Radionuclides in biota collected near a dicalcium phosphate plant, southern Catalonia, Spain
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Radionuclides in biota collected near a dicalcium phosphate plant, southern Catalonia, Spain M. Mola • M. Palomo • A. Pen˜alver C. Aguilar • F. Borrull
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Received: 6 June 2013 / Published online: 20 August 2013 Ó Akade´miai Kiado´, Budapest, Hungary 2013
Abstract Industrial waste containing radioactive U-decay series isotopes was released into the Ebro River, Spain, over a period of [20 years from a dicalcium phosphate (DCP) plant. This release raised activities of several natural radionuclides (e.g. 238U, 234U, 230Th, 232Th and 226 Ra) in biota taken from the area near the DCP plant. Plants and animals selected for this study included the green algae (Cladophora glomerata), the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis), the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) and the scavenger catfish (Silurus glanis) because they are all common in the area. Multiple sampling points were chosen for this study: (1) a site in the Riba-Roja Reservoir, above the DCP plant’s area of influence, (2) four sites in the area surrounding the DCP plant, close to the town of Flix, and (3) a location in the Ebro Delta Estuary in Fangar Bay. Significant differences in the activities (in Bq kg-1 of dry weight) for the radioisotopes included in this study among samples were attributed to sample location and the species evaluated. For instance, relatively high activities for uranium and radium were obtained in algae collected around the DCP plant, compared to results obtained for algae samples taken from the unimpacted Riba-Roja Reservoir. In contrast, for zebra mussels, enhanced activities were observed for all radionuclides and, in particular, for
M. Mola (&) M. Palomo A. Pen˜alver C. Aguilar F. Borrull Departament de Quı´mica Analı´tica i Quı´mica Orga`nica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Marcel lı´ Domingo s/n, 43007 Tarragona, Spain e-mail: [email protected] M. Mola M. Palomo A. Pen˜alver C. Aguilar F. Borrull Unitat de Radioquı´mica Ambiental i Sanita`ria (URAIS), Consorci d’Aigu¨es de Tarragona (CAT), Ctra Nacional 340, km 1094, 43895 L’Ampolla, Spain
thorium and radium isotopes within the area of influence. Among catfish samples, activity values from different locations were not significantly different, though slightly higher activities were observed at the sampling point just downstream of the DCP factory. Keywords Naturally occurring radioactive materials Dicalcium phosphate plant Biota Radioactivity Bioaccumulation
Introduction Currently, production plants using dicalcium phosphate (DCP) are considered naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) industries in accordance with two reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [1, 2]. Phosphate industries are important sources of exposure to ionizing radiation of the people and possible contamination of environment as phosphate fertilizers contain radionuclides of 238U, 232Th decay series [3, 4]. These plants cause environmental harm through emissions of process specific chemical into the air, storage solid waste problems and discharges into water (liquid and
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