Radiation Protection Legislation and Sustainable Development of a Rural Green Tuff Village of Ischia Island

Abstract

Radiological risk affects the quality of the environment in buildings since population and workers can be potentially exposed to high levels of radiation. Radon gas emanating from both subsoil and building materials represents the most important source of radiation exposure for people. This study investigates the sustainability concept of a small rural village of Ischia Island, named Ciglio, in relation to radiation protection legislation concerning the radiological risk for workers. Radon activity concentration was measured in typical green-tuff dwellings and in water samples collected from a local waterfall E-Perm devices. Moreover, for green tuff as building material, the radon emanation coefficient was calculated by gamma spectroscopy. The results highlight the importance of performing environmental radon monitoring and investigating the radon content of building materials, especially in geographical areas characterized by traditional use of typical stones for constructions. In conclusion, the sustainable development of rural buildings is possible if the radiological risk for inhabitants and workers is assessed in line with the national radiation protection legislation.

Sassi of Matera Building Material: High-Resolution Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy Characterization for Radioprotection

“…Thus, the analyzed tufo is characterized by lower levels of radioactivity than other similar building materials, such as the tuff that can be found on Ischia Island. In fact, a previous study [2] revealed that the measured activity concentration values were higher than those relative to the Sassi site, although they did not exceed the reference level indicated by the European Commission in the Directive 2013/59/EURATOM [10] and the Italian Legislative Decree 101/2020 [9]. The dissimilarities between the results found in these studies can be explained considering the different origins of the two building materials, In fact, from the mineralogical point of view, the tuff can be calcareous of sedimentary origin, like the tufo of Sassi of Matera, or of eruptive pyroclastic origin, such as green tuff of Ischia Island.…”

“…These two types of buildings coexist in harmony as the excavation work provides the material needed for the lamione [1]. Another example of a similar architecture can be found on Ischia Island, where several buildings were excavated in green tuff, a natural stone which is the result of the volcanic activity of the island dating back to 55000 years ago [2,3]. Since the Sassi site is entirely built with tufo and given that people spend most of their time indoors [4,5], the estimation of the indoor air quality is to be considered fundamental [6].…”

“…Still, another element plays a fundamental role in gamma radiation exposure, mostly due to its wide distribution in the ecosystem: potassium-40 ( 40 K). Discernibly, the dose rates depend on the concentration of these elements in soil and stones and on the local geology of each area of interest [2,7,8]. Nevertheless, the analysis of the gamma radiation emitters present in natural stones used as building material (BM) is crucial since natural radiation is responsible for the largest contribution to the external dose of the global population [5].…”

COVID-19 and the Additional Radiological Risk during the Lockdown Period in the Province of Naples City (South Italy)

“…Due to its relevance, there are many studies regarding its distribution, the processes that favour indoor accumulation, and the impact on health. For example, our research group has focused its attention on the analysis of the concentration distribution of natural radionuclides, especially radon gas in the territory of South Italy [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59], as well as on the investigations on several aspects of both natural and artificial radioactivity concerning in particular the structure, the decay modes, and the optical model calculations of light radioactive isotopes [60][61][62][63][64][65].…”

Radiological Impact of Building Material: Characterization of a Village Entirely Built out of Stone in Tuscany, Italy

“…Gamma radiation emitters represents a source of external radiation both indoor and outdoor. Principally, environmental radioactivity constitutes the biggest portion of the external radiation dose absorbed by the world population [1,2] and the most important radioactive elements are 238 U, 232 Th and their progeny, and 40 K. In particular, the last element can be found in soil and rocks, therefore its distribution throughout the territory highly depends on the geology of the region of interest [3][4][5]. The most abundant element of the 238 U series found in soil is 222 Rn, a radioactive gas characterized by a half-life of 3.8 days.…”