STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY ALONG THE ROMANIAN DANUBE BANK

A study of environmental radioactivity along the Romanian Danube bank was performed by Radioprotection and Environmental Protection Laboratory from Institute for Nuclear Research – Pitesti, between August 2006 and September 2007, within the framework of the government funded research project: “Research network for integrated monitoring of the radioactivity and environment related isotopes throughout the Romanian Danube basin”. The paper contains the most important conclusions and some correlations and interpretations of the obtained results. The measurements and samples collection were made according to a monitoring plan which included locations along the Danube River and its main tributaries or other locations of interest. The targeted radionuclides were 137Cs, 40K, 235U and the gamma emitting radionuclides from the natural series of the 238U and 232Th. Results included in this study concern the dose rate measurements, the gamma emitting radionuclides concentrations measured by gamma-spectrometry in water, sediment and soil samples, the in-situ gamma-spectrometry and the gross beta and gamma concentrations measured in sediment samples.