Harmonization and mapping of terrestrial gamma dose rate data in Belgium.

With several databases available, including two sets of in situ measurements of the ambient gamma dose rate and an airborne survey of K, Th, U in soil, Belgium is a favourable case for exploring the mapping methodology for terrestrial radiation. The first step is the harmonization of the different data sets, taking in situ measurements with an ion chamber as the reference. Corrections are necessary, based on the data themselves (a) to the measurements of permanent monitoring stations, (b) to the data calculated from airborne measurements of the soil activity, due in particular to the attenuation by the forest cover, and (c) to the other data calculated from the soil activity, due to the lower activity of the upper layer.

Mapping potassium and thorium concentrations in Belgian soils.

The European Atlas of Natural Radiation developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission includes maps of potassium K and thorium Th. With several different databases available, including data (albeit not calibrated) from an airborne survey, Belgium is a favourable case for exploring the methodology of mapping for these natural radionuclides. Harmonized databases of potassium and thorium in soil were built by radiological (not airborne) and geochemical data.

Mapping uranium concentration in soil: Belgian experience towards a European map.

A map of uranium concentration in soil has been planned for the European Atlas of Natural Radiation. This Atlas is being developed by the Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring (REM) group of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. The great interest in uranium compared to other terrestrial radionuclides stems from the fact that radon (Rn) is in the decay chain of uranium (U) and that public exposure to natural ionizing radiation is largely due to indoor radon.

Homogenity of geological units with respect to the radon risk in the Walloon region of Belgium.

In the process of mapping indoor radon risk, an important step is to define geological units well-correlated with indoor radon. The present paper examines this question for the Walloon region of Belgium, using a database of more than 18,000 indoor radon measurements. With a few exceptions like the Carboniferous (to be divided into Tournaisian, Visean and Namurian-Westphalian) and the Tertiary (in which all Series may be treated together), the Series/Epoch stratigraphic level is found to be the most appropriate geological unit to classify the radon risk.

The red mud accident in ajka (hungary): plant toxicity and trace metal bioavailability in red mud contaminated soil.

The red mud accident of October 4, 2010, in Ajka (Hungary) contaminated a vast area with caustic, saline red mud (pH 12) that contains several toxic trace metals above soil limits. Red mud was characterized and its toxicity for plants was measured to evaluate the soil contamination risks. Red mud radioactivity (e.