2026-04-05T10:44:41Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/request

oai:recercat.cat:2117/212072026-02-07T08:14:52Zcom_2072_1033col_2072_452950

The presence of radionuclides in wastewater treatment plants in spain and their effect on human health Montaña Gurrera, Montserrat Camacho García, Antonia Devesa, Ricard Valles Murciano, M. Isabel Cespedes, R. Serrano Carreño, M. Isabel Blázquez Pérez, Sonia M. Barjola Molina, Vanessa Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Desenvolupament humà i sostenible::Enginyeria ambiental::Tractament de l'aigua Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Desenvolupament humà i sostenible::Desenvolupament humà::Aigua i sanejament Radioactivity Water treatment plants Gross alpha activity Gross beta activity Natural and artificial gamma radionuclides Sludge Wastewater Aigües residuals -- Plantes de tractament Radioactivitat Wastewater treatment facilities can produce sludge containing measurable amounts of radioactivity. The radionuclides that are concentrated may originate from radionuclides present in the original source of water or from water treatment. This treated water ends up most frequently in the aquatic environment, but it may also receive further application, for instance, as irrigation water in agriculture. Therefore, evaluation of its quality is essential to both protect the health of the environment and also of humans. The aim of the present work is to study the radioactivity in liquids and sludge generated at 11 wastewater treatment plants in Spain, working under a variety of conditions, as there is an increase in usage of wastewater treatment plants in Spain as a result of frequent drought periods. Gross alpha and gross beta activities were determined in influent and effluent liquids and sludge by ZnS solid scintillation detectors and low-background gas-flow counters. Natural and artificial gamma radionuclides in the sludge were analyzed with a germanium semi-conductor detector. The results indicate that the radiological characteristics of the effluents and sludge do not present a significant radiological risk and make them suitable for future applications. Postprint (published version) 2013-12-01 Article http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/ Restricted access - publisher's policy Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Spain