spectrometry; liquid scintillation; alpha spectrometry; gas radon detection; emanometry; ionizing radiations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Giuseppe Paladini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Physical Sciences and Earth Sciences, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy
Interests: biopolymers; xerogels; nanocellulose; drug delivery systems; FTIR-ATR spectroscopy; Raman spectroscopy; neutron spectroscopy; material characterization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sebastiano Ettore Spoto

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Guest Editor
Department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Physical Sciences and Earth Sciences, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy
Interests: Raman spectroscopy; geochemistry; source-to-sink sedimentary dynamics; environmental mineralogy; mineral pigments; CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) methodology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Radionuclides and ionizing radiation arise from many natural sources, ranging from the unstable atoms in the materials around us, and within our bodies, to the Sun, and even beyond the Solar System. In addition, the testing of nuclear weapons, nuclear waste, and nuclear accidents can be included as radioactive sources. These sources have provided means of dating environmental materials and tracing the movements of substances through the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. However, although radionuclides have been used in the Earth, marine, and environmental sciences for over a hundred years and provide unique tools to study environmental processes in great detail from different observational scales, the ionizing radiation affects genetic systems, which has led to a remarkable range of studies to examine how and how quickly both humans and biota accumulate unstable atoms, and their various effects on both, thus creating adverse genetic effects for future generations.

Accordingly, this Special Issue welcomes research and review papers on radioecology, environmental radioactivity, radiochemistry, environmental mineralogy, geophysics, and geochemistry. In this context, particular attention will be given to contributions including, but not restricted to, the following topics:

  • Field measurements of natural and artificial radionuclides.
  • Environmental radioactivity in the ocean and atmosphere: radioactive material dispersion characterization and modeling.
  • Radionuclides and other sources of radiation in the natural environment: Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) and Technologically Enhanced NORM (TENORM).
  • Health physics, radiation dosimetry, and biological effects in humans, animals, and plants.
  • Use of radionuclides to study the rates of sedimentation and bioturbation.
  • Construction materials and their contribution to indoor and outdoor radiation exposure and public health risk assessment.
  • Development of radioactive dating methods and their application.
  • Materials science, mineralogy, and geochemistry of radionuclides.
  • Spectrometric methods for the measurement and control of environmental radioactivity.
  • Aqueous solution behavior of radionuclides.
  • Analysis of mine radioactive waste by physical, geochemical, and geophysical methods.

Dr. Francesco Caridi
Dr. Giuseppe Paladini
Dr. Sebastiano Ettore Spoto
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • radioactivity
  • radioecology
  • radiochemistry
  • environmental and nuclear geochemistry
  • environmental mineralogy
  • biogeochemistry of radionuclides
  • radiation hazards
  • spectroscopic and spectrometric methods in radioecology
  • naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM)
  • technologically enhanced NORM (TENORM)

