EXPOSURE OF Gd2O3-ALANINE AND Gd2O3-AMMONIUM TARTRATE ESR DOSIMETERS TO THERMAL NEUTRONS: EXPERIMENTS AND MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS

Analysis of 7Be and 210Pb concentration and 7Be/210Pb activity ratio in ground level air in Palermo (Italy).

Recently a renewed interest has been put on the use of radioactive tracers to study transport and mixing processes in the atmosphere. Among the most commonly used radioactive tracers in the atmosphere, 7Be and 210Pb have assumed an ever-increasing importance. Beryllium-7 is the product of the interaction of cosmic rays with Nitrogen and Oxygen nuclei. Its cosmogenic origin makes the measured concentrations strongly dependent on the geographical position and seasonal cycles. It emits 478 keV gamma photons and has a half-life of about 53 days.

Temporal trends of heavy metals in sediment core from the gulf of Palermo (Sicily, Italy)

The evaluation of long–term heavy metal concentrations in the Gulf of Palermo was carried out in this study. Measurements of Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn concentrations were performed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) on dated fractions of a sediment core, dated by the 210Pbex method. They are found to cover a time period from 1951 to 2004. The constant sedimentation rate model was used for dating. Specific activities of 137Cs have also been measured in the sediment core sections as a check of the time scale derived by the 210Pbex method. A time-series analysis based on temporal decomposition was used in order to investigate the presence of heavy metal pollution trend. The additive comp…

MULTIVARIATE STATISTICAL TOOLS FOR THE RADIOMETRIC FEATURES OF VOLCANIC ISLANDS

The Aeolian Islands represents a Quaternary volcanic arc related to the subduction of the Ionian plate beneath the Calabrian Arc. The geochemical variability of the islands has led to a broad spectrum of magma rocks. Volcanic products from calc-alkaline (CA) to calc-alkaline high in potassium (HKCA) are present throughout the Archipelago, but products belonging to shoshonitic (SHO) and potassium (KS) series characterize the southern portion of Lipari, Vulcano and Stromboli. Tectonics also plays an important role in the process of the islands differentiation. In this work, we want to review and cross-analyze the data on Lipari, Stromboli and Vulcano, collected in measurement and sampling cam…

TL dose reconstruction in watch glasses exposed to photon, electron and proton beams

Analisi della risposta ESR di vetri di orologi irradiati con vari fasci di radiazioni ionizzanti per dosimetria retrospettiva

The gadolinium as a powerful additive for enhancing the neutron sensitivity of ESR dosimeters.

Response of an integrated system, for the study of complex phenomena monitored by gas radon

Misure di radioattività ambientale a Palermo: analisi statistica delle concentrazioni in aria di 7Be e 210Pb

In questo lavoro sono presi in considerazione gli andamenti delle concentrazioni in aria di 7Be e, per un più limitato periodo di tempo di 210Pb, e si è proceduto ad una analisi statistica dei dati, prendendo in esame le serie temporali (integrandole per i dati mancanti) dei valori medi mensili e settimanali al fine di operare confronti omogenei con dati disponibili di altre zone geografiche. Sono state studiate le correlazioni fra le serie di dati per i due radionuclidi ed è stata effettuata l’analisi in frequenza al fine di evidenziare ciclicità stagionali. Le analisi effettuate mostrano l’importanza dei processi di trasporto in atmosfera e l’influenza dei parametri meteo-climatici (in pa…

DOSimetria in Situazioni di Emergenza Radiologica (DOSSIER)

Inquinamento da metalli pesanti in ambiente marino in correlazione con la distribuzione dei foraminiferi bentonici

Laser assisted atomic ionization by a short XUV pulse

We report on numerical results of energy spectra of photoelectrons emitted by irradiating an hydrogen atom with a relatively weak single attosecond XUV pulse in the presence of a two-color IR laser pulse. The densities of probabilities have been obtained by treating the interaction of the atom with the XUV radiation at the first order of the time-dependent perturbation theory and describing the emitted electron through the Coulomb-Volkov wavefunction. The results of the calculations agree with the ones found by numerically solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. Specifically, we use an algorithm that implements an high precision variant of the Cranck Nicolson integration method and…

Organismi unicellulari "spie" dell'inquinamento dell'ambiente marino.

Analisi statistica delle concentrazioni in aria di 7Be e 210Pb misurate a Palermo.

Vengono analizzati e discussi i risultati delle misure, effettuate con cadenza quasi giornaliera, delle concentrazioni in aria a Palermo di 7Be (1982-2005) e 210Pb (1995-2005). In particolare è esaminato l’andamento dei rapporti di attività dei due radionuclidi relativamente al periodo di disponibilità congiunta dei dati al fine di evidenziare possibili correlazioni tra i due radionuclidi e con i dati meteo-climatici locali. Il 7Be (tempo di dimezzamento 53,29 giorni) è il prodotto dell’interazione dei raggi cosmici con nuclei di azoto ed ossigeno. La sua origine cosmogenica rende le concentrazioni misurate fortemente dipendenti dalla posizione geografica e dai cicli stagionali. Esso emette…

Dating of a sediment core in the Palermo Bay (Sicily, Italy)

An extensive study of sediment cores in the Palermo Bay has been carried during the last two years. Main goal of the research was to study the environmental pollution of the area, using foraminifers as an environmental indicator.

ESR study of proton irradiation response of watch glasses.

Laser Assisted Atomic Ionization by a Short XUV Pulse

We report on numerical results of energy spectra of photoelectrons emitted by irradiating an hydrogen atom with a relatively weak single attosecond XUV pulse in the presence of a two-color IR laser pulse. The densities of probabilities have been obtained by treating the interaction of the atom with the XUV radiation at the first order of the time-dependent perturbation theory and describing the emitted electron through the Coulomb-Volkov wavefunction. The results of the calculations agree with the ones found by numerically solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. Specifically, we use an algorithm that implements an high recision variant of the Cranck Nicolson integration method and …

Nuove metodologie per la valutazione dello stato di inquinamento dell'ambiente marino

MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS OF THE RESPONSE OF ESR DOSIMETERS TO NEUTRON BEAMS

Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) spectroscopy is extensively used in gamma photon dosimetry. It relies on the detection of the signal from free radicals (paramagnetic species) produced after sample irradiation. Organic materials, such as alanine and ammonium tartrate, are widely used for dosimeter preparation, thanks to the good photon sensitivity and tissue equivalence of such compounds. However, the low neutron cross section of their nuclei does not make them suitable for neutron dosimetry. Thanks to its very high neutron capture cross section and to the high Linear Energy Transfer of released particles, even small additions of gadolinium will yield large sensitivity enhancements of the dosi…