Journal of Clinical Toxicology
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0495
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2161-0495
+44 1478 350008
Branko Petrinec, Dinko Babic, Marko Sostaric, Tomislav Mestrovic, Zdenko Franic, Gordana Marovic, Marina Poje Sovilj, Denis Stanic, Vanja Radolic, Igor Miklavcic, Branko Vukovic and Irena Lukanovic
Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Croatia
University of Osijek, Croatia
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Clin Toxicol
We collected samples in accordance with the standard procedures recommended by the International Atomic Energy Association, within an internal project of the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health and in collaboration with the Physics department of the University of Osijek. The activity concentration of 137Cs was determined using a high-purity germanium gamma-ray spectrometry system (FWHM of 2.24 keV and relative efficiency of 74.2%, all at 1.33 MeV 60Co). The measured activity concentrations in soil from 11 locations range from 1.81?±0.16 Bq/kg (Kozjak) to 10.65?±0.26 Bq/kg (Hulovski channel), averaging to of 7.20?±5.57 Bq/kg which is comparable to other parts of Croatia. Data sets consisting of measured activity concentrations of 137Cs in soil and water samples within the boundaries of the Nature Park Kopacki Rit were used for the risk assessment for the wildlife and dose rates for freshwater and terrestrial organisms were estimated. For the freshwater ecosystem in Kopa?ki Rit, the highest risk quotient (RQ) values were obtained for â??pelagic fishâ? 0.038 and â??amphibianâ? 0.037, respectively. Appropriate dose rates were below the screening level of 10 ?¼Gy h-1: amphibian 0.37 ?¼Gy h-1, bird 0.27 ?¼Gy h-1, insect larvae 0.12 ?¼Gy h-1, mammal 0.29 ?¼Gy h-1, pelagic fish 0.38 ?¼Gy h-1 and vascular plant 0.022 ?¼Gy h-1. Also, for terrestrial ecosystems, all RQs are far below 1 (the highest values are 0.0013 for â??lichenâ?, 0.0019 for â??small mammalâ? and 0.0027 for â??large mammalâ?) and the dose rates to species studied were clearly below the screening level of 10 ?¼Gy h-1 (one-thousandth of this value: 0.0128 ?¼Gy h-1 for the lichen, 0.0196 ?¼Gy h-1 and 0.0277 ?¼Gy h-1 for small and large mammals, respectively) indicating no significant impact of the 137Cs fallout on all of the investigated species.
Branko Petrinec obtained his PhD degree from the Physics department of the University of Zagreb. He is a Research Associate at the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health in Zagreb, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek. He has published more than 20 papers in reputed journals. He was the President for the Scientific Committee of the 10th Symposium of the Croatian Radiation Protection Association.
Email: petrinec@imi.hr