Radionuclides and Metals in the Parks of the City of Belgrade, Serbia: Spatial Distribution and Health Risk Assessment

Abstract

In urban areas, forest patches and parks are usually the places where people spend most of their time outdoors. Because of poor environmental protection policy and insufficient investment in industry and energy, Serbia is often ranked among the European countries with the greatest environmental pollution. In recent years, ecological protests have been organized throughout the country with the aim of raising ecological awareness and resolving environmental issues. The topic has become particularly popular since the plans for opening new mining areas in western Serbia came to the fore. This study was conducted with the aim to investigate radioactivity levels and metals content in soil and foliage of the most popular parks in Belgrade, the capital and largest city of Serbia. Based on a GIS (geographic information system) approach, the spatial distribution maps of radionuclides (226Ra, 232Th, 40K, 7Be, and 137Cs) and metals (As, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Na, Ni, Pb, Zn, K, Ca, Mg, and Mn) were made. Ambient dose-equivalent rate in air was also measured. The annual effective doses and excess lifetime cancer risk from radionuclides were calculated. Health effects of exposure to heavy metals in soil were estimated by noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risk assessment.