TITLE:
Determination of Radioisotopes in Atmospheric Particles (2023 and 2024), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
AUTHORS:
Ramón Delanoy, Carime Matos-Espinosa, Jenny Gómez, José R. Martínez-Batlle, Anel Hernández-Garces
KEYWORDS:
Aerosols, Radioisotopes, Radio Diagnostics, Particulate Matter, Pollution
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.14 No.7,
July
16,
2026
ABSTRACT: The presence of radioactive particles in aerosols makes them a greater health concern than their size (PM10 or PM2.5), as they can cause lung diseases, cancer, and birth defects, in addition to allergies and respiratory conditions. Radioisotopes in aerosols can originate naturally as a result of the interaction of cosmic radiation with elements dispersed in the air, such as 14C, 22Na, 3H, and 7Be, and from windblown dust residues from the natural decay processes of 238U and 235U and their decay products, such as 232Th, 226Ra, 222Rn, 40K and 210Pb, which are frequently found in urban aerosols. Aerosols can also contain artificially produced radioisotopes such as 90Sr, 137Cs, 131I, and 3H. Additionally, 60Co, 99Tc, 18F, 133Ba, 67Ga, and 22Na are present as waste products from nuclear activities, industry, and nuclear medicine, which have been improperly handled and exposed to the environment. Nineteen samples were taken in Santo Domingo using the ASTM D1739 sampling technique to determine the presence of radioisotopes in the particulate matter. Gamma-emitting radioisotopes were detected using gamma spectroscopy with a hyper pure germanium detector (Barba-Lobo & Bolivar 2023). The average Bq∙Kg−1 content in particulate matter of 235U (3.08), 232Th (0.40), 226Ra (5.05), 214Bi (2.44), 210Pb (2.33), 7Be (0.72), and 40K (2.56) indicates that the concentrations of these radioisotopes are typically higher in soils. Levels of 137Cs and 60Co were negligible. These levels were relatively low compared to European standards for radioisotopes in aerosols and soils. The artificial radioisotopes found in the particulate matter with concentrations in Bq∙Kg−1 were 131I (3.94), 99Tc (2.51), 133Ba (3.10), 67Ga (2.13) and 22Na (1.95). The latter, although it may be of natural origin, like the others, is used in industrial applications and Nuclear Medicine.