Asbestos-related occupational risks

Despite the common knowledge of its harmful effects, asbestos is still used worldwide. It is estimated that about 125 million workers around the globe are exposed to asbestos in the workplace, while at least 90,000 people die annually from asbestos-related diseases. Asbestos dust is generated during mining, during separation of fibres from the serpentine part, and during processing in various industry branches. Employees involved in these production processes are especially at risk. Chronic exposure to asbestos can increase the risk of asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. Asbestos exposure is usually reduced through replacement of asbestos with materials with similar properties and through the use of personal protective equipment. Disease prevention requires the implementation of strict asbestos removal procedures, ban on further use, and registering of persons exposed to asbestos, including their follow-up or preventive medical check-ups

Analysing radionuclide content in soil samples and radiological risks in the clayey material surrounding of the “Zbegovi” deposit, Donje Crniljevo, Serbia

This paper presents the results of analyses of radionuclide content in the samples of the surrounding soil and clayey material of “Zbegovi” open-pit mine in Donje Crniljevo, Serbia. Samples from 78 sites were collected and prepared. The activity concentrations were determined for radionuclides: 238U, 232Th, 40K, 226Ra, and 137Cs. The mean values obtained are as follows: 23 Bqkg–1, 89 Bqkg–1, 372 Bqkg–1, 56 Bqkg–1, and 11 Bqkg–1, respectively. Concentrations of 238U, 40K, and 226Ra in the studied area do not deviate from the values obtained for the soil in Serbia. The concentration of 232Th in the studied area is slightly higher relative to average values for soil, and slightly lower compared to similar deposits of clayey material in the world. Measurements performed showed that the open-pit mine of clayey material is completely uncontaminated surface as far as 137Cs is concerned, while there are sites where measured 137Cs concentrations are significantly higher, which is due to topographic differences and inhomogeneous surface contamination of land after the Chernobyl accident. To assess the radiological risks in the observed area, the following indices were determined: absorbed dose rate, annual outdoor effective dose, absorbed dose for biota, excess lifetime cancer risk outdoors as well as external radiation hazard index. The mean value of the estimated absorbed dose rate in the given area amounts to 80.1 nGyh–1, and the annual outdoor effective dose ranges from 46.9 to 134 Sv. Absorbed dose rate for biota in the studied area is 1.31 10–4 Gyd–1. The mean excess lifetime cancer risk outdoors for the population is 3.8 10–4, and t he mean value of the external radiation hazard index obtained in this study is 0.48, which is consistent with the world average. A low dose of radiation will not pose a risk to the population and biota in the studied area

TEŠKI METALI: UTICAJ NA ŽIVOTNU SREDINU I ZDRAVLJE LJUDI

Heavy metals are important environmental pollutants, and their toxicity is an issue of increasing concern regarding environmental and health reasons. Sources of heavy metals in the environment can be natural (metal-bearing rocks, volcanic eruptions, vegetation, etc.) and anthropogenic (mining, industrial and agricultural activities, traffic, etc.). Environmental pollution caused by heavy metals is long-term and persistent. The contamination of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems with toxic heavy metals is a significant environmental concern that has consequences for public health. Certain metals affect biological functions, while other metals accumulate in one or more different organs causing numerous serious diseases.Teški metali su zagađujuće supstance životne sredine, i pitanje njihove toksičnosti sa aspekta životne sredine i zdravlja ljudi je od sve većeg značaja. Izvori teških metala u životnoj sredini mogu biti prirodni (matične stene, vulkanske erupcije, vegetacija, itd.) i antropogeni (rudarske, industrijske i poljoprivredne aktivnosti, saobraćaj, itd.). Zagađenje životne sredine prouzrokovano teškim metalima je dugotrajno i perzistentno. Zagađenje zemljišnih i vodenih ekosistema toksičnim metalima predstavlja glavnu zabrinutost sa aspekta zagađenja životne sredine, a posledično i sa aspekta zdravlja opšte populacije. Određeni metali utiču na biološke funkcije, dok se drugi akumuliraju u jednom ili više različitih organa prouzrokujući niz ozbiljnih oboljenja

UTICAJ RADIONUKLIDA IZ ZEMLJIŠTA I GLINOVITOG MATERIJALA LEŽIŠTA „ZBEGOVI“ DONJE CRNILJEVO NA ŽIVOTNU SREDINU

The paper presents the results of testing radionuclide content in soil and clay samples on the surface mine "Zbegovi" in Donje Crniljevo, Serbia. The results of the study show that the activity of clay samples and surrounding soil derives mainly from natural radionuclides: 232Th, 238U and 40K. The radioactivity of the samples was determined by the gamma spectrometric method using HPGe detector with relative efficiency of 56.2%. The obtained results show that the tested samples can be used as material for brick and ceramic products, cosmetics as well as the fact that the tested clay deposit does not have a negative impact on humans, plants and animals.U radu su prikazani rezultati ispitivanja sadržaja radionuklida u uzorcima zemljišta i glinovitog materijala površinskog kopa „Zbegovi“ Donje Crniljevo. Rezultati ispitivanja pokazuju da aktivnost uzoraka iz glinovitog materijala i okolnog zemljišta potiče uglavnom od prirodnih radionuklida: 232Th, 238U i 40K. Radioaktivnost uzoraka je određena gama spektrometrijskom metodom uz korišćenje HPGe detektora relativne efikasnosti 56,2%. Dobijeni rezultati pokazuju da ispitivani uzorci mogu da se koristiti kao materijal za opekarske i keramičke proivode, kozmetici i da ispitivano ležište gline ne ispoljva negativan uticaj na ljude, biljke i životinje