Dragana Todorovic

Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences | VIN · Department of Radiation and Environmental Protection

In accordance with ISO/IEC 17025:2017, the testing laboratory needs to verify its ability to properly perform methods. For radiological testing, the sampling does not affect the results directly, but it has to ensure that sample adequately represents the tested material. To verify the procedure, a sampling of red mud and bauxite ore was conducted....

Deposition of (fly and bottom) ash generated after coal combustion in the coal fired power plants (CFPP) in Serbia is carried out in active and passive lagoons. Ash waste mixed with water is directly transported to the lagoon currently active and the other one is passive in the stage of temporary inactivity for technical consolidation of ash and dr...

The results of the gamma-spectrometric measurements in a 16500 ha large region of south-western Serbia, are presented. Activity concentrations of 40K, 137Cs, and 210Pb in different deciduous and evergreen trees in the region are investigated. For all the investigated isotopes, there is a tendency that, on average, the lowest activity concentrations...

Various imported building materials commonly used in construction and industry in Serbia were analyzed using gamma spectrometry. Based on the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in the investigated samples, radium equivalent activity, Raeq, absorbed dose rate, D, annual effective dose, DE, and the external hazard index, Hex, were calcu...

Significance A massive atmospheric release of radioactive ¹⁰⁶ Ru occurred in Eurasia in 2017, which must have been caused by a sizeable, yet undeclared nuclear accident. This work presents the most compelling monitoring dataset of this release, comprising 1,100 atmospheric and 200 deposition data points from the Eurasian region. The data suggest a...

: Traces of particulate radioactive iodine (131I) were detected in the European atmosphere in January/February 2017. Concentrations of this nuclear fission product were very low, ranging 0.1 to 10 µBq m-3 except at one location in western Russia where they reached up to several mBq m-3. Detections have been reported continuously over an 8-week peri...

One of the main problems in quantitative gamma-ray spectroscopy is the determination of detection efficiency, for different energies, source-detector geometries, and composition of samples or sources. There are, in principle, three approaches to this issue: experimental, numerical, and semiempirical. Semiempirical approach is based on the calculati...

Human activities may lead to increased levels of naturally occurring radioactive material and heavy metals in waters relative to undisturbed natural environment, consequently to reduced safety of environment. Therefore, evaluation of water quality from coal-fired power plants is essential to both environmental protection and protection of the human...

This study of environmental radioactivity was carried out in the soils of an urban area. Naturally occurring gamma-emitting radionuclides and man-made ¹³⁷Cs were found in the soil profiles collected from four parks in the central Belgrade city area and the soil layer was examined every 10 cm and to a depth of 50 cm. Radioisotope activity concentrat...

In this paper the impact of the Solar magnetic field on (7)Be activity concentration in aerosols was investigated. The changes in the (7)Be activity in aerosols in the period from the second part of 22nd to the second part of 24th Solar cycle were mathematically processed using the Fourier analysis and the 22 years period was pointed out. It corres...

The aim of the paper was to estimate the values of transfer factors for natural radionuclides (⁴⁰K,²²⁶Ra,²³²Th,²³⁵U, and²³⁸U) and¹³⁷Cs from soil to plants (cereals: wheat, corn and barley) as important parameters for the agricultures in the selection of the location and the sort of cereals to be planted on. The results presented in this paper refer...

Investigation of the natural radioactivity levels in water around power plants, as well as in plants, coal, ash, slag and soil, and to assess the associated radiation hazard is becoming an emerging and interesting topic. This paper is focused on the results of the radioactivity analysis in waste water samples from five coal-fired power plants in Se...

Air sample monitoring in Serbia, Belgrade started in the 1960s, while (7)Be activity in air and total (dry and wet) deposition has been monitored for the last 22 years by the Environment and Radiation Protection Department of the Institute for Nuclear Sciences, Vinca. Using this data collection, the changes of the (7)Be activity in the air and the...

