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This paper presents new data on the baseline concentrations of ten potentially harmful elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Pb, Sb,
Tl, V and Zn) in volcanic soils collected over the whole Ischia volcanic island (46.5 km2). A total of 198 residual soil samples were collected during the spring of 2001 with a sample grid of 500 × 500 m. The <
150 μm fractio...
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... paper presents the results of a geochemical investigation, for minor and trace elements, of 198 top-soil samples, from the active volcanic island of Ischia, located at the western edge of the bay of Naples, 5 km SW of Campi Flegrei (CF) and 15 km west of Mt Somma-Vesuvio volcano (Fig. 1). Ischia Island has a surface area of 46.5 km 2 and a maximum elevation of 787 m at Mt Epomeo. It is formed entirely of Quaternary volcanic ...
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... total of 198 surficial soil samples were collected on a grid of 0.5 0.5 km, covering the entire territory of Ischia Island (42 km 2 ), except the very steep areas (Figs 1 and 4). Before sampling, living surface vegetation, fresh litter, big roots and rock fragments (stones) were removed. ...
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... most soil sampling sites ( Fig. 1), gamma-ray spectrometry data were collected (for a total of 159 measurements) using a hand-held Scintrex GRS-500 spectrometer (differential gammaray). The energy windows were selected between 1.35 and 1.59, 1.65 and 1.87 and 2.45 and 2.79 MeV to measure total gamma-ray activity from natural occurring K, U and Th series, respectively. ...
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... by exclusively geogenic elements. The factor scores are, in fact, very high (>1.5) and correspond to Lido dei Maronti, Succhivo and Montevergine, where the presence of trachytic tuffs is predominant. In these areas, the high factor score distribution reflects favourable conditions for local accumulation of radioactive and related elements ( Fig. 9 and 10). Fumaroles and thermal springs, very diffuse in these areas, also explain the presence of elements such As and Mn in this ...
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... of the island, coincident with the youngest trachytic tuffs and lavas (<10 ka; Orsi et al. 1996), and SW along a fracturecontrolled alignment, from Lido dei Maronti to north of Succhivo area. Note that 238 U in the latter areas shows more wide-ranging values compared with 40 K and 232 Th. Furthermore, TC1 and TC2 gamma-ray radioactivity maps (Fig. 10A, B) closely resemble the 238 U gamma-ray radioactivity map, indicating that the total radioactivity is controlled mostly by U ...
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Zagros Mountains, as the most important topography faces in western Iran, have an effect on the activity of rainfall systems. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the amplifier effect of the Sudanese precipitation system on the Zagros Mountains. For this purpose, using factor analysis method, daily precipitation pattern of December 2, 199...
Citations
... Nevertheless, exposure to PTEs can have adverse health effects (e.g. Giaccio et al., 2012 and reference therein) and increases the probability of cancer development in humans when they are exposed to naturally and/or anthropogenically-enriched substrata (Tarvainen and Kallio, 2002;Cicchella et al., 2005;Frattini et al., 2006;Albanese et al., 2007;Galan et al., 2008;Cicchella et al., 2022) such as those occurring in urban/suburban areas and active or abandoned mining sites (e.g. Nriagu and Pacyna, 1988;Karn et al., 2021). ...
... The term "geochemical baseline", presented in 1933 at the International Geological Correlation Program as the Global Geochemical Baselines (Salminen and Tarvainen, 1997;Salminen and Gregorauskiene, 2000;Galan et al., 2008), concerns the natural concentration variability of an element in superficial environments at a determined place and time (Santos-Francés et al., 2017). Similarly, Salminen and Gregorauskiene (2000), Frattini et al. (2006), Albanese et al. (2007) and Galan et al. (2008) defined the term geochemical baseline as the actual content of an element in environmental matrices at a given point in time. It includes the geogenic concentration (or "natural background", i.e. the environmental conditions prior of any anthropogenic activity; e.g. ...
