Analysis of gross alpha, gross beta activities and beryllium-7 concentrations in surface air: their variations and statistical prediction model

Abstract

Measurement of gross alpha, gross beta activities and cosmogenic beryllium-7 (7Be) concentrations were made both daily and weekly during the years 2001--2004 from samples of atmospheric aerosols filtered from the air at Tehran Nuclear Research Center (35 41' N) and Zahedan (28 29' N). Weekly aerosol samples collected with the high-volume air samplers on cellulose filters were used to determine the 7Be contents of samples, using a semiconductor gamma spectrometer. Airborne dust samples were collected daily on fiber glass filters and used to determine the gross beta and gross alpha activities with automatic beta analyzer and a ZnS(Ag) counter, respectively. In this work, the concentration and meteorological data were used to determine models for gross alpha, gross beta and 7Be. The air concentrations of gross beta and gross alpha activities and 7Be concentrations displayed lognormal distributions during the study period. Both beta and 7Be have maximum activity concentrations during warm mid-year months.

Recent exposure to particle radioactivity and biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation: The Framingham Heart Study

“…According to the USEPA’s RadNet database (https://iaspub.epa.gov/enviro/erams_query_v2.simple_query), between January, 2000 and August, 2018, the overall average level of gross beta activity in the U.S. was 0.01 pCi/m 3 , the average gross beta activity in Massachusetts between October, 2004 and August, 2018 was 6.86×10 −3 pCi/m 3 (range: 0.219×10 −3 pCi/m 3 to 35.2×10 −3 pCi/m 3 ). Outside of the U.S., a study conducted in Malaga, Spain, found an average of 15.3×10 −3 pCi/m 3 for gross beta activity between 1992 and 1995 (Dueñas et al 1999); meanwhile another study conducted in Tehran, Iran, observed an average of 6.02×10 −3 pCi/m 3 for gross beta activity between 2001 and 2004 (Arkian et al 2008).…”

The effects of large-scale atmospheric flows on berylium-7 activity concentration in surface air

“…Increase wet scavenging is associated with decrease in 7 Be activity concentration (Arkian et al 2008). Model results and measurements suggest that wet deposition accounts for more than 90% of the total deposition (Brown et al 1989;Brost et al 1991).…”

“…7 Be concentrations are a function of meteorological parameters such as daily maximum temperature, daily precipitation, and daily hours of sunshine; with the regression model, the ground level concentration associated with changes in meteorological conditions could be estimated (Arkian et al 2008) The surface activity concentration of 7 Be in the ambient air is controlled by four processes (Feely et al 1989). The first process is stratospheretroposphere exchange associated with tropopause folding near the polar front and subtropical jet stream (Danielsen 1968;Vaughan 1988), or with large cut-off lows (Vaughan 1988;Vaughan and Price 1989;Ancellet et al 1994).…”

Desarrollo de procedimientos rápidos de ensayo para la vigilancia radiológica ambiental en situaciones de emergencia.

“…Sin embargo, se observa un comportamiento contrario en ciudades de otros países como China (Huang, Tao, Lin, & Shang-Guan, 2009), Nueva York (Kitto, Hartt, & Gillen, 2005) y Milán (Vecchi, Marcazzan, & Valli, 2005), con actividades máximas de β total en los meses de invierno y mínimas en verano. Para explicar la variación intra-anual de los datos, se han considerado varios factores atmosféricos con datos tomados semanalmente: total de precipitaciones (PP) en dmm, temperatura media (T) en d°C, humedad relativa media (RH) en %, velocidad de viento media (WS) en km/h, contenido en polvo (D) en mg/m 3 y dirección de viento predominante (Calma (C) (0º), Norte ( Se tomaron dichos factores atmosféricos por ser los que afectan principalmente a la meteorología de Valencia, que presenta un clima Mediterráneo subtropical con inviernos suaves y veranos cálidos y largos, y por ser las variables más empleadas en estudios de variabilidad de la y en aire (Arkian, Salahinejad, Bidokhti, & Meshkatee, 2008), (Dueñas, Fernández, Carretero, Liger, & Cañete, 2004), (Dueñas, Fernández, Liger, & Carretero, 1999), (García-Talavera, Quintana, García-Díez, & Fernández, 2001), (Hernández, Hernández-Armas, Catalán, Fernández-Aldecoa, & Karlsson, 2005) y (Huang, Tao, Lin, & Shang-Guan, 2009).…”

“…No obstante, existen variaciones estacionales de dichos índices que se han de tener en cuenta para caracterizar el fondo radiológico. Varios estudios intentan explicar dichas variaciones de (o 210 Po) y (o 210 Pb) relacionándolas con factores atmosféricos y con el contenido en polvo recogido en los filtros (Ali, y otros, 2011), (Arkian, Salahinejad, Bidokhti, & Meshkatee, 2008), (Bourcier, y otros, 2011), (Chham, Piñero-García, González-Rodelas, & Ferro-García, 2017), (Dueñas, Fernández, Carretero, Liger, & Cañete, 2004), (Dueñas, y otros, 2011), (Dueñas, Fernández, Cañete, & Pérez, 2009), (Dueñas, Fernández, Carretero, Liger, & Cañete, 2004), (Dueñas, Fernandez, Carretero, Liger, & Cañete, 2001), (Dueñas, Fernández, Liger, & Carretero, 1999), (García-Talavera, Quintana, García-Díez, & Fernández, 2001), (Hernández, Hernández-Armas, Catalán, Fernández-Aldecoa, & Karlsson, 2005), (Huang, Tao, Lin, & Shang-Guan, 2009), (Kitto, Hartt, & Gillen, 2005), (Likuku, 2006), (Pham, Betti, Nies, & Povinec, 2011) (Vecchi, Marcazzan, & Valli, 2005). En estos estudios se suelen emplear métodos estadísticos para establecer los factores significativos en los modelos predictivos de la actividad alfa total y beta total.…”