Ricerc@Sapienza

Anomalies in Radon (222Rn) concentrations prior to earthquakes have been widely documented in seismogenic areas worldwide, but questions about their predictability remain largely unanswered. Even if it is not universally accepted, the analysis of the high-resolution time series of Rn (222Rn) concentrations in groundwater, air and soil has been proposed as a suitable method to identify seismic precursors.

The aim of this study was to identify potential patterns of hydrogeological and geochemical changes in response to seismic activity, including possible variations of ion concentrations, gas compositions, and isotopic ratios in groundwater. Different monitoring areas in Central Italy

L'articolo sintetizza alcune tematiche indagate nella ricerca di Ateneo ("Sapienza" Università di Roma) "Innovative strategie di intervento e nuove tecnologie per la mitigazione delle problematiche di inquinamento ambientale indoor: individuazione di soluzioni tecnico-progettuali di riferimento per una efficace risposta tecnologico-ambientale degli edifici". (Responsabile prof. Domenico D'olimpio), le cui premesse sono stte pubblicate sul n.3/2019 dei Quaderni di Legislazione Tecnica.

Since 2013, the Council Directive 2013/51/Euratom has been regulating the content of radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption. However, mineral waters are exempted from this regulation, including self-bottled springs waters, where higher radon concentration are expected. Therefore, a systematic survey has been conducted on all the 33 mineral spring waters of Lazio (a region of Central Italy) in order to assess if such waters, when self-bottled, may be of concern for public health.

A radon chamber based on a single radium-226 source has been realized at “Sapienza” University of Rome. It allows radon measurement systems calibration at different radon air-concentration values. The design of the chamber required the solution of a set of differential equations deriving from a fluid dynamic Eulerian approach. The practical realization was carried out by developing a tailored microprocessor-managed hydraulic circuit.

Electrostatic precipitation is a well-known technology to reduce public exposure to radon daughters. A custom electrostatic precipitator (ESP) prototype has been designed and built to study the effectiveness of such a removal technique in specific workplaces having low-to-zero air exchange rates with external environments. An appropriate mathematical model has been set up in order to simulate the behavior of environmental and nuclear data throughout the ESP operation, to optimize the design for the prototype to be built, to estimate its effectiveness in terms of effective dose reduction.

The emanometry test method is one of the detection techniques of radon in water satisfying requirements of Directive 2013/51/Euratom with regards to the detection limit. Quality assurance (QA) procedures were developed and implemented for a measuring system relying on such a technique. These procedures mainly address the following: (i) the assembling of each component of the degassing circuit, (ii) the sample transfer from the transport container to the degassing vessel and (iii) the control of all the influencing quantities.

Recent updates of the E.U. Basic Safety Standards, stated in the Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM, are focusing on risks related to radon gas concentration inside dwellings and working places, as well as radioactivity of building materials. In particular, the new E.U. Basic Safety Standards are based on last recommendations from the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), and from the World Health Organization (WHO), which consider that radon issues, and external irradiation from building material, as topic aspects to population’s health.

The goal of this paper is to study the reduction of health risks from indoor radioactive pollutants, as thoron emissions from common building materials, and radon emission from both building materials and the ground. In particular, when dealing with the indoor environment, one of the most important hazard is represented by radon gas, considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the second largest cause of lung cancer, cigarette smoke being the first.

Recent updates of the E.U. Basic Safety Standards, stated in the Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM, are focusing on risks related to radon gas concentration inside dwellings and working places, as well as radioactivity of building materials. In particular, the new E.U. Basic Safety Standards are based on last recommendations from the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), and from the World Health Organization, which consider that radon issues, and external irradiation from building material, as topic aspects to population’s health.