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ST 6.3 –
Protección radiológica del público y el ambiente
NORM ASSESSMENT IN WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS -
POÇOS DE CALDAS/BR CASE
Villegas, Raul
1
*; Fukuma, Henrique
1
; Ferreira, Adriano
2
1
Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear. Brazil.
2
Universidade Federal de Alfenas. Brazil.
* Responsible author, email: rvillegas@cnen.gov.br
NORM is the acronym used to refer to naturally occurring radioactive materials. Besides being
objects of study and monitoring such materials can be used as raw material or as by-products or
waste of industrial activities. Oil and gas, mining and water treatment are examples of industry
branches that can handle NORM. In such cases, their concentration to significant levels, from
the perspective of environmental and occupational radiation protection, may occur. The Poços
de Caldas plateau (located in the south of Minas Gerais state, southwestern Brazil) is known for
presenting what is called "radioactive anomalies". Those are regions with natural radioactivity
levels above those usually observed in the earth's surface. Moreover, the anomalous areas are
intertwined by a vast hydrographic system, which serves as water source for the many
municipalities within the region. This study aims to evaluate the presence of NORM in the water
treatment system (water, materials and waste) of Poços de Caldas city (the largest one of the
plateau, in terms of inhabitants and economic/tourist relevance). Series of sampling campaigns
were carried out through a period of a year to assess, mainly, the possible accumulation of
radionuclides in the waste material and the drinking water quality (in terms of nuclides
presence), as well as potential seasonal effects in these parameters.