Original scientific paper
Some aspects of environmental radioactivity research
A.A. Cigna
; Laborotorio per lo Studio della Radioattioitd Ambientale, Comitato Nazionale per l' Energia Nucleare, C. S. N. - Casaccia, S . .Maria di Galeria, Roma. Italia
Abstract
The differences between the situation before and after the »moratorium« of nuclear tests in 1962 are analyzed. Such differences led to different approaches to the problem of radioactive environmental contamination. The representativity of the measurements is discussed from the point of view of both the time and the site of sampling. Due to either the low level or the absence of radioactive contamination, the actual trend of the research concerns the study of the distribution patterns and the behaviour of stable elements in the biosphere. Different methods of analysis are considered and a survey into the capacity of each of them is presented. The contribution of the ecological research in the field of radiation protection is discussed. Some indicators are well known by many researchers and proved to be valuable in the early detection of environmental contamination. The problem of the determination of the concentration factors is also considered. They play an important role in the establishment of the ecocycles of the radionuclides (fission and activation products) produced by nuclear power and research plants. The reference levels of the radioactive contaminations in the items of the food-chain can be determined taking into account both the concentration processes involved and the specific activity. The advantages of the different approaches are reported and discussed. Last but not least, the change in the radiation protection philosophy reported in the ICRP publication No. 7 is considered with the consequences in the development of the health physics techniques around nuclear plants.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
175580
URI
Publication date:
26.3.1969.
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