Uptake of Cs and Sr onto thermally treated forms of bentonite.

This study focuses on the structural changes of bentonite upon thermal treatment at various temperatures, i.e. 150, 300 and 600, and their effect on the sorption behaviour for Cs and Sr.

Ageing impact on the transfer factor of Cs and Sr to lettuce and winter wheat.

The study focuses on long-term (extending from 1 to 10 years) lysimeter experiments of the transfer factor of Cs and Sr to lettuce and winter wheat crops. Transfer factors (Fs) were the ratio of the activity concentrations of the radionuclides in crops to those in soil, both as dry weight (Bq kg). Fs of Cs to lettuce decreased significantly with ageing; geometric means for the 1, 2 and 10 year contaminated soil were 0.

Recovery of NORM from scales generated by oil extraction.

Scales, containing naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM), are a major problem in oil production that lead to costly remediation and disposal programmes. In view of environmental protection, radio and chemical characterisation is an essential step prior to waste treatment. This study focuses on developing of a protocol to recover (226)Ra and (210)Pb from scales produced by petroleum industry.

Chemical composition of scales generated from oil industry and correlation to radionuclide contents and gamma-ray measurements of (210)Pb.

Scale generated from the maintenance of equipment contaminated by naturally occurring radioactive materials may contain also chemical components that cause hazardous pollution to human health and the environment. This study spotlights the characterisation of chemical pollutants in scales in relation to home-made comparison samples as no reference material for such waste exists. Analysis by energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence, with accuracy and precision better than 90%, revealed that barium was the most abundant element in scale samples, ranging from 1.

Transfer factor of (90)Sr and (137)Cs to lettuce and winter wheat at different growth stage applications.

The effect of clay soil contamination time on the transfer factors (Fvs) of (137)Cs and (90)Sr was investigated in four different growth stages of winter wheat and lettuce crops. The experiment was performed in an open field using lysimeters. The Fvs were the ratio of the activity concentrations of the radionuclides in crops to those in soil, both as dry weight (Bq kg(-1)).

Characterization of NORM solid waste produced from the petroleum industry.

The accumulation of scales in the production pipe lines is a common problem in the oil industry, reducing fluid flow and leading to costly remediation and disposal programmes. Thus, an accurate determination of the activity of the radionuclides in scale samples is essential for environmental protection. The present study focuses on the characterization of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) in scales generated from the petroleum industry to develop a suitable NORM waste management plan.