A case study on possible radiological contamination in the Lo Uttaro landfill site (Caserta, Italy)

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 contribut...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of physics. Conference series 2020-05, Vol.1548 (1), p.12001
Main Authors: Ambrosino, F, Stellato, L, Sabbarese, C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Background radiation
Cesium 137
Cesium isotopes
Dosage
Environmental protection
Groundwater
Landfill
Man made disasters
Municipal landfills
Pollution abatement
Radioisotopes
Soil contamination
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Summary: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 137Cs due to nuclear disasters occurring in the last 50 years on Earth, and the mere presence of 40K and other natural radionuclides belonging to natural radioactive chains of 238U, 235U and 232Th.
ISSN:1742-6588
1742-6596
DOI:10.1088/1742-6596/1548/1/012001