This work presents the results of an investigation undertaken to determine the level of natural radioactivity in the traditional building materials used for medieval indoor vaulted constructions in the territory of the central Balkan region. Indoor radiation exposure varies appreciably if it comes from the earth building materials, hence the presen...

Data associated to the article: RADIOACTIVITY MEASUREMENTS IN SOILS SURROUNDING FOUR COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS IN SERBIA BY GAMMA-RAY SPECTROMETRY AND ESTIMATED DOSE

The results of an intercomparison exercise, designed for the determination of anthropogenic and natural radionuclides in sediment and fish samples from the Danube River, are reported. The methods of gross beta and gamma spectrometry measurements were compared. Considering the uncertainties of measurements, a good agreement between the results obtai...

Radon testing by using open-faced charcoal canisters is a cheap and fast screening method. Many laboratories perform the sampling and measurements according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency method - EPA 520. According to this method, no corrections for temperature are applied and corrections for humidity are based on canister ma...

The results referring to radioactivity analysis in soil, water, plant, coal, slag and flying ash samples from the environment around two power plants “Nikola Tesla A” and “Kolubara” for 2015 are explained. The analysis of samples was performed by gamma spectrometry using HPGe detector. In the investigated soil, flying ash, slag and coal samples, na...

This study focuses on determination of soil to plant transfer factor (TF) of long lived radionuclides 90Sr and 137Cs. 90Sr and 137Cs activity concentration in agricultural soil samples was ranged between <0.3 and 1.3 Bq kg−1 and 14 and 30 Bq kg−1, from <2.6 to 7.2 Bq kg−1 and 5 to 13 Bq kg−1 fresh matter in roots and from 0.4 to 1.1 Bq kg−1 and <0....

This paper is focused on the results for activity concentrations of7Be in depositions recorded in Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, as part of radioactivity monitoring in Institute from 1994 to 2013. year. Samples were collected on a monthly basis and activities were present on sampling day (middle of the month). The activities were determined o...

This work presents a comprehensive study of natural radioactivity in 720 building materials imported in Serbia in 2012. Radioactivity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in the studied samples range from <5 to 4,938, <3 to 763 and <10 to 3,192 Bq kg−1, respectively. The maximum values of 226Ra and 232Th activity concentrations were found in zirc...

The homogeneity of fertilizer samples for interlaboratory gamma-ray spectrometry comparison was tested by determination of the total. count rate and the count rates for two U-238. lines, one K-40 line and one common U-235 and Ra-226 line. Homogeneity testing was accomplished by determination of the minimum, maximum, mean and standard deviation for...

Measurement of the gross alpha and beta activity concentrations in various matrices is suitable as a preliminary screening procedure to determine whether further analysis related to specific radionuclide is necessary. In Serbia, according to current regulations, radioactivity concentrations in drinking water for gross alpha and gross beta should be...

This paper presents a study of the profile distribution of available micronutrients Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn and radionuclide 137Cs in cultivated soil at the experimental field "Radmilovac" (property of Agricultural Faculty, Belgrade University) in the vicinity of Vinĉa Institute of Nuclear Sciences. The soil belongs to the anthrosol class of anthropogeni...

Active charcoal detectors are used for testing the concentration of radon in dwellings. The method of measurement is based on radon adsorption on coal and measurement of gamma radiation of radon daughters. Detectors used for the measurement were calibrated by ²²⁶Ra standard of known activity in the same geometry. The contributions to the final meas...

The study of spatial distribution of activity concentration of U-238, Ra-226, (210)pb, Th-232, K-40 and Cs-237 radionuclides in the surface soil samples (n = 42) collected in the vicinity of four coal-fired power plants in Serbia is presented. Radioactivity measurements in soils performed by gamma-ray spectrometry showed values [Bqkg(-1)] in the ra...

Standard versions of blood separators typically use medium-price color sensors for a detection of a boundary level between red blood cells and plasma, at the last gate - at hose clamps. Discrete number of sensors is related to a number of significant levels to be detected thus making blood separation potentially faulty and unreliable. Our target wa...

