Preliminary results for the characterization of the radiological levels of rocks in Tuscany Region.

The environmental background levels of natural radiation due to the nuclides in rocks vary in significant amounts that depend on the geological and geomorphological features of a territory. The main source of terrestrial gamma-ray radiation exposure to humans is from 238U, 232Th decay chains and 40K decay. This paper reports a part of the results of the Research Project “Measurement of natural radioactivity and mapping of the radioisotope abundances of Tuscany Region”, which started at August 2008 and it is supported by founds of Tuscany Region. The aim of this project is to realize the thematic maps of radioactivity content and in particular of the abundances of eU1, eTh1 and 40K. These goals will be achieved by integrating the information from measurements on samples in laboratory with in-situ investigations and airborne surveys. The Legnaro National Laboratory (LNL) is the national leader for the design and realization of high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometers, portable and massive NaI(Tl) detectors. The MCA_Rad gamma-ray spectrometry system was designed and built up at LNL for measuring large amount of samples with a minimum attendance: these features fit perfectly with the requirements of this project. This system is able to measure any type of materials (solid, liquid, gas), and due to the high efficiency and its geometric symmetry, absolute activity measurements are possible with systematic errors below 5%. http://www.fe.infn.it/u/mantovani/CV/Proceedings/Bezzon_10b.pd

Superconducting RFQs

n/

Integrating of airborne gamma-ray survey and geological data for environmental radioactivity map construction.

The airborne γ-ray spectrometry method (AGRS) is widely considered as an important tool for mapping environmental radioactivity both in geosciences studies and for purposes of emergency response. AGRS is a powerful tool with respect to in-situ gamma-ray measurements for monitoring large areas, especially if it is handled with informations brought by geological maps. Using a typical cluster of NaI crystals (16 L) mounted on microlight, we performed the first airborne gamma-ray survey on Elba Island (about 224 square km) with the purpose to measure the K-40, U and Th content in the top soil. The results provide comprehensive records of environmental radioactivity concentrations, by considering the geological setting of the area. In this study we advance a new multivariate approach by using Collocated CoKriging (CCoK) interpolator with geological constrains, in order to produce airborne gamma-ray maps. The very complex geological setting of Elba Island makes the indicator approach almost inapplicable, which would have been the more logical choice if the number of categories would have been relatively low. In fact, the most actual geological database is composed by a relatively large number of different geological formations (73 different geological formations mapped by a detailed field survey at scale 1:10,000), very high regarding to the usual application of indicator estimators

First characterisation of natural radioactivity in building materials manufactured in Albania.

This study focuses on the radiological characterization of building materials manufactured in Albania by using a high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometer. The average activity concentrations of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th were, respectively, 644.1 ±64.2 Bq/kg, 33.4 ±6.4 Bq/kg and 42.2 ±7.6 Bq/kg in clay bricks and 179.7 ±48.9 Bq/kg, 55.0 ±5.8 Bq/kg and 17.0 ±3.3 Bq/kg in the cements. The calculated Activity Concentration Index (ACI), varied from 0.48 ± 0.02 to 0.63 ± 0.04 in the clay bricks and from 0.29 ± 0.03 to 0.37 ± 0.02 in the cements. Based on the ACI, all of the clay bricks and cements were categorized as A1 materials. We can exclude (at 3σ level) any restriction of their utilization as bulk materials

Assessment of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORMs) in soils from the Kuçova oilfield, Albania.

Oil and gas exploration activities belong to the industrial sectors involving the production of NORMs because of the enhancement in radium isotopes concentrations recorded in industrial residues. According to the European recommendations of the new Basic Safety Standards for radioprotection, each member state shall identify NORM industries and estimate their environmental and human impact. In this framework, the concentrations of uranium and thorium decay series, as well as of 40K were measured in soil, sludge and oil sand samples collected in the Kuçova oilfield (Albania) by using a high resolution gamma-ray spectrometer (HPGe). The levels of radioactivity in soil samples were found to be comparable with the world mean activity concentrations. Oil sand samples showed the highest 40K and 226Ra activity concentrations, indicating the presence of shale traps, which are generally rich in natural radionuclides. No strong evidences on disequilibrium were observed from the ratio of 228Th and 228Ra activity concentrations. The concentration of radionuclides in produced water and crude oil were found to be minimum detectable activities. From the radiological point of view, the excess of annual effective dose rate from industrial residues was estimated to be much lower than the recommended limits for population and workers

Soil isotopic abundances reconstructed by using simulated spectra.

The Rad Monitor project’s goal is to determine the concentration of radioisotopes in the Veneto territory by measuring the g rays emitted by the ground surface. To accomplish this job, several detecting techniques have been used: rock sampling (the samples were analyzed in laboratory), in situ measurements and airborne survey. In situ and airborne detectors have to be carefully calibrated and we have developed a calibration procedure based on the reconstruction of mono-isotope spectra (hereafter called sensitive spectra) for each of the radioisotopes investigated in our analysis. The acquired in situ spectra are then fitted by using these mono-isotope spectra. Portable detectors were calibrated in selected sites with well known concentrations of 40K, 238U, and 232Th and 137Cs. The procedure was described in detail in a previous work. In this contribution, we investigate a different approach to analyze the in situ spectra and we report the preliminary achieved results

First flight test on Elba Island for the Airborne gamma-ray Survey System developed at LNL.

The request of monitoring the environmental radioactivity is constantly increasing due to more stringent regulations and after the new prospective introduction of nuclear energy in european countries. In Italy the Rad-Monitor project has focused its attention in studying the radioactivity by applying several g-ray spectroscopy measuring techniques, both by means of high efficiency and purity germanium detectors on field collected samples and by using in situ and airborne instruments

A Detailed Gamma-ray Survey for Estimating the Radiogenic Power of Sardinian Variscan Crust.

The N-E Sardinia batholith is part of the European Variscan belt which is generally considered an example for hot collisional orogens. After a period of crustal thickening characterized by lower gradients, during Late Carboniferous and Early Permian times, higher geothermal gradients were diffusively established. The sources which contributed to the thermal budget of late Variscan high-temperature events are still debated. One of the hypothesis considers an extra contribution by radioactive heating of felsic crust tectonically emplaced at the bottom of a Palaeozoic orogenic root. It is apparent that a detailed characterization of heat-producing elements (K, U and Th) of Sardinian Variscan crust are needed by the Earth Science community. This study focus on this goal reporting the results of an extensive survey on the base of gamma-ray measurements performed in the laboratory and in situ. The K, U and Th abundances obtained for the main lithotypes of Sardinia batholiths will be used as input for modeling the geodynamic and thermal evolution of the South Variscan Belt

Il Radgyro: un autogiro dedicato ad acquisizioni airborne multiparametriche

In questo lavoro si riassumono le principali caratteristiche tecniche del Radgyro, un autogiro dedicato ad acquisizioni airborne multiparametriche. Questo velivolo è stato ideato, progettato e realizzato in modo tale da ospitare due fotocamere, una camera ad infrarossi, una termocamera, cinque spettrometri gamma nonché un network di antenne GPS, una stazione inerziale, un radar altimetro e l'elettronica necessaria per l'impiego automatico, simultaneo ed indipendente dell'intera attrezzatura. Grazie ad una capacità di carico di 130 kg, ad un'autonomia di volo di 4 ore ed a bassi costi di gestione, il Radgyro è il mezzo ideale per survey multiparametrici su aree vaste, laddove l'impiego dei droni è limitato sia dalla capacità di carico che dall'autonomia di volo. Si illustrano infine i risultati dei rilievi fotogrammetrici preliminari nonché le possibili applicazioni future del velivolo