Open AccessA case study on possible radiological contamination in the Lo Uttaro landfill site (Caserta, Italy)
Author(s) -
Fabrizio Ambrosino,
Luisa Stellato,
C. Sabbarese
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/1548/1/012001
Subject(s) - radionuclide , leachate , environmental science , radiological weapon , radioactive waste , contamination , municipal solid waste , population , waste management , groundwater , pollution , groundwater pollution , radioactive contamination , environmental engineering , hydrology (agriculture) , radiochemistry , geology , aquifer , engineering , chemistry , environmental health , geotechnical engineering , medicine , ecology , physics , quantum mechanics , biology
The prevention of radioactive pollution is a primary objective of environmental protection codes in the operation of solid waste landfill activities. Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of radiological monitoring of the main constituents of urban landfill waste. The present contribution reports on an investigation plan carried out to evaluate the possible radiological contamination in the municipal landfill Lo Uttaro, district of Caserta (Italy). The investigation focused primarily on the perimeter area of the landfill in order to assess the possible impact on the surrounding population. The results of measurements of the equivalent dose rate along the perimeter of the landfill show average values lower than the population dose limit due to natural background radiation. Several samples of soil, groundwater and leachate representative of the subsoil of the study area were collected and the radionuclides were measured by gamma spectrometry. The results of these measurements show the absence of artificial radionuclides, except for small amounts of 137 Cs due to nuclear disasters occurring in the last 50 years on Earth, and the mere presence of 40 K and other natural radionuclides belonging to natural radioactive chains of 238 U, 235 U and 232 Th.