This paper describes an Instrumentation Treadmill Prototype (ITP). The ITP is designed for study of WHEG's (wheel legs) dynamics. DC motor drive is set for velocity control. Control and monitoring of parameters of instrumentation treadmill are provided with application built in LabVIEW. Computer with DAQ system is connected to ITP. The WHEG force,...

The charcoal canister method of radon measurement according to US Environment Protection Agency protocol 520/5-87-005 is widely used for screening. This method is based on radon adsorption on coal and measurement of gamma radiation of radon daughters. For the purpose of gamma spectrometry, appropriate efficiency calibration of the measuring system...

The determination of radionuclide activity concentration requires a prior knowledge of the full-energy peak (FEP) efficiency at all photon energies for a given measuring geometry. This problem has been partially solved by using procedures based on Monte Carlo simulations, developed in order to complement the experimental calibration procedures used...

Abstract In the 1999 bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, NATO forces used ammunition containing depleted uranium. The cleaning of depleted uranium that followed was performed in southern Serbia by the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences between 2002 and 2007 at the locations of Pljačkovica, Borovac, Bratoselce, and Reljan. This paper pre...

Be-7, Pb-210 and Cs-137 activity concentrations in ground level air at five monitoring stations (MS Vinca, Zeleno Brdo, Zajecar, Vranje and Zlatibor) in Serbia were determined during the period from May 2011 to September 2012, as part of the Serbian monitoring project. Activity of the radionuclides in air was determined on a HPGe detector (Canberra...

Activities of Be-7 and Pb-210 were monitored in surface air in Belgrade, Serbia, from 2004 to 2012. The measurements were taken from two locations, in an open field of a city suburb and in the central city area. The activities were determined on HPGe detectors by standard gamma spectrometry. The Be-7 activity shows a pronounced seasonal pattern, wi...

Abstract This is a preliminary study of the depth distribution of 137Cs radionuclides in cultivated anthrosol soil of a 15-year old peach tree plantation at the experimental field "Radmilovac" near Belgrade. Before planting, the soil was ploughed at the depth of 1 m. The soil had not been annually ploughed, irrigated and treated with mineral fertil...

A radiological characterization of 7 different carbonated mineral water samples collected in the local supermarkets in the area of Belgrade (produced in Serbia) was carried out. Analysis included determination of gross alpha and gross beta activities. The obtained results showed that the natural activity concentrations of alpha and beta emitting ra...

Ceramic tiles are one of the commonly used decorative building materials. Body of ceramic tiles is a mixture of different raw materials including clays, quartz materials and feldspat, and may be glazed or left unglazed. Due to the presence of zircon in the glaze, ceramic tiles can show natural radioactivity concentration significantly higher than t...

A radiological characterization of 7 different carbonated mineral water samples collected in the local supermarkets in the area of Belgrade (produced in Serbia) was carried out. Analysis included determination of gross alpha and gross beta activities. The obtained results showed that the natural activity concentrations of alpha and beta emitting ra...

After the accident in Fukushima reactors, a daily monitoring programme was initiated in two laboratories in Belgrade, one at the Vinčа Institute for Nuclear Sciences and the other at Institute for Occupational Health Karajovic. Samples of aerosol and fallout, as well as the random samples of food and water, were collected and analysed, using gross...

Gross alpha and beta activities, (3)H, (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K activities were measured in bottled mineral water produced in Serbia in order to assess its radiological quality. In 11 samples of tap water and in 1 sample of spring waters gross alpha and beta activity were determined. The natural activity concentration of alpha and beta emitting r...

Specific activity of tritium (3H) in precipitation and specific activity of 137Cs in ground-level air were monitored at three locations in Belgrade (Meteorological Station of Belgrade at Zeleno Brdo (ZB), Meteorological Station Usek (USEK), and Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences (VINS)). Data presented cover the period 1985–1997 for 137Cs for all...

