Study of radon exhalation from phosphogypsum. Exposure assessment in an house constructed with phosphogypsum plates of different origins.

• Grant number: 09/17654-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2010
• End date: January 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Nuclear Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Marcia Pires de Campos
• Grantee: Marcia Pires de Campos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: São Paulo

Abstract

It is well known that natural radioactivity constitutes the most important source of radiation exposure to general public. The contribution of radon, thoron and their decay products represents the largest fraction of exposure to the mankind. NORM and TENORM are considered as a potential source of radon isotopes because they concentrate isotopes of uranium (238U), thorium (232Th) and their decay progeny. Phosphogypsum can be classified as TENORM and one of the main environmental concerns of its use is the radon exhalation from this material. The objective of this research is an evaluation of the radon exhalation from phosphogypsum. It will be studied the phosphogypsum stored in piles at the fertilizer industry and used as building material. The radon and radon daughter concentration in the air at the residence it will be determined in order to obtain the radioactive equilibrium factor for the dose calculation. It will be assessed the radiation exposure due to phosphogypsum for the workers of the fertilizer industry and for the residents at a house constructed with phosphogypsum plates from different origins. The radiation dose for dwellers it will be evaluated through the radon and radon daughter concentration in the air, taking into account the contribution of soil under construction. The present work will aim to study a national polycarbonate, denominated Durolon as a solid state nuclear track detector for radon and radon decay products measurements in the air. (AU)

Scientific publications

(The scientific publications listed on this page originate from the Web of Science or SciELO databases. Their authors have cited FAPESP grant or fellowship project numbers awarded to Principal Investigators or Fellowship Recipients, whether or not they are among the authors. This information is collected automatically and retrieved directly from those bibliometric databases.)

CAMPOS, M. P.; COSTA, L. J. P.; NISTI, M. B.; MAZZILLI, B. P.. Phosphogypsum recycling in the building materials industry: assessment of the radon exhalation rate. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY, v. 172, p. 232-236, JUN 2017. (09/17654-8)

NISTI, MARCELO BESSA; DE CAMPOS, MARCIA PIRES; MAZZILLI, BARBARA PACI. Natural radionuclides content and radon exhalation rate from Brazilian phosphogypsum piles. JOURNAL OF RADIOANALYTICAL AND NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY, v. 299, n. 1, p. 261-264, JAN 2014. (09/17654-8)