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. Due to the poor environmental protection policy and insufficient investment in industry and energy, Serbia is often ranked among the countries with the highest environmental pollution in Europe. In recent years, ecological protests have been organized all over 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 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 non-carcinogenic risk and carcinogenic risk assessment.