Tritium (H-3) present in the environment decreased in the last decades and nowadays it has low activity concentrations. Measurement of low-level tritium activities in natural waters, e.g. in precipitation, groundwater, and river water requires special techniques for water pretreatment and detection of low-level radioactivity. In order to increase t...

Leaves of linden (Tilia tomentosa L. and Tilia cordata Mill.) and horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) were analysed as biomonitors of radionuclides in urban air. Samples of soils, leaves and aerosols were collected in Belgrade, Serbia. Activities of 137Cs, 40K, 210Pb and 7Be in the samples were measured on an HPGe detector by standard gamma...

Natural resources such as ores contain radioactive nuclides at various concentrations. Therefore it is important to investigate the radioactivity in these resources as well as in the soil at the locations of ore deposits. For that reason we conducted preliminary measurements in the soil samples taken from the locations of lead and zinc ore deposits...

Tritium activity concentration were monitored in monthly precipitation at five locations in Serbia (Meteorological Station of Belgrade at Zeleno Brdo, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Smederevska Palanka, Kraljevo and Niš) over 2005, using electrolytic enrichment and liquid scintillation counting. The obtained concentrations ranged from 3.36 to...

Red mud is a waste and tail material from primary aluminum production, and is named for its color, coming from its iron oxide content. The quantity of red mud is almost equal to the primary aluminum production and leads to a considerable environmental issue. In order to minimize the negative effect of red mud, there have been or are presently many...

The natural radioactivity in imported zircon samples used as glaze for ceramic tiles in the ceramics industry has been presented in this paper. The measurements were made by gamma spectrometry with a high purity germanium detector. The average activity concentrations of (238)U and (232)Th determined in the measured samples (3250 Bq/kg, and 556 Bq/k...

Four different kinds of materials (feldspar, gypsum, clay and kaolin) commonly used in building construction and industry in Serbia were analyzed for their natural radioactivity, using gamma spectrometry. The radium equivalent activity, Ra(eq), the absorbed dose rate, D, the annual effective dose, D(E), and the external hazard index, H(ex), were ev...

The paper presents results of a long-term investigations of tritium activity concentrations in precipitation and radiocesium activity concentrations in ground level air in Belgrade, Serbia. Samples were collected at three locations in Belgrade (Meteorological Station of Belgrade MS at Zeleno Brdo (ZB), Meteorological Station MS Usek (USEK), and Vin...

The radioactivity monitoring in the "Nikola Tesla", "Kolubara", "Morava" and "Kostolac" coal-fired power plants was performed by the Radiation and Environmental Protection Laboratory, Vinča Institute of nuclear sciences in the period 2003-2010. Monitoring included the analysis of soil, water, flying ash, slag, coal and plants. This paper presents t...

Concentrations of beryllium-7 (7Be), lead-210 (210Pb) and caesium-137 (137Cs) were measured at two sites in the city of Belgrade (Serbia). One monitoring site was located in the central city area with heavy traffic and the other within the Institute of Nuclear Sciences Vinca, in the suburbs. Presented data cover the period 2004–9. Activity of the r...

3.1 Trace elements in moss bags The initial (background) content of elements plays a crucial role in obtaining the relative accumulation level in biomonitoring studies. For most of the examined elements, the initial values in S. girgensohnii, used for active biomonitoring in Belgrade (Aničić et al., 2009a,b), were significantly lower than those fro...

Taking into account the importance of distribution and transfer of radionuclides in the soil-water-plant system, especially in agricultural fields, in this study, natural radionuclide determination in regosol-type soil was performed. The correlations between main soil properties and the contents of natural isotopes 238 U, 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K i...

The paper presents concentrations of trace elements in blood of homebred animals (cows and sheep) from Southern Serbia (Bujanovac) and the contents of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides and some heavy metals in feed. The region of Southern Serbia was exposed to contamination by depleted uranium ammunition during NATO attacks in 1999 and theref...

