Zora S. Zunic

University of Belgrade · Laboratory for Radiobiology and Molecular Genetics

Dear Colleagues, Natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, floods, droughts, and storms continue to pose significant challenges to both human societies and natural ecosystems. These hazards, whether abrupt or evolving over time, present complex challenges that require interdisciplinary approaches to understand, predict,...

The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were determined in 43 soil samples collected from 0 to 10 cm and 10 to 50 cm depths of Niška Banja region, Serbia, using a low background gamma spectroscopy with 3″ × 3″ NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. The mean absorbed dose rate of 0–10 cm and 10–50 cm depth soil were 66.1 and 60.4 nGy/h, respect...

The requirements about radon measurements in schools and public buildings included in most of the national and international legislations are generally restricted to all the rooms located at the ground floor and basement, assuming the soil beneath the building as the main source of indoor radon. In order to verify such an assumption for small build...

The long–term measurements of radon and thoron equilibrium equivalent concentrations (EERC and EETC) were carried out the first time in Republic of Srpska in 25 schools of its capital Banja Luka and in its wider surroundings. After this successful survey, the measurements continued using the same type of the LR 115 nuclear track detectors, i.e., Di...

The most abundant and efficient source of air ionization in the lower layer of the atmosphere is radon. As an alpha emitter, radon plays a crucial role in the earth's atmospheric electricity. Besides the physical, radon and ions have a significant biological role concerning human health: radon is a health hazard while the ions are beneficial ingred...

Radon (222Rn) and thoron (220Rn) are natural radioactive gases, generated in the terrestrial materials. They are the main sources of public exposure to ionising radiation in any of indoor environment worldwide. Differences in half-lives of 222Rn (T1/2 = 3.8 d) and 220Rn (T1/2 = 55.6 s) lead to its different indoor behavior. Several studies of indoo...

The main contribution to population exposure is due to radon and thoron progenies and not radon itself. The aim of this study was therefore to estimate annual effective dose using the results of Direct Radon and Thoron Progeny Sensors were exposed in 69 selected schools and 319 dwellings in several regions of Balkans: in Serbia: regions of Sokobanj...

Urine, hair and nail samples were collected from a population of both sex aged from 40 to 87 years in Niška Banja (227 km south of Belgrade, Serbia) with a high level of natural radioactivity (HLNRA). To assess and monitor the public exposure, urine samples for each subject (24 h period) were collected and concentration of uranium (U) was analysed...

The paper deals with the analysis of the annual indoor radon concentrations variations due to different geological parameters of Sjenica community, Western Serbia. The measured 222Rn concentrations were ranging from 10 to 1130 Bq/m³. In 14% of the buildings, the radon action level of 300 Bq/m³ is exceeded, indicating that Sjenica community could be...

In the last decade, many studies have been made for measuring natural radioactivity in regions of the Republic of Macedonia. However, the information on terrestrial radiation exposure, and, consequently, risk assessment were not available. In this study, a risk assessment was done considering a specific activity concentration of 226 Ra, 232 Th, 40...

To establish baseline values for concentrations of terrestrial radionuclides for the Republic of North Macedonia, a survey covering the entire territory was performed. The 213 soil samples were collected from regions around the major settlements and cities, approximately evenly distributed over the geotectonic units which constitute the country's g...

This article deals with the variation of radon (Rn), thoron (Tn) and their progeny concentrations expressed in terms of equilibrium equivalent concentrations (EERC and EETC), in 40 houses, in four villages of Sokobanja municipality, Southern Serbia. Two types of passive detectors were used: (1) discriminative radon-thoron detector for simultaneous...

This paper presents indoor radon concentrations and specific activities of natural radionuclides measured in soils of Kosovo and Metohija. The measurements of radon concentration were performed during two consecutive 6-month periods in two rooms of 63 houses using CR-39 detectors. The annual radon concentration ranged from 30 to 810 Bq m⁻³ with the...

Recognized as a significant health hazard, radon (Rn) has been given increasing attention for years. Surveys of different kinds have been performed in many countries to assess the intensity and the geographical extent of possible Rn problems. Common surveys cover mainly dwellings, the indoor place with highest occupancy, and schools, where people s...

We present a method for the estimation of annual radon concentration based on short-term (three months) measurements. The study involves two independent sets of indoor radon concentration measurements performed in 16 cities of the Republic of Macedonia. The first dataset contains winter and annual radon concentration obtained during the National su...

In 43 places (23 schools, 3 kindergartens, 16 offices and one dwelling), indoor radon has been monitored as an intercomparison experiment, using α-scintillation cells (SC - Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia), various kinds of solid state nuclear track detectors (KfK - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany; UFO - National Institute of Radiologic...

