The concentration of five soil heavy metals (Pb, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg) was measured in forty sampling sites in central Transylvania, Romania, regions known as centres of pollution due to the chemical and metallurgical activities. The soil samples were collected from locations where the ground is not sliding and the probability of alluvial deposits is small. The concentration of heavy metals was measured by using the Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry method. Data were verified by using the Neutron Activation Analysis method. In some locations, the concentration for the investigated heavy metals exceeds the concentration admitted by the Romanian guideline. The highest concentration of lead (1521.8 ppm) and copper (1197.6 ppm) was found in Zlatna. The highest concentration of chromium was found in Târnăveni (1080 ppm). The maximum admitted concentrations in the sensitive areas revealed to be exceed from five to forty times.

The thermal degradation of some starch based materials was investigated using XRD method. The samples were obtained by thermal extrusion of mixtures of different proportions of starch, glycerol, and water. Such materials are suitable for the manufacturing of low pollutant packaging. Thermal degradation is one of the simplest ways to destroy such materials and this process is followed by structural modification of the local ordering of samples, water evaporation, crystallization, oxidation, or destruction of the chemical bonds. These modifications need to be studied in order to reduce to the minimum production of pollutant residues by burning process. XRD measurements show modification of the local ordering of the starch molecules depending on the temperature and initial composition of the samples. The molecular ordering perturbation is more pronounced in samples with low content of starch.

Thermal degradation of commercial polystyrene was investigated by XRD and FT-IR methods. The samples were heated 30 minutes at temperatures 140ºC, 200ºC, 250ºC, 300ºC and 350ºC and then brought back to room temperature. XRD investigation denotes structural modification for samples heated above 200ºC. This modification is confirmed by FT-IR measurements. Some vibration bands are affected by thermal degradation at temperatures higher than 200ºC. Both FT-IR and XRD methods reveal modification of microscopic structure of the polystyrene submitted to thermal degradation.

The effects of gamma radiation on the local structure of PVA membranes containing TiO₂ were investigated by ESR and XRD methods. An intense ESR signal is observed after irradiation at 16 KGy dose. This signal appears only for irradiated samples and it is associated with the breaking of the polymeric chain, followed by local reorganization of the polymeric segments and the apparition of the unpaired electrons and free radicals. The intensity of the signal decreases with the concentration of TiO₂, indicating a shielding effect of the dopand. That the modification of local order of the polymeric chains has been modified after irradiation is confirmed by XRD method.