In the present article, a case study is reported regarding an investigation carried out in order to assess radioactivity concentration, heavy metals pollution and mineralogy of a beach stretch extending from Soverato to Squillace municipalities of the Ionian coast of Calabria, South of Italy, a popular tourist destination, especially in summer. The analysis of radionuclides contents was performed by using a High Purity Germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray detector, in order to quantify the average specific activity of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K natural radionuclides and ¹³⁷Cs anthropogenic radioisotope. The absorbed dose rate and the annual effective dose equivalent radiological hazard indices were also estimated. Furthermore, X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry measurements were carried out for the quantitative elemental analysis of the sand, in order to investigate any possible chemical pollution by heavy metals. For this aim, different indices such as Enrichment Factor (EF), Geoaccumulation Index (I_geo), Contamination Factor (CF) and Pollution Load Index (PLI) were applied to estimate the level of toxicity imposed on the ecosystem by the detected heavy metals. Finally, in order to identify the crystalline mineral components of the investigated sand samples, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Micro-Raman Scattering (MRS) measurements were carried out.

The use of isotopic geochemistry for hydrogeological studies is growing internationally. The use of isotopic geochemistry methodologies on hydrogeological survey data, integrated with the use natural tracers, is helpful when defining the hydrogeological model of the aquifer. In particular, the use of radioisotope concentration measurements as natural tracers and the detection of the temperature, redox potential and dissolved oxygen in groundwater in the field provide information on underground water circulation, which is useful for identifying recharge areas and groundwater drainage. Variations in these parameters in the aquifer allow for information about its hydrodynamics to be obtained. The application of this method in a sample area showed how the uranium and radon concentrations, temperature, redox potential and dissolved oxygen vary in the different sectors of the aquifer, depending on water mobility. This information, integrated with the results of a hydrogeological survey of the static levels, distinguished the recharge and drainage areas of the aquifer and the preferential directions in terms of water flow and allowed for information on the mobility of the aquifer in the various sectors to be obtained. The method presented in this paper was tested in a larger hydrogeological study in the southern sector of the shallow aquifer of the S. Eufemia Lamezia plain (Calabria, Italy).

A new radiological risk containment procedure, developed to manage the radiological risk in potentially contaminated areas, is presented here. This new methodological approach, systematically employed in sampling and site inspection activities in unknown areas from an environmental point of view, allowed the discovery of eight ²²⁶Ra orphan sources buried under the road surface, in a good state of conservation, in an industrial area of the Calabrian territory, southern Italy, and they are reported here as a case study. For workers performing sampling activities in areas for which information regarding the possible presence of contaminated material is missing, an in situ radiometric check is usually carried out as a potential radiological risk prevention, by measuring the levels of environmental radioactivity. Other than this, the procedure described in this article includes, as novelty, a series of progressive operations never carried out before all together for outdoor activities: the assessment of the presence (if any) of hot spots by recording radiometric anomalies, outdoor gamma spectrometry measurements in order to identify the radionuclides generating those anomalies, the sources unearthing activities, the management of the material found and the application of a risk containment protocol.