engleski

Radioactive contamination of water due to phosphate fertilizer production

This study was carried out in a phosphate fertilizer factory in central Croatia, which may represent a site of significant environmental contamination due to fertilizer production and phosphogypsum deposition in the area. Owing to 226Ra tendency to concentrate in phosphogypsum during phosphate ore processing, this material is classified as technologicaly enhanced radioactive material. The 226Ra content was measured in the samples of trickling waters collected near a phosphogypsum deposit around a fertilizer plant. The vales were compared to those measured in the samples of drinking water in a nearby residential zone, because trickling waters may be a source of radioactivity in the drinking water and a potential risk for the inhabitants. However, concurrent analyses of drinking water indicated that the risk of adverse health effects for the population living in the vicinity of a phosphate fertilizer plant is negligible.

radioactivity; radium; technologicaly enhanced radioactive material; trickling water; drinking water

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