222Rn determination in drinkable waters of a central eastern Italian area: comparison between liquid scintillation and gamma spectrometry

It is well known that the interest in radon concentration indoor as a pollutant emerged during the energy crisis of seventies which led to reduce ventilation in dwellings. Recently the Euratom Recommendation 2001/928 suggested the necessity of performing frequent 222Rn checks on tap waters. As a consequence of this Recommendation, Urbino and Perugia Universities carried out a preliminary 222Rn determination on tap waters of the Pesaro-Urbino province. Samplings were carried out in twenty-eight sites and radon concentration was determined by liquid scintillation counting and gamma-spectrometry. The results obtained by the two techniques were comparable (the deviation from the mean is lower than 10% for 54.5% of the samples). The resulted 222Rn concentration was very low (5 Bq-·11 for 43% of the samples) and, therefore, radon in waters cannot be considered as a direct radiological risk for the local population

Radioactivity in coffee

This research was dedicated to the study of the background levels of 210Po and natural gamma emitters as 40K, 214Pb, 214Bi, 228Ac, 212Pb and 212Bi in coffee powder and in coffee beverage; also the artificial 137Cs was determined. In the coffee powder the mean 210Po activity resulted 7.25 10-2 ± 2.25 10-2 Bqkg-1. 40K showed a mean activity of 907.4 ± 115.6 Bqkg-1. The mean activity concentration of 214Pb and 214Bi, indicators of 226Ra, given as mean value of the two radionuclides, resulted 10.61 ± 4.02 Bq kg-1. 228Ac, 228Ra indicator, showed a mean activity concentration of 13.73 ± 3.20 Bq kg-1. The mean activity concentration of 212Pb, 224Ra indicator, was 8.28 ± 2.88 Bq kg-1. 208Tl, 224Ra indicator, presented a mean activity concentration of 11.03 ± 4.34 Bq kg-1. In all samples, the artifical 137Cs resulted below the detection limit (2.0 Bq kg-1). The arithmetical mean value of percentage of 210Po extraction in coffee beverage resulted 20.5 ± 6.9. The percentage of transfer of gamma emitters,40K, 214Pb, 214Bi, 228Ac, 212Pb, 208Tl resulted of 80.0% %, 33.5 %, 24.7 %, 30.0 %, 35.1 %, 53.5% for 40K, 214Pb, 214Bi, 228Ac, 212Pb and 208Tl respectively

Radioactivity measurements and radiation dose evaluation in tap waters of Central Italy

Consumption of drinking water is very important for human nutrition and its quality must be strictly controlled. A study of radioactivity content in tap waters collected in the Central Italy was performed in order to check the compliance with recent European regulations. Gross alpha and beta activity, 226Ra, 238U and 234U concentrations were measured. Gross alpha and beta activities were determined by standard ISO 9696 and ISO 9697; liquid scintillation was usedfor 226Ra determination. 238U and 234U concentrations were determined by alpha spectrometry after separation from matrix by extraction chromatography and electroplating. Recommended WHO guideline activity concentrations for drinking water (0.1 Bq L-1 and 1.0 Bq L-1 for gross alpha and gross beta activity respectively) are exceeded in 2 cases for gross alpha activity and are not exceeded in any case for gross beta activity. The concentrations (mBq L-1) of 226Ra, 238U, 234U ranged from <1.70 to 15.3, from 0.65 to 48.8, from 0.780 to 51.5 respectively. Effective dose due to the uranium isotopes and radium was calculated for children and adults using the dose coefficients reported by EC Directive 96/29 EURATOM and annual water intake. For all class ages, the doses are quite similar and much lower than 0.1 mSv y-1

238U, 234U, 226Ra, 210Po, concentrations of bottled mineral waters in Italy and their dose contribution

