MONITOX interdisciplinary network, composed of: “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati and the partner institutions – Institute of Zoology, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova; International Hellenic University, Kavala, Greece; Institute of Geology and Seismology Chisinau, Republic of Moldova and Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development, Tulcea, Romania, organised during 5-7 March 2020 two events in the frame of the project “Black Sea Basin interdisciplinary cooperation network for sustainable joint monitoring of environmental toxicants migration, improved evaluation of ecological state and human health impact of harmful substances, and public exposure prevention” – MONITOX:
- expert training