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 10636 KiB  
Article
In Search for an Ionic Liquid with the Best Performance during 210Pb/210Bi Cherenkov Counting in Waters on an LS Counter
by Ivana Stojković, Milan Vraneš, Teona Teodora Borović, Nataša Todorović, Jovana Nikolov, Milka Zečević, Slobodan Gadžurić and Simona Mancini
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(24), 16563; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416563 - 09 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 803
Abstract
The research presented in this paper aims to investigate the performance of several newly synthesized ionic liquids during 210Pb/210Bi detection in water on a liquid scintillation spectrometer Quantulus 1220 via Cherenkov counting. These experiments have been triggered by the recent [...] Read more.
The research presented in this paper aims to investigate the performance of several newly synthesized ionic liquids during 210Pb/210Bi detection in water on a liquid scintillation spectrometer Quantulus 1220 via Cherenkov counting. These experiments have been triggered by the recent reports that certain ionic liquids can act as wavelength shifters, thus significantly increasing the detection efficiency of Cherenkov radiation. The benefit of ionic liquid’s addition to the analysed samples is reflected in the detection limit’s decrement during 210Pb quantification, which is pertinent considering naturally low levels of 210Pb in aqueous samples. Firstly, it was discovered that ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium salicylate, is more efficient than the previously explored 2-hydroxypropylammonium salicylate. Consequently, the impact of a few other ionic liquids on Cherenkov counting efficiency with the same cation group (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium benzoate, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium 3-hydroxybenzoate and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium 4-hydroxybenzoate) was also explored to test their potential influence. Molecular simulations have been carried out to reveal which structures of ionic liquids assure wavelength-shifting behavior. The obtained results confirmed that, among the investigated ones, only ionic liquids with the salicylate anion exhibited a wavelength shifting effect. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Radioecology: The Fate of Radionuclides)
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11 pages, 1025 KiB  
Article
Microalgae Diversity in Interim Wet Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel in Serpong, Indonesia
by Irawan Sugoro, Megga Ratnasari Pikoli, Dyah Sulistyani Rahayu, Marhaeni Joko Puspito, Syalwa Ersadiwi Shalsabilla, Firdaus Ramadhan, Diannisa Syahwa Rahma Fadila, Ade Cici, Devita Tetriana, Dinda Rama Haribowo and Mohammad Syamsul Rijal
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(22), 15377; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192215377 - 21 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2107
Abstract
The water quality in the interim wet storage of spent fuel (ISSF) needs to be monitored due to its function as a radiation shield. Water in ISSF pools must be free from microorganisms such as microalgae that live in a radioactive environment. Moreover, [...] Read more.
The water quality in the interim wet storage of spent fuel (ISSF) needs to be monitored due to its function as a radiation shield. Water in ISSF pools must be free from microorganisms such as microalgae that live in a radioactive environment. Moreover, particular microalgae are capable of causing corrosion to stainless steel, which is a component of ISSF. Therefore, this study aims to determine the diversity of microalgae in the ISSF and those living in a radioactive environment, which cause corrosion. The microalgae were detected using the diversity and Palmer indices. The sampling of microalgae water was carried out by vertical filtration method at eight sites of ISSF. The results show that the diversity of microalgae (H′) was low due to radiation exposure in pool water, hence, only specific species can survive. The evenness (J′) of the microalgae was low, causing a high dominance index (C) value. Furthermore, the dominating species, namely, Chlorella sp. (Chlorophyceae), needs to be monitored because it has gamma radioresistance capabilities and can cause the corrosion of stainless steel. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Radioecology: The Fate of Radionuclides)
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18 pages, 3698 KiB  
Article
Multivariate Statistics, Mineralogy, and Radiological Hazards Assessment Due to the Natural Radioactivity Content in Pyroclastic Products from Mt. Etna, Sicily, Southern Italy
by Francesco Caridi, Sebastiano Ettore Spoto, Antonio Francesco Mottese, Giuseppe Paladini, Vincenza Crupi, Alberto Belvedere, Santina Marguccio, Maurizio D’Agostino, Giuliana Faggio, Rossella Grillo, Giacomo Messina, Francesco Barreca, Valentina Venuti and Domenico Majolino
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(17), 11040; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191711040 - 03 Sep 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1642
Abstract
In this article, an investigation of the natural radioactivity content of pyroclastic products from Mt. Etna, eastern Sicily, Southern Italy, was carried out. In particular, the assessment of the average activity concentration of the investigated radionuclides, related to the mineralogical phase composition of [...] Read more.
In this article, an investigation of the natural radioactivity content of pyroclastic products from Mt. Etna, eastern Sicily, Southern Italy, was carried out. In particular, the assessment of the average activity concentration of the investigated radionuclides, related to the mineralogical phase composition of the analyzed samples, and the radiological health risk for the population, was performed. High Purity Germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray spectrometry was employed in order to quantify the average specific activity of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K natural radioisotopes. The absorbed gamma dose rate (D), the radium equivalent activity (Raeq), the hazard indices (Hin and Hex), the annual effective dose equivalent outdoor (AEDEout), and the excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) were also estimated in order to assess any possible radiological hazard for the population. In our case, they were found to be lower than the maximum recommended values for the population members, thus reasonably excluding radiological hazard effects. Moreover, the identification of the source of the aforementioned naturally occurring radionuclides was attempted by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Micro-Raman Scattering (MRS), thereby recognizing the main radioisotope-bearing minerals present in the investigated pyroclastic products. Finally, Pearson correlation, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) were performed by processing observed radioactivity and radiological parameters in order to determine their correlation with the sampling locations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Radioecology: The Fate of Radionuclides)
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6 pages, 668 KiB  
Communication
Assessment of the Radiological Health Risk Due to the 226Ra Content in Drinking Water from the Calabria Region, Southern Italy
by Francesco Caridi, Giuseppe Paladini, Sebastiano Ettore Spoto, Santina Marguccio, Maurizio D’Agostino, Alberto Belvedere, Vincenza Crupi, Valentina Venuti and Domenico Majolino
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(16), 9829; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19169829 - 09 Aug 2022
Viewed by 1250
Abstract
In this article, the authors report experimental results obtained for the assessment of the 226Ra content in 80 drinking water samples from the Calabria region, Southern Italy. The activity concentration, measured with the Perkin Elmer Tricarb 4910 TR Liquid Scintillation Counter (LSC) [...] Read more.
In this article, the authors report experimental results obtained for the assessment of the 226Ra content in 80 drinking water samples from the Calabria region, Southern Italy. The activity concentration, measured with the Perkin Elmer Tricarb 4910 TR Liquid Scintillation Counter (LSC) setup, was compared with the reference values reported in the Italian Legislative Decree 28/2016 in order to evaluate any possible radiological health hazards for the population in terms of 226Ra content due to the ingestion of the investigated drinking water. The obtained results put in evidence that the average 226Ra specific activity is lower than the LSC minimum detectable activity (MDA) in all cases, thus, excluding any radiological risk. They also represent the main reference for the investigated area and can be used as a baseline to extend this investigation to the whole region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Radioecology: The Fate of Radionuclides)
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