Identification and assessment of elevated exposure to natural radiation in Balkan region (Serbia)

¹ Institute of Nuclear Sciences “Vinča”, Belgrade, Serbia
² Institute of Industrial Ecology, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg, Russia
³ Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
⁴ Nuclear Engineering Department, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece
⁵ Radonlab Ltd., Oslo, Norway
⁶ National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, Anagawa, Inage-ku, Japan
⁷ SCK-CEN, Mol, Belgium
⁸ Venetian Reference Laboratory for Environmental Radioactivity, CRR-ARPAV, Verona CRR-Policlinico B. Roma, Verona, Italy
⁹ The Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN, Krakow, Poland
¹⁰ Italian National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy
¹¹ Department of Physics, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Garhwal, India
¹² Physics Department, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Priština, Serbia
¹³ Department of Earth Sciences, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

Abstract

The paper deals with a specific aspect of a general survey, that is being carried out during last ten years in several regions of Serbia (former Yugoslavia, former Serbia and Montenegro) to assess population exposure to natural radioactivity based on geochemical and integrative pattern research approach. The originality regarding this work is related to the facts such as follows: the first identification and assessment of high areas of natural radiation in Serbia which provides insight into its regional characteristics, the interpretation of the results in terms of geological aspects, building types and human habits, the first introduction and field applicability of both (surface and volume trap) retro techniques in Serbia and assessment of doses and risks to the population in investigated high natural radiation rural communities.