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Unsupervised pattern-recognition and radiological risk assessment applied to the evaluation of behavior of rare earth elements, Th, and U in monazite sand

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Abstract

The Brazilian coast is rich in monazite which is found in beach sand deposits. In this study, the composition of the monazite sands from beaches of State of Espírito Santo, Brazil, was investigated. The concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs), Th, and U were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In the studied region, the mean concentration of investigated elements increased in the following order: Tm < Yb < Ho < Lu < Eu < Er < Tb < Dy < U < Y < Th < Gd < Sm < Pr < Nd < La < Ce. The sampling sites were classified into three clusters and discriminated by the concentrations of REEs, Th, and U found. In general, the radiological risk indices were higher than the established limits, and the risk of developing cancer was estimated to be higher than the world average.

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Funding

The authors are grateful by the Foundation of Research Support of Espírito Santo (FAPES), Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) – Finance Code 001, Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Laboratory for Research and Development of Methodologies for Oil Analysis (LabPetro/UFES) and São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, grants 2021/01187–3) by support this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Spectrometry Atomic Laboratory (LEA)/LabPetro, Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Vitória, ES, 29075-910, Brazil

    Nathalia Luiza P. Wyatt, Vinicius C. Costa, Jefferson R. de Souza, Merisnet Ferde, Geisamanda P. Brandão & Maria Tereza W. D. Carneiro

  2. Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, PR, 81531-980, Brazil

    Floriatan S. Costa

  3. Department of Chemistry, Universidade Federal Do São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, 13565-905, Brazil

    Jordan B. Neris

  4. Embrapa Instrumentation, São Carlos, SP, 13560-970, Brazil

    Wesley N. Guedes

Authors
  1. Nathalia Luiza P. Wyatt
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  2. Vinicius C. Costa
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  3. Jefferson R. de Souza
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  4. Merisnet Ferde
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  8. Wesley N. Guedes
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  9. Maria Tereza W. D. Carneiro
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Nathalia Luiza Passamani Wyatt: Methodology and formal analysis. Vinicius Câmara Costa: Methodology, investigation and writing—original draft preparation. Jefferson Rodrigues de Souza: Methodology and investigation. Merisnet Ferde: Formal analysis. Floriatan Santos Costa: Methodology and investigation. Jordan Brizi Neris: Methodology and investigation. Geisamanda Pedrini Brandão; Methodology and investigation. Wesley Nascimento Guedes: Methodology and investigation; investigation. Maria Tereza Weitzel Dias Carneiro: Conceptualization. Investigation, writing—review and editing and supervision. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Maria Tereza W. D. Carneiro.

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Wyatt, N.L.P., Costa, V.C., de Souza, J.R. et al. Unsupervised pattern-recognition and radiological risk assessment applied to the evaluation of behavior of rare earth elements, Th, and U in monazite sand. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 83417–83425 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21632-w

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