... It includes the geogenic concentration (or "natural background", i.e. the environmental conditions prior of any anthropogenic activity; e.g. Nordstrom, 2015;Pasquetti et al., 2020) and the anthropogenic contribution (Tarvainen and Kallio, 2002;Cicchella et al., 2005;Frattini et al., 2006;Albanese et al., 2007;Galan et al., 2008;Cicchella et al., 2022). It has been demonstrated that the natural background can vary from one area to another within the same region (Cicchella et al., 2022). ...
Background and geochemical baseline values of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) in soils developed on natural
or anthropogenically-affected areas are increasingly important parameters as they represent highly useful tools at
local, regional, national and European level. While background values are mostly applied to uncontaminated
areas to verify the presence of high to anomalous concentrations of PTEs due to geogenic sources, the
geochemical baseline values are better representing those areas where the anthropogenic activities have altered
more or less significantly the background values. This is the case of the Municipality of Abbadia San Salvatore,
mostly lying above the volcanic products of Mt. Amiata (Tuscany, central Italy) and, subordinately, above
sedimentary formations, where >100 years of exploitation of cinnabar (HgS) and production of liquid mercury
have affected the environmental matrices, including the pedosphere compartment. Consequently, 51 top-soils
and 51 sub-soils, developed on the volcanic and sedimentary domains were collected and analyzed for PTEs
(Hg, As, Sb, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu and V). A CoDA (Compositional Data Analysis) approach (robust Principal Component
Analysis) combined with geochemical mapping allowed to account for the compositional nature of geochemical
data and define the spatial distribution of the investigated chalcophile and siderophile elements. The results
obtained by CoDa are useful to understand data variability and relative variations of the elements compared to
the barycenter of the total composition. Independently by the substratum (volcanic or sedimentary), the concentrations of Hg, As, Sb, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu and V were highly variable and up to 258, 276, 110, 261, 32, 132, 80 and
173 mg/kg, respectively. Owing to the significant differences between the two geological domains, the two
datasets were considered separately in order to define the geochemical baseline values of the analyzed PTEs
computed using ProUCL 5.2.0 software. Accordingly, the geochemical baseline values of Hg, As, Cr, Co and V
were much higher than the values imposed by the Italian Legislative Decree 152/06, suggesting the importance
of exploring the geological features of the investigated territories and their anthropic history, particularly in Italy
where poly-metallic sulfide ore deposits have been exploited in many regions since the Etruscan and Roman
times.
... Gamma rays received at the Earth's surface are the result of the natural disintegration of 40 K, 238 U, and 232 Th from rocks and soils due to geological processes that recycle crustal minerals in an oscillating form. As a result of the existence of these radionuclides in rocks, radiometric prospecting for lithological differentiation is an effective technique (Frattini et al., 2006;Guagliard et al., 2013;Lima et al., 2005). The heat created by mass conversion during radioactive disintegration regulates the earth's thermal conditions (Abbady, 2010;Haldar, 2012). ...
The current study analyzed and interpreted airborne radiometric data from Ilesha’s basement complex rock and its surroundings. At the surface, the concentrations of the most frequent primordial radionuclides notably K, elemental concentration of uranium eU, and elemental concentration of thorium eTh were measured. The weighted mean elemental and activity concentrations were 0.85%, 2.75 ppm, 10.22 ppm, and 267.54 Bq kg⁻¹, 34.41 Bq kg⁻¹, 41.51 Bq kg⁻¹ for ⁴⁰ K, ²³⁸U, and ²³²Th, respectively. The low concentration of ⁴⁰ K was certainly due to the effects of weathering, kaolinization of granites, and pedogenesis activities. The abundance of uranium was ascribed to the availability of uranium minerals such as allanite, apatite, and sphene with accessories minerals, while that of thorium was due to minerals such as cheralite, thorite, uranothorite, thorianite, and uranothorianite with accessories minerals. The RPHR weighted mean 1.48 µWm⁻³ compared to the earth's crust mean between 0.8 and1.2 µWm⁻³ was higher due to significant presence of gneiss rocks in all the studied profiles. Radiological hazard, in particular, dose rates, external hazard index, internal hazard index, radium equivalent, annual gonadal dose, effective dose dispensed to various organs of the body were computed to determine the deleterious effects of rocks in the area. The weighted means of annual gonadal dose of 363.98 µSv y⁻¹ and outdoor 0.91 × 10×3 and indoor 1.65 × 10⁻³ excessive life cancer risks were more than the global average 300 µSv y⁻¹, 0.29 × 10⁻³ and 1.16 × 10⁻³. As a result, proper surveillance is required in the area in order to prevent epidemics occurrence in future.
