The Radiological Impact of 210Pb and 210Po Released from the Iron- and Steel-Making Plant ILVA in Taranto (Italy) on the Environment and the Public

Lead-210 and Po-210 are naturally occurring radionuclides. Due to volatile characteristic of lead and polonium, environmental pollution of Pb-210 and Po-210 released from the coal power plant, steel-making industry and refractory material industry has been an exposure problem for the members of public. In this paper studies on the activity concentrations of Po-210 and Pb-210 in the raw materials, dust particles, surficial soils and atmospheric particulate samples collected in the area of the Iron-and Steel-Making Plant ILVA Taranto (Italy) were made. These data have been used to evaluate the source-term, distributions, inventories, mass balance, biological availability, ecological migration processes and public exposure risk of Pb-210 and Po-210 in the concerned environment.