Due to the importance of bottled mineral water in human diet with special regard to children in lactation period, a monitoring of natural radioactivity in some bottled mineral waters produced in Italy was performed. Gross alpha and beta activities and 226Ra, 238U, 234U, and 210Po concentrations were measured. Gross alpha and beta activities were determined by standards ISO 9696 and ISO 9697; for 226Ra determination liquid scintillation was used. The 238U and 234U concentrations were determined by alpha spectrometry after their separation from matrix by extraction chromatography and electroplating. 210Po was measured by alpha spectrometry. The results revealed that the concentrations (mBq L-1) of 226Ra, 238U, 234U, and 210Po ranged from <10.00 to 52.50, from <0.17 to 89.00, from <0.17 to 79.00, and from <0.04 to 21.01, respectively. Uranium and radium concentrations do not reach the relevant recommended derived activity concentration (DWC). For polonium concentration, none of the samples reaches the relevant DWC in the case of adults and children, but one sample exceeds this value for infants. The dose contribution for different classes of age was calculated using the dose coefficient factors reported by EC Directive 96/29 EURATOM and certain annual intake. For children and adult age class, the calculated doses are quite similar and lower than 0.1 mSv y-1; for infants (<1 y) in three cases the calculated dose ranges from 0.11 to 0.17 mSv y-1

Uptake of Radiocesium By Mushrooms

After the Chernobyl accident in April 1986 the Cs-134, Cs-137 and K-40 activity of mushrooms of different genera and their corresponding soils from woods located in the province of Umbria (Italy) was determined. The results indicated: a temporally increasing trend for Cs-137 up to a "limit value" depending on local fallout in 1986; different cesium concentrations in various mushroom genera; and uptake of potassium from soil that did not appear to compete with cesium uptake. No reliable correlation can be inferred between the cesium content of the soil and those of mushrooms

ANSIA E DISTURBI CARDIOVASCOLARI: QUALE RELAZIONE?

Introduzione Elevati livelli d'ansia sono associati a una maggiore attivazione del Sistema Nervoso Autonomo e, di conseguenza, a una maggiore reattività cardiovascolare (Narita et al., 2007). L'ansia, sia di stato che di tratto, rappresenta dunque un importante fattore di rischio per l'insorgenza di disturbi cardiovascolari ed è fortemente associata alla morte cardiaca, indipendentemente dalle variabili biologiche e demografiche (Compare et al., 2011). Tuttavia, non è noto se vi sono delle differenze in funzione della gravità della patologia cardiovascolare. Obiettivi Lo studio si propone di valutare se sono presenti delle differenze nei livelli di ansia di stato e di tratto, in relazione allo stato di salute cardiovascolare dei partecipanti. Metodo Hanno partecipato 373 soggetti (M/F= 207/166; età media= 59,58±13,94) divisi in sei gruppi per gravità: gruppo di controllo (N=78), gruppo di controllo con fattori di rischio cardiovascolare (N=25), ipertesi senza terapia farmacologica (N=71), ipertesi in terapia farmacologica (N=109), pazienti con problematiche cardiache lievi (N=37) e gravi (N=53). I partecipanti sono stati reclutati presso il Centro Ipertensione del Policlinico Umberto I° di Roma. Ai partecipanti è stato somministrato il Cognitive Behavioral Assessment Hospital Form (Zotti et al., 2005), per la valutazione dell'ansia di stato, e lo State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Forma Y2 (Spielberger, 1992), per indagare l'ansia di tratto. Risultati I risultati hanno evidenziato differenze significative tra i gruppi rispetto ai livelli d'ansia (Rao's 10,7 1,93; p<.04), in particolare per quanto riguarda i livelli di ansia di stato ( F5.36 2,33; p<.04). I pazienti con problematiche cardiache presentano un maggior livello di ansia di stato rispetto al gruppo di controllo. Conclusioni L'ansia di stato sembra rappresentare un fattore di rischio per i disturbi cardiovascolari, in quanto maggiore è la gravità dello stato di salute del soggetto e maggiori saranno i livelli d'ansia provati