Baseline radioecological data for the soil and selected bioindicator organisms in the temperate forest of Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology

Avdić

et al. 2021

Self Cite

The assessment of environmental radioactivity much relies on radionuclide content in soil. This stems from the significant contribution of soil to both external and internal exposure to ionising radiation via direct emission of gamma radiation and soil-to-plant radionuclide transfer, respectively. This motivated us to carry out a systematic research on the radioactivity of soil in Croatia to obtain relevant data that can be used as a basis for understanding the related effects of geomorphological, biogeographical, and climatological properties of the environment. We collected samples of the surface layer of uncultivated soil (0–10 cm) at 138 sites from all over the country and measured them for radionuclide activity concentrations by means of high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry. This resulted in radioactivity maps containing data on activity concentrations of representative radionuclides in the environment. In this paper, which is the first in our two-part presentation, we focus on the naturally occurring 232Th and 238U decay chains and their correlations with the diversity of Croatian regions. For both of the chains, activity concentrations were the highest in the Dinaric region, the lowest in the Pannonian region, and intermediate in the Adriatic region. Relatively high concentrations of 226Ra in the soil of the Dinaric region implied a possibility of an enhanced emanation of its progeny 222Rn into the air. Activity concentrations of 210Pb were additionally elevated in areas with dense vegetation, most probably due to an atmospheric deposition of airborne 210Pb onto the surface of plants and their eventual decomposition on the ground.

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Radioactivity of soil in Croatia I: naturally occurring decay chains

Šoštarić

Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology

Avdić

et al. 2021

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“…This was a consequence of atmospheric factors that are outside the scope of this paper. Although an influx of fission products ( 137 Cs, 134 Cs, and 131 I) from the Fukushima accident was observed in Croatia 23 , 38 , its magnitude was comparatively low 39 , and this did not increase the concentration of 137 Cs in the studied area significantly. Moreover, a recent comprehensive study on the radioactivity of soil in Croatia revealed that the KRNP was situated within a part of the country where the concentrations of 137 Cs in soil were the lowest, below 5 Bq kg −1 40 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…In the below listing, the data refer to the situation extrapolated to 2018, calculated by taking into account the radioactive decay, original values, and the elapsed time. The A of 137 Cs in mosses from the Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia was in the range 25–1460 Bq kg −1 (sampled in 2011–2012) 23 , in Armenia 3–300 Bq kg −1 (2018–2020) 29 , in Austria 870–10,680 Bq kg −1 (2006) 27 , in Greece 0–400 Bq kg −1 (2016) 18 , in Turkey 30–360 Bq kg 1 (2007) 25 , and in Serbia 6–65 Bq kg −1 (2008) 28 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mosses in the Kopački Rit Nature Park, Croatia, as bioindicators of a potential radioactive contamination of the middle Danube River basin

Babić

Meštrović

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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We studied activity concentrations of radionuclides in the Kopački Rit Nature Park using mosses as bioindicators. This area of intact nature is at the tripoint of Croatia, Hungary, and Serbia, being located basically at the centre of the middle Danube River basin. Therefore, it can be easily affected by airborne pollution from various locations in the Middle Europe and beyond. The goal of our research was to assess whether the Park could serve as a location where any new radioactive contamination could be sensitively detected, which implied a necessity for low activity concentrations at the present time. Our gamma-ray spectrometry revealed the presence of only one anthropogenic gamma emitter, that is, 137Cs. Its activity concentration in the mosses ranged from 0.7 to 13.1 Bq kg−1, being low indeed. Another radionuclide in our focus was 210Pb. Generally, its elevated concentrations may signify ecologically undesirable human activities that involve naturally occurring radioactive matter. The activity concentration of 210Pb in the mosses was in the range from 183 to 690 Bq kg−1. This did not depart from the results of other similar studies and was again low enough for a detection of possible excess amounts of this radionuclide in the future.

“…Mosses are organisms that efficiently accumulate different elements from the environment and are often used as bioindicators of pollution (or its absence) with metals ( 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ), including radioactive uranium, thorium, and caesium ( 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ) or with potassium ( 37 ). Without a developed root system to absorb nutrients form the ground, mosses predominantly absorb nutrients and pollutants from the air (40–42).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiological impact of an active quarry in the Papuk Nature Park, Croatia

Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology

Rašeta

Babić

2022

Self Cite

Papuk Nature Park, unlike most similar parks and preserves in the world, contains active quarries. Quarries dig stone from the ground, creating dust and exposing deeper, potentially more radioactive layers. Since the forest trails in the Park lead right up to the quarries, we believed it was important to determine the radiological impact of the quarries on the Park environment. We measured ambient dose rate equivalent H*(10) and sampled moss at 26 Park locations along two of four quarries, along the road between them, and near Lake Orahovac, a very popular tourist destination close to the quarries. Moss is a standard bioindicator of exposure to heavy metals, including radionuclides. Using-gamma ray spectrometry we determined the activity concentration of 137Cs and of representative naturally occurring radionuclides – 238U, 226Ra, 210Pb, 232Th, and 40K – in sampled moss. H*(10) at selected locations was similar to the background H*(10) measured continuously all over Croatia. The ranges of measured activity concentrations of 137Cs and naturally occurring radionuclides in moss did not differ significantly from other parts of Croatia and nearby countries.