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The treatment of wastewater is a necessary and legally required reality, which has a direct impact on the benefit of water quality, by avoiding its environmental and landscape deterioration. The country has been installing different urban and industrial liquid waste treatment systems to deal with the degradation of marine, coastal, river and urban environmental systems, caused by the direct discharge of wastewater into the environment. Currently there are several technologies that are applied, depending mainly on the volumes of wastewater to be treated. Among the installed technologies, there are the biodiscs, which are installations of discs with a surface covered with biomass under aerobic conditions that, continuously, consume the organic matter present in the influent wastewater and the lamellar settlers, which have the function of separating the semi-heavy and heavy elements in suspension, which contain wastewater. In the present work, the dynamic behavior patterns of these two technologies installed in a wastewater treatment plant with the use of radiotracers are determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All governments are responsible for protecting their populations against health hazards and business fraud in the food sector. Considering the expansion of international food trade in Cuba and the necessary protection of consumers, animals, plants and the environment in general, in our country a sanitary control system for food has been designed, taking into account the regulations in force in this matter, both national and international. The Environmental Radiological Surveillance Laboratory (LVRA) of the Radiation Protection and Hygiene Center (CPHR) has been in charge, since 2000, of the radiological surveillance of foods that are marketed in the national territory. This Surveillance Program is executed within the framework of the National Pollutants in Food and Water Surveillance Program, directed by the National Directorate of Environmental Health (DNSA) of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). The tests carried out by the LVRA aim to verify compliance with the permissible levels for radionuclides in food in force in Cuba, as one of the elements that contributes to guaranteeing the food safety of both imported and nationally produced products. The work presents and analyzes the results that have been obtained in these years of radiological surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of substances to diagnose or identify a system specific phase, that is, which function as tracers, is an effective tool in the study of multiple phenomena. There are several kinds of tracers and, within them, radioactive tracers are the most sensitive and used for the study and online diagnosis of many systems, hence their use in industrial processes has an extensive use. However, an authorization from the National Regulatory Body is necessary to use radioactive sources. The safety assessment, the radiation protection program, operational and safety procedures as well as the emergency plan were prepared and presented to the Regulatory Body to apply for authorization. The safety assessment includes the dose estimations for normal operations and potential doses in accidental situations. The safety analysis used the methodology of risk matrixes. As a result, it was obtained that the doses under normal operating conditions comply with the annual limits for occupationally exposed workers and for the public, while the risk levels are predominantly low, so it was concluded that it is possible to carry out the practice under adequate security conditions and the CPHR obtained the operating license. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of hot spring waters from deep geologic layers in spas has been identified as typical scenarios of exposure to natural radiation. These scenarios can affect the patients under treatment, as well as the workers of these facilities. Therefore, characterization studies are being undertaken in these spas in order to evaluate the radiological impact they produce on these categories of population. The Elguea Spa, located on the northern coast of Villa Clara, Cuba, is equipped to provide services by using hot spring waters and mud existing in the zone of the spa. Its waters contain significant levels of radon. Present paper shows the dose estimates made from the radiological characterization of the spa and its surroundings, both for workers and the patients receiving treatment. The dose values are in the range of 1,01 to 180 μSv/year for workers, the most irradiated group, and these results suggest that there is no need for special protection measures or regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]