Spatial distribution of radioactive gasses thoron (Tn) and radon (Rn) in indoor air of 9 houses mostly during winter period of 2013 has been studied. According to properties of alpha decay of both elements, air ionization was also measured. Simultaneous continual measurements using three Rn/Tn and three air-ion active instruments deployed on to thr...

Subject of this study is an investigation of the variations of indoor radon concentration and ambient dose equivalent rate in outdoor and indoor environments of 40 dwellings, 31 elementary schools and five kindergartens. The buildings are located in three municipalities of two, geologically different, areas of the Republic of Macedonia. Indoor rado...

Airborne 137Cs originated from the nuclear tests in the atmosphere and from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster was retained by the trees biomass and nowadays it can still be found in various concentrations in tree barks from Romania and other European countries. This study brings the first results of 137Cs presence in tree bark from Romania on differen...

Concentration and size distribution of airborne particles (size range 10−1100 nm), using a SMPS+C Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer, and concentrations of positive and negative cluster ions (size range 0.36−1.6 nm), using several CDI-06 Gerdien-type integral air ion detectors, have been monitored in three rooms in rural dwellings of Serbia and Slove...

Chernobyl disaster from April 26/27, 1986, deposited variable quantities of Cesium-137 and other radioisotopes over whole Europe and other continents. The high scientific interest to study the 137-Cs contamination in forest ecosystems is provoked by the fact that forests are complex environments with great capacity to intercept and to retain radion...

Chernobyl disaster from April 26/27, 1986, deposited variable quantities of Cesium-137 and other radioisotopes over whole Europe and other continents. The high scientific interest to study the 137-Cs contamination in forest ecosystems is provoked by the fact that forests are complex environments with great capacity to intercept and to retain radion...

This article reports results of the first investigations on indoor radon, thoron and their decay products concentration in 25 primary schools of Banja Luka, capital city of Republic Srpska. The measurements have been carried out in the period from May 2011 to April 2012 using 3 types of commercially available nuclear track detectors, named: long-te...

11th International Congress of International Radiation Protection Agency IRPA11, pp 23-28.

Hair analysis is extensively used in forensic sciences, assessment of occupational or environmental exposure and in some cases for clinical and nutritional studies. The present study summarizes the analytical methodology and distribution of uranium and some selected trace metals e.g., Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Cd and Cs in human scalp hair samples using...

In this work the strong influence of geological factors on the variability of indoor radon is found in two of three geologically very different regions of South-Eastern Europe. A method to estimate the annual mean concentration when one seasonal measurement is missing is proposed. Large differences of radon concentrations in different rooms of the...

As part of a survey on concentrations of radon, thoron and their decay products in different indoor environments of the Balkan region involving international collaboration, measurements were performed in 43 schools from 5 municipalities of the Republic of Macedonia. The time-integrated radon and thoron gas concentrations (CRn and CTn) were measured...

The survey of natural radioactivity in Kosovo and Metohija involves 180 indoor 220Rn measurements. They were performed either in living rooms or in bedrooms of 127 individual, rural type houses, using a passive method with application of CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detectors. Detectors were deployed at a distance of >10 cm from the walls. Value...

Correlation between the initial 137Cs deposit and the present content in bark. Different tree species absorb and retain differently 137Cs. For the old trees with thick bark most of 137Cs could be found in the outer layer. In the case of oak tree, the values from Romania are higher than the ones reported in Bulgaria.

Thoron gas and its progeny behave quite differently in room environments, owing to the difference in their half-lives; therefore, it is important to measure simultaneously gas and progeny concentrations to estimate the time-integrated equilibrium factor. Furthermore, thoron concentration strongly depends on the distance from the source, i.e. genera...

Unlabelled: In order to optimize the design of a national survey aimed to evaluate radon exposure of children in schools in Serbia, a pilot study was carried out in all the 334 primary schools of 13 municipalities of Southern Serbia. Based on data from passive measurements, rooms with annual radon concentration >300 Bq/m(3) were found in 5% of sch...

Between 2008 and 2011 a survey of radon ((222)Rn) was performed in schools of several districts of Southern Serbia. Some results have been published previously (Žunić et al., 2010; Carpentieri et al., 2011; Žunić et al., 2013). This article concentrates on the geographical distribution of the measured Rn concentrations. Applying geostatistical meth...

In Niška Banja, a spa town in a radon-prone area in southern Serbia, radon (222Rn) and thoron (220Rn) activity concentrations were measured continuously for one day in indoor air of 10 dwellings with a SARAD RTM 2010-2 Radon/Thoron Monitor, and equilibrium factor between radon and its decay products and the fraction of unattached radon decay produc...