... The natural occurrence of radioisotopes in an environment is a function of the geochemical processes that have tenderly reformed the crustal materials from the crust-mantle interactions. These radioactive components within the crustal rocks enable radiometric prospecting for lithological mapping a successful quest (Adabanija et al., 2020;Frattini et al., 2006). In geosciences, 238 U, 232 Th and 40 K are the major important radioelements in mineral exploration and geologic mapping (Amadi et al., 2012). ...
The application of appropriate geophysical survey is very pertinent in planning for a successful development of civil engineering structures. In this study, an uphole seismic refraction survey and borehole logs were used to determine the foundation bed’s characteristics for civil engineering development, while a portable gamma spectrometer was used to assess the environmental safety worthiness in some parts of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The seismic refraction revealed a two-layer model, composing of an unconsolidated layer and a consolidated layer. The overburden thickness of the unconsolidated stratum varied from 2.2 to 7.5 m. The borehole logs showed alternating sequence of clay and sand up to a depth of 60 m. The radiometric survey revealed that thorium and the average radioactivity ratios of U/K, Th/K and U/Th are above the global standards by factors of 1.4, 6.4, 11.0 and 2.3 in sequence. Though the overburden in the study area is thin, it is advisable to excavate some aerated soil materials within the unconsolidated layer to minimize the effects of clay on the structure’s foundation. Furthermore, periodic environmental safety monitoring and assessment is recommended in the study area.
... The concentration of PTEs in the topsoil include the naturally geogenic background concentrations and the input of anthropogenic contribution (Facchinelli et al., 2001;Salminen and Gregorauskiene, 2000;Frattini et al., 2006;Albanese et al., 2007). Traditionally, background values of PTEs in the subsoil can act as background for evaluating the pollution extent of PTEs in certain areas (Ansari et al., 2000;Rognerud et al., 2000). ...
... The latter method is a widely used surveying technique both in rocks and soils (e.g. Frattini et al. 2006;Šimíček et al. 2012;McCay et al. 2014;Puccini et al. 2014;Harley et al. 2017). In granitic terrains, an advantage of gamma-ray spectroscopy over chemical analysis is the easier mapping and therefore better regional coverage (Gnojek et al. 2018;Scharfenberg et al. 2019). ...
... The study was conducted in the Salerno urban area following previous works carried out in the Campania Region by a research team led by Prof. B. De Vivo (Albanese et al., 2007aCicchella et al., 2008aCicchella et al., , 2008bCicchella et al., , 2014Cicchella et al., , 2016Frattini et al., 2006;Lima et al., 2003Lima et al., , 2005Zuzolo et al., 2016;Petrik et al., 2018aPetrik et al., , 2018b. ...
This work discusses the results of a geochemical survey conducted in the Salerno urban area to determine the sources patterns of major, minor, trace and ultra-trace elements in soils. In particular, the study focused on elements that are potentially toxic and listed in the environmental Italian legislation (D.L. 152/06), in order to effectively monitoring an important aspect of environment health. A total of 151 topsoil samples were collected, air-dried and sieved (<2 mm). After aqua regia digestion the samples were analyzed for 42 elements by ICP-MS and ICP-AES. Geostatistical analyses were carried out in order to show the single element spatial distribution and the distribution of factor scores elemental associations from R-mode factor analysis. In performing factor analysis, the additive logratio (alr) transformation was applied to the whole dataset in order to deal with the closure effects of the investigated geochemical data, avoiding artefacts and spurious correlation. The use of alr-transformed data instead of the normal data in the factor analysis allowed for a better interpretation of the distribution patterns, since this produced four factor models which, once mapped, were easier to interpret.
