Study on atmospheric radioactivity in Suceava Metropolitan Area

Ionising radiation from different environments (sun, celestial bodies, soil and geological substrate, etc.) influences the whole living world as a hidden factor. About 87% of the radiation dose received by humans is due to natural radiation. It is essential to assess radiation doses in order to control possible health effects from such natural sources. In this context we were interested in assessing the atmospheric radioactivity in Suceava Metropolitan Area by performing an experimental field monitoring with gamma dose monitoring, between 15 - 17 July 2021, and an analysis based on gamma dose rate measurements, global specific beta activity and radon/thoron emissions in the period (2009 - 2020) performed by the Environmental Radioactivity Monitoring Laboratory of Suceava Environmental Protection Agency. The obtained results for the external gamma dose, on hourly data show that the warning threshold of 0.250 μSvh-1 was exceeded, on cumulative annual data the external gamma dose rate was between 0.53 mSv in 2012 and 0.97 mSv in 2019, so it did not rise above the threshold of 1 mSv, the threshold from which health problems may occur. For atmospheric aerosols the warning threshold of 10 Bq m-3 was not exceeded in any case, and for atmospheric deposition (on the ground) the maximum in observations rose to 61.3 Bq m-3, less than 1/3 of the warning threshold value of 200 Bq m-3. The assessment of Radon and Thoron emissions showed a maximum of 28.4 Bq m-3, a quarter of the human health threshold of 100 Bq m-3.