Some previous studies on radon concentration in dwellings of some areas of Kosovo and Metohija have revealed a high average radon concentration, even though the detectors were exposed for three months only. In order to better design a larger study in this region, the an- nual measurements in 25 houses were carried out as a pilot study. For each hou...

Radon concentration measurements were performed in all 25 primary schools in Banja Luka city, the capital of Republic of Srpska, during 2011 and 2012, using both active RAD7 continual radon measuring instruments and CR-39 passive (commercially known as Gamma) detectors. The two complimentary methods were employed not only to obtain annual averages,...

Some previous studies on radon concentration in dwellings of some areas of Kosovo and Metohija have revealed a high average radon concentration, even though the detectors were exposed for three months only. In order to better design a larger study in this region, the annual measurements in 25 houses were carried out as a pilot study. For each house...

As a part of the national survey of natural radioactivity in The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, indoor thoron gas concentration was measured in 300 dwellings during one year, from December 2008 till December 2009 using passive discriminative radonethoron detectors. Detectors were deployed at a distance of >50 cm from walls in order to be le...

This paper deals with calculated effective doses that members of real population received from radon gas and its short lived progeny during air inhalation in their dwellings at field site Kalna in Eastern Serbia. There are two crucial parameters in effective dose calculation: Dose Conversion Factor (DCF) for particular subjects (including real gend...

Geo-referenced datasets of indoor radon concentrations and radium concentrations in soil are available for the Republic of Macedonia. However, the indoor 222Rn data are spatially strongly clustered as the measurements were essentially confined to major towns and cities. Hence, the estimation of the geographical distribution of 222Rn concentration b...

In this paper the results of radon concentration measurements performed in 207 schools in 7 communities of Southern Serbia are presented. The annual radon concentration varied from 17 Bqm-3 to 428 Bq m-3 with a median value of 96 Bq m-3. The arithmetic mean (AM) of the 207 annual averages was 118 Bq m-3 with a standard deviation (SD) of 78 Bq m-3....

A first step in mapping indoor radon concentration in Kosovo and Metohija was taken by carrying out 153 measurements in residential houses. About 21% of the territory of these areas was covered by mapping. Dosimeters with CR-39 detectors were used to measure indoor 222 Rn concentration, all deployed on the ground floor of typical houses. The arithm...

This paper deals with calculated effective doses that members of real population received from radon gas and its short lived progeny during air inhalation in their dwellings at field site Kalna in Eastern Serbia. There are two crucial parameters in effective dose calculation: Dose Conversion Factor (DCF) for particular subjects (including real gend...

Terrestrial radiation from naturally occurring radionuclides, such as 40K, radionuclides from the 238U and 232Th series and their decay products is the main external source of public exposure. This research presents the results of assessment the population doses from natural radionuclides in soils at the eight statistical regions of the Republic of...

Geo-referenced datasets of indoor radon concentrations and radium concentrations in soil are available for the Republic of Macedonia. However, the indoor 222Rn data are spatially strongly clustered as the measurements were essentially confined to major towns and cities. Hence, the estimation of the geographical distribution of 222Rn concentration b...

The goals of the previous research project (2006-2010) and current one (2011-2014), funded by the Serbian Ministry of Science, now Ministry of Education and Science, is the systematic indoor radon survey in elementary schools of Serbia. This survey has been under way since 2008 through an international collaboration, involving so far 340 schools in...

The possible consequences of the use of depleted uranium (DU) used in Balkan conflicts in 1995 and 1999 for the people and the environment of this reason need attention. The heavy metal content in human hair may serve as a good indicator of dietary, environmental and occupational exposures to the metal compounds. The present work summarises the dis...

Since 1996/97, indoor radon has been measured in scattered locations around Kosovo. In the most recent campaign, apart from radon, thoron and Rn and Tn progenies have also been measured. The current survey involves 48 houses, in which different detectors have been deployed side-by-side in one room, in order to measure indoor radon and thoron gas wi...

Abstract. This paper presents the results of a survey of indoor radon concentrations in the dwellings of 10 Municipalities in the Skopje: the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Macedonia. The indoor radon concentrations were measured during the four successive seasons from December 2008 to December 2009 using integrating passive alpha...

In an international collaboration, a long-term radon concentration survey was carried out in schools of Southern Serbia with radon detectors prepared, etched and read-out in Italy. In such surveys it is necessary to evaluate measurement precision in field conditions, and to check whether quality assurance protocols were effective in keeping uncerta...

This paper deals with the analysis of natural radionuclide content in 23 water samples collected in the vicinity of the Nikola Tesla B thermal power plant, Serbia. All samples were analyzed for (226)Ra and uranium isotopes ((238)U, (234)U) activity using radiochemical methods and alpha spectrometry. Obtained results show that the activity concentra...