The study revealed that major and minor elements (Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na, P, S and Ti) have a perfectly natural distribution with no discernible association to any human activity or presence. In contrast, many trace and ultra-trace elements (Ag, As, Au, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Pd, Pt, Rh, Sb, Sn, Tl, V and Zn) show anomalous concentration values located almost exclusively in highly inhabited areas, industrial sites and along high traffic roads. Other trace and ultra-trace elements (B, Bi, Ga, La, Sc, Se, Sr, Te, Th, Tl, U and W) show concentrations compatible with the natural background levels. Some potentially toxic elements (e.g. Pb and Zn) reach concentration levels tens of times higher than the legal limits in the busiest areas of the city. Exposure to high concentrations of these contaminants may cause health problems to people living in these zones.
... These radionuclides occur in virtually all types of rocks and soils due to geochemical processes which have slowly recycled the crustal material to and from the earth's mantle. Thus, the "radioactive imprint" of rocks makes radiometric prospecting for lithological discrimination a useful tool (Lima et al. 2005;Frattini et al. 2006;Guagliardi et al. 2013). ...
Abundant outcrops of crystalline rocks in the Okene area, southwestern Nigeria, suggest exposure of the inhabitants to gamma radiation. The power generation of the nation also remains a far cry from the required 20,000 MW, thus necessitating the need for alternative power supply. Therefore, the background radiation level and radiogenic heat potential of crystalline basement rocks in Okene were investigated using gamma ray spectrometry. This was accomplished by analysing 19 rock samples of different lithologies, namely banded gneiss, granite, charnockite, biotite granite, pegmatite and schist, collected from different locations of the Okene area for analysis which involved determining the concentration of U-238, Th-232 and K-40 radionuclides using a Canberra S100 multi-channel analyser with NaI(Tl) detector.
The mean gamma radiation emitted on a lithological basis was in the order pegmatite > charnockite > granite > schist > banded gneiss > biotite granite and yielded an overall mean dose of 63.35 nGy/h corresponding to 3.11 mSvy⁻¹ annual effective dose equivalent. The computed radiogenic heat potential indicated banded gneiss has the highest potential, ranging between 0.964 and 1.407 μWm⁻³ with a median of 0.964 μWm⁻³. Biotite granite has the lowest potential, varying from 0.774 to 1.014 μWm⁻³ with a median heat-generation capacity of 0.894 μWm⁻³.
The radiogenic heat production varied with lithology, whilst the background radiation annual dose equivalent was greater than the global average value of 60 nGy/h and the natural background radiation value of 2.4 mSvy⁻¹.
... The concentration of PTEs in the topsoil include the naturally geogenic background concentrations and the input of anthropogenic contribution (Facchinelli et al., 2001;Salminen and Gregorauskiene, 2000;Frattini et al., 2006;Albanese et al., 2007). Traditionally, background values of PTEs in the subsoil can act as background for evaluating the pollution extent of PTEs in certain areas (Ansari et al., 2000;Rognerud et al., 2000). ...
Geo-statistical and multivariate analyses are effective methods to determine the source and influence factors of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the soil. Hainan Island, belonging to tropical marine monsoon climate, is a typically individual island with slight industrial activities. In order to study the impact factors on PTEs distribution in the soil at a regional scale, such as impact of lithology, pedogenesis and anthropogenic activities, Hainan Island is an optimal place. For comparison, the topsoil and the corresponding subsoil were sampled and eight PTEs were analyzed respectively. The concentrations of PTEs were counted, such as minimum, maximum, median and mean values. Based on it, the background values and concentration enrichment factors of PTEs were also calculated or illustrated. Exception to Cd and Hg, the concentration of other PTEs in the topsoil were lower than those in the subsoil for all lithological areas since the strong leaching under special climate. By using geo-statistical and multivariate analyses, such as Pearson correlation analysis, principal component analysis, variography and robust biplot analyses, the dominant impact factors are determined for PTEs both in the topsoil and subsoil. Thus, the spatial distribution of PTEs is well explained at a regional scale. Generally, PTEs in the soil represent the components of soil parent materials associated with lithological rocks. Nevertheless, Co, Cr, Cu and Sc elements were dominantly inherited from soil parent materials while Cd, Hg and Pb were greatly superposed by exogenous inputs. On the other hand, elements of As and Zn might be greatly influenced by pedogenesis and weathering process. So, geo-statistical and multivariate analyses are effective methods to discuss the sources or impact factors for PTEs in the soil, and also the comparison between the topsoil and the subsoil provides an opportunity to illuminate the main impact factors on PTEs at a regional scale, including parent materials, weathering process and anthropogenic inputs.
