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Radiometric signature as an indicator of radiological pollution on Rio Doce after the disaster in tailings dam

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Abstract

Doce River suffered major environmental impacts throughout their courses due to the disruption of the tailings dam of the company Samarco—Brazil, characterizing it as the biggest accident in the mineral area throughout the southern hemisphere. The radiometric signature obtained for natural radionuclides of occurrence in sediment is an indicator of radiological pollution caused by accidents. By means of gamma-ray spectrometry, this work determined the radioactivity levels in sediments from samples collected before (2014) and after (2015) the accident obtaining indicators of pollution radiometric, namely radium equivalent, external and internal radiological risk, and compare them with the reference levels.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Radioproteção e Dosimetria – IRD, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    R. F. Carmo, O. L. Trindade Filho, J. U. Delgado & D. A. Conceição

  2. Laboratório de Radioecologia e Mudanças Globais – LARAMG/UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    H. Evangelista

Authors
  1. R. F. Carmo
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  2. O. L. Trindade Filho
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  3. J. U. Delgado
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  4. H. Evangelista
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  5. D. A. Conceição
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Correspondence to J. U. Delgado.

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Carmo, R.F., Filho, O.L.T., Delgado, J.U. et al. Radiometric signature as an indicator of radiological pollution on Rio Doce after the disaster in tailings dam. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 323, 741–747 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-019-07009-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-019-07009-3

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