The paper deals with the results of the investigations of indoor radon measurements in more than 300 rural and urban dwellings in Kosovo and Metohija. All measurements were carried out using CR-39 solid state nuclear track detectors by similar protocols and within two series in 1990-s and in 2000-s, in 34 settlements divided by 9 regions, thus cove...

This paper deals with the results of the first-field use in the Balkans, i.e. Serbia and Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Hercegovina), of a passive polycarbonate Mark II type and poliallyldiglycol carbonate (Cr-39) alpha track detectors sensitive to thoron as well as to radon. Both types of solid state nuclear track detectors were designed and suppl...

This paper presents the results of identification of natural ionizing irradiation in the vicinity of Nikola Tesla B power plant ash disposal field. The investigations have comprised the determination of natural gas (radon and thoron) activities with a passive discriminative nuclear track detector (CR 39) in the air column of the depth of 80 cm in t...

This paper deals with the results of indoor radon and thoron concentrations and exposure doses obtained for 63 dwellings out of the 14 rural communities of Central Kosovo, North Kosovo and Prizren region. These research activities are part of overall radiological research that has systematically been carried out since 1986, particularly in Kosovo a...

A systematic indoor radon survey in elementary schools of Serbia is underway since 2008. Its current first phase covers all elementary schools in predominantly rural communities of Southern Serbia. The design of the survey, its implementation and the current state of its realization is shortly described. Part of this paper is devoted to discussion...

The main scope of this paper is to point out the importance of introducing radon and thoron exhalation measurements from building materials in the regulating frame. Currently (2009), such a regulation of this kind of exposure is not explicitly included in the Serbian regulating network. To this end, this work reports concentration measurements of 2...

The main scope of this paper is to point out the importance of introducing radon and thoron exhalation measurements from building materials in the regulating frame. Currently (2009), such a regulation of this kind of exposure is not explicitly included in the Serbian regulating network. To this end, this work reports concentration measurements of (...

Water (226)Ra concentration in springs was measured in regions with high indoor radon: Ural, North Caucasus (Russia), Niska Banja (Serbia), Piestany (Slovakia), and Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan). This paper presents the results for (226)Ra concentration above 0.03 Bq l(-1). Radium in water could indicate indoor radon problem in the region and water invest...

Indoor radon retrospective concentrations were obtained and compared using two radon measurement methods. Both methods rely on the measurement of the long-lived radon progeny 210Pb, collected either on the surfaces (surface trap technique), most frequently glass, or in a volume trap, usually sponge from furniture (volume trap technique). These tech...

Based on results of fieldwork in the Balkan Region of Serbia from 2005 to 2007, soil gas radon and thoron concentrations as well as gamma dose rates were measured. Campaigns were conducted in two different geological regions: Niska Banja, considered a high natural radiation area, and Obrenovac around the TentB Thermal Power Plant (TPP), a low natur...

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 relat...

Some basic facts and knowledge on depleted uranium (DU) and characteristics and identification of ammunition used in the Balkans are summarized. The results of radioecological surveys at selected sites during the prewar period, immediately after bombing, occurrence since then and details of clean-up operations are presented. Uranium content measure...

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 relat...

Standardization of the thoron exhalation measurements is important for the intercomparison of the results among different laboratories. There are a few important distinctions between thoron (220Rn) and radon (222Rn) exhalation measurements using an accumulation chamber, due to a great difference between radon and thoron diffusion lengths in air, na...

Lichen and Moss are widely used to assess the atmospheric pollution by heavy metals and radionuclides. In this paper, we report results of uranium and its isotope ratios using mass spectrometric measurements (followed by chemical separation procedure) for mosses, lichens and soil samples from a depleted uranium (DU) target site in western Balkan re...

This paper deals with industrial tailings resulting from the use of radioactive coal and bauxite for assessing the impact on the population and the environment in the western Balkan countries (WBC). It considers the direct hazard resulting from the wastes for their immediate neighbourhood and the radionuclide dispersal in the environment through su...

This paper reports results of gamma and alpha spectrometric measurements for mosses, lichens, fungi and soil samples from areas in the Balkans targeted by depleted uranium (DU). Samples were collected in 2002 and 2003 in the vicinity of several villages, principally Han Pijesak (Bosnia and Herzegovina, hit by DU in 1995) and Bratoselce (South Serbi...

Radon (222Rn) and thoron (220Rn) were surveyed in indoor air of 15 public buildings and 10 homes in Slovenia in November 2004 by exposing Rn-Tn discriminative etched track detectors. The following ranges of the activity concentration were obtained for public buildings: 98-2680 Bq m -3 for CRn, 19-1330 Bq m-3 for CTn and 0.11-0.72 for the CTn/CRn ra...