ENVIROMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2022/2023
- Teacher
- FABIO MANTOVANI
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- FIS/01
Training objectives
- This course aims to critically present the main results of scientific and technological research in the field of environmental radioactivity. Particular attention is given to gamma spectroscopy systems for in-situ and airborne measurements, with applications in environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, homeland security, mining exploration and NORMs (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials) characterization. During this course, reference is made to the numerous lines of financing whose strategic objectives are environmental protection through IoT (Internet of Things) systems.
The knowledge acquired by the student concerns the radioactive decay processes, the interaction between radiation and matter, the radioactive decay chains, the industrial production of radioisotopes, the analysis techniques for the characterization of radionuclides in the environment and radioactivity measurement systems aboard UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).
The student is required to develop skills in solving problems concerning gamma spectroscopy analysis, statistical processing of experimental data and modelling of the radiation flux in different environmental contexts. More than a third of the course is dedicated to experimental activities, using portable spectrometers and drones, as well as to the development of algorithms for data analysis. Prerequisites
- Basic notions of statistics, differential and integral calculus are required, as well as fundamentals of nuclear physics, with particular reference to radioactive decay processes. The mathematical treatment of the topics is such as to be understandable to master's degree students in physics, engineering, and earth sciences.
Course programme
- This course comprises 54 hours of teaching including lectures, exercises, and laboratory activities. It is structured in three sections: the first two of a theoretical nature, while the third covers experimental activities.
SECTION 1 - RADIOACTIVE PROCESSES IN THE ENVIRONMENT (16 h)
• Nuclei, nuclear stability and nuclear radiations
• Properties of alpha, beta and gamma decays
• Terrestrial and cosmic radioactivity
• Transient and secular equilibrium
• Artificial radionuclides
• Radionuclides produced by nuclear reactors
• Fundamentals of dosimetry
SECTION 2 - TECHNOLOGIES AND METHODS FOR MEASURING ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY (16 h)
• Interaction of radiation with matter
• Scintillation and semiconductor detectors in integrated system
• PMTs performances
• Sampling methods and strategies
• NORMs (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials)
• Nuclear explosions fallout: Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima
• 137Cs: from fallout to environmental tracer
• International research programs for controlling and monitoring radioactivity
SECTION 3 - MEASURING ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY (22 h)
• In-situ gamma spectroscopy measurements
• Gamma spectroscopy analysis techniques
• Soil water content estimation with applications to precision agriculture
• UAVs radioactivity measurements
• Spectral analysis techniques of airborne measurements
• Geostatistical methods for producing thematic cartography of radioactivity Didactic methods
- The lectures (section 1 and 2) and part of the experimental activities (section 3) are held at the Laboratory for Nuclear Technologies Applied to the Environment (https://www.fe.infn.it/radioactivity/), where students can see and experience first-hand the equipment dedicated to the characterization of environmental radioactivity. Most of the gamma spectroscopy exercises are carried out outdoors, on the university campus or in areas dedicated to the flight of drones.
All the presentations shown during the lessons are collected and sorted in Google Classroom, together with the scientific articles mentioned in the slides. Videos, nuclear databases and analysis codes for spectral analysis are an integral part of the teaching material made available to students.
The lesson timetable is agreed with the teacher at the beginning of the semester and is planned in such a way as to avoid temporal overlaps with other courses. For this reason, please write an e-mail to the teacher (mantovani@fe.infn.it) stating your interest in attending the course about a month before the start of the lessons. Learning assessment procedures
- The objective of the exam is to verify the level of achievement of the previously indicated training objectives. The oral exam is divided into two parts.
• A presentation (about 10 minutes) through which the student showcases a topic that they have explored independently. This showing will provide the opportunity to test the degree of detail and the critical capacity with which the information and bibliographic sources have been chosen.
• An oral interview (about 40 minutes) for not so much asking to repeat the topics covered in class, but for evaluating the competence to connect the knowledge and skills acquired to face problems related to environmental radioactivity. Reference texts
- In addition to the presentations shown during the lessons, the didactic material and the scientific articles uploaded in Google Classroom, for some specific topics reference will be made to the following texts:
• Practical Gamma-Ray Spectrometry - Gordon R. Gilmore - John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2008.
• Radiation Detection and Measurement - Glenn F. Knoll - John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2010.
• Nuclear and Radiochemistry (2nd Edition) - Jozsef Konya Noemi Nagy – Elsevier, 2018.
• Environmental Radiochemical Analysis III - Edited by Peter Warwick - Royal Society of Chemistry, 2006.
• Practical Applications of Radioactivity and Nuclear Radiations - Gerhart Lowenthal and Peter Airey - Cambridge University Press, 2001.