To assess the validity of the moss bag monitoring technique in the radioactivity control of ground level urban air, a study on radionuclide contents in moss was performed in the city of Belgrade, Serbia. From May 2006 to May 2007, moss (Sphagnum girgensohni, Dubna, Russia) was exposed to the aero pollution in a location in the central area of the c...

Distribution of natural gamma-emitting radionuclides 238U and 40K were determined in the soil profiles from the peach-trees field on experimental farm Radmilovac, southeast Belgrade. Internal soil morphology has been changed in 1992. when soil rigosol type with deep Ap-horizon (0-80 cm) has been formed by special treatment of parent soil, chernozem...

Three sets of data covering the 2004-2007 period are examined: two beryllium-7 series and ozone measured in ground level air. The measuring sites are at three different locations in Belgrade, Serbia. The temporal evolution of beryllium-7 and ozone is presented, as well as their mutual correlations. Beryllium-7 data for Belgrade agree well with the...

During 2005 and 2006, soil samples were collected from different regions in the Republic of Srpska, in order to evaluate their radioactivity. During the war that lasted from 1994 to 1995, it is known that some locations in the Republic of Srpska were imposed upon by NATO forces. Sampled locations were chosen far away from the bombed places in order...

The paper presents the complex approach to the assessment of the state of the environment in Southern Serbia, surroundings of Bujanovac, the region which is of great concern as being exposed to contamination by depleted uranium (DU) ammunition during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) attacks in 1999. It includes studies on concentration...

During the Balkan conflict in 1999, soil in contaminated areas was enriched in depleted uranium (DU) isotopic signature, relative to the in-situ natural uranium present. After the military activities, most of kinetic DU penetrators or their fragments remained buried in the ground in certain geomorphological and geochemical environments exposed to l...

It can be concluded that monitoring natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in ground level air provide important information on the content of radionuclides due to their origin, weather and climate conditions (rate of precipitation, washout effects, temperature differences and inverstion, wind direction and intensity, troposphere-to-stratosphere t...

The effect of the density of environmental samples on the counting efficiency of Ge detectors used in gamma-spectrometry was studied. The dependence εff(ρ) was determined for two HPGe detectors (relative efficiencies 18% and 20%) using five radioactive standard reference materials (silicone resins, epoxy resin, milk powder, soil) with different mat...

Summary Radioactivity of water and sediments from the Danube river in its course through Serbia during 2001-2003 years has been tested by alpha- and gamma-ray spectrometry. Except for cesium originating from Chernobyl, the radioactivity level of water and sediment coincide with the content of natural radionuclides in the environment of rivers basin...

The paper presents the results of indoor radon concentration survey in 201 homes and offices in Niska Banja (the Spa of Nis), a well-known health resort and a spa in the South-East of Serbia. Radon indoor concentrations were determined by active charcoal method, according to standard EPA procedure. The indoor radon concentrations were in the range...

Summary The radioactivity of water and sediments from the Sava river in the course through Serbia during 2001-2003 has been examined by alpha- and gamma-ray spectrometry. Except for cesium originating from Chernobyl, the radioactivity level of water and sediment coincide with the content of natural radionuclides in the environment of the river basi...

The paper presents the results of radon indoor concentrations measurements in homes and public institutions (kindergardens) in Belgrade, as well as the results of the radionuclides content determination in building materials from Serbia, during the eighties and up to the mid-nineties of the 20th century. The activity of the radionuclides was determ...

The paper presents the preliminary results of determination of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides (7Be, 210Pb, 235U, 238U, 232Th, 40K, 137Cs) in ground level air, soils and tree leaves in Belgrade urban area. Activities of the radionuclides were determined on an HPGe detector (ORTEC, relative efficiency 23%) by standard gamma spectrometry. The...

During the war conflict at former Yugoslavia territory in 1999, depleted uranium (DU) ammunition was used by NATO air forces and the Bratoselce site have been contaminated. Three years later decontamination of the location had been undertaken. During cleaning up the site, samples of projectile and soil samples around it, along the depth profile and...