... Determination of natural radionuclides content in building materials is important in order to estimate the exposure of humans to radiation, who can spend up to 80% of their time indoors (14). The radiation of terrestrial origin in buildings does not only originate from the soil (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21), but also from the used building materials (22). Over the last few decades radiological research related to construction materials and buildings and their impact on the human health are supported. ...
The aim of this study was determination of physical-chemical and radiological characteristics of kaolin and products of alkali-activated thermally treated kaolin (geopolymer). Also, the objective of presented research was to investigate the possibility of kaolin application as a pigment or as a raw material for obtaining geopolymer materials as a relatively new ones in a building material industry. Physicochemical characterization of one set of samples was conducted using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Activity concentration of naturally occurring radionuclides in kaolin, metakaolin and geopolymer were determined. The absorbed dose rate (D) and the annual effective dose rate (EDR), calculated in accordance with the UNSCEAR 2000 report, are also presented in this paper. Kaolin was heat-treated on 750oC and specific activity of natural radionuclide in metakaolin increased up to 1.6, while measured specific activities in geopolymer were the lowest.
... The Calore River basin is located in the Campania region (Italy), a densely populated area, where environmental problems are very significant as clearly demonstrated in several scientific papers that have highlighted the influence of human activities on different sample types (Frattini et al. 2006;Albanese et al. 2007;Cicchella et al. 2008Cicchella et al. , 2014Cicchella et al. , 2016Giaccio et al. 2012). ...
The geographical distribution of concentration values for harmful elements was determined in the Campania region, Italy. The study area consists of the drainage basin of the River Calore, a tributary of the river Volturno, the largest Southern Italian river. The results provide reliable analytical data allowing a quantitative assessment of the trace element pollution threat to the ecosystem and human health. Altogether 562 stream sediment samples were collected at a sampling density of 1 site per 5 km2. All samples were air-dried, sieved to <100 mesh fraction and analyzed for 37 elements after an aqua regia extraction by a combination of ICP-AES and ICP-MS. In addition to elemental analysis, gamma-ray spectrometry data were collected (a total of 562 measurements) using a hand-held Scintrex GRS-500 spectrometer. Statistical analyses were performed to show the single-element distribution and the distribution of elemental association factor scores resulting from R-mode factor analyses. Maps showing element distributions were made using GeoDAS and ArcGIS software. Our study showed that, despite evidence from concentrations of many elements for enrichment over natural background values, the spatial distribution of major and trace elements in Calore River basin is determined mostly by geogenic factors. The southwestern area of the basin highlighted an enrichment of many elements potentially harmful for human health and other living organisms (Al, Fe, K, Na, As, Cd, La, Pb, Th, Tl, U); however, these anomalies are due to the presence of pyroclastic and alkaline volcanic lithologies. Even where sedimentary lithologies occur, many harmful elements (Co, Cr, Mn, Ni) showed high concentration levels due to natural origins. Conversely, a strong heavy metal contamination (Pb, Zn, Cu, Sb, Ag, Au, Hg), due to an anthropogenic contribution, is highlighted in many areas characterized by the presence of road junctions, urban settlements and industrial areas. The enrichment factor of these elements is 3–4 times higher than the background values. The southwestern area of the basin is characterized by a moderate/high degree of contamination, just where the two busiest roads of the area run and the highest concentration of industries occurs.
