Release of Radioactive Particulates into the air during Forest fire in Riau Province, Indonesia

Abstract

Forest fires are annual problem during the dry season and become a biggest threat to forest resources in Indonesia. The forest fires release into the atmosphere large quantities of particulate matter and volatilized substances. The present study investigates effects of forest fire on air quality in the case of a radiological event of ashes from forest fires emissions in Riau province during an intense forest fire season that occurred in 2015. Atmospheric aerosol samples were collected from May to December, 2015 using a large volume TSP (total suspended particles) sampler. Concentrations of radionuclides in airborne particulate matter were measured by using gamma spectrometry. It was shown that the activity concentrations of 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K ranged from 0.026 to 0.114 mBq/m 3 , 0.005 to 0.011 mBq/m 3 and 0.99 to 5.64 mBq/m 3 , respectively. The activity concentrations of 137 Cs in air was found lower than the minimum detectable activity of the gamma counting systems (<MDA), except for July and September 2015. The result showed that the smoke from forest fires contain radioactive particulates, which may have a potential health risk of population, and need to be considered in forest fire disaster. Inhaled smoke particles from forest fires may contribute to enhanced radiation doses to the general public.

Existing Risks of Forest Fires in Radiation Contaminated Areas: A Critical Review

“…Many researchers agree that, in addition to the external radiation dose from soil and vegetation, the inhalation intake of radioactive substances can make a significant contribution to the total dose (Azarov et al, 2016;Dvornik et al, 2017;Amiro et al, 1996;Garger et al, 1998;Evangeliou & Eckhardt, 2020;Syarbaini et al, 2019). A study of the release of radioactive particles into the air during a forest fire in Riau Province, Indonesia indicates that smoke from forest fires contains radioactive particles, which poses a potential threat to public health.…”

“…A study of the release of radioactive particles into the air during a forest fire in Riau Province, Indonesia indicates that smoke from forest fires contains radioactive particles, which poses a potential threat to public health. Inhaled smoke particles from forest fires can increase the radiation doses to the population (Syarbaini et al, 2019). At the same time, the contribution of inhalation intake can reach from 50% (Yoschenko et al, 2006) to 72% of the total dose (Evangeliou & Eckhardt, 2020), although it should be noted that the total time of fire-fighters work involved in extinguishing a fire, during a year is usually much less than their stay in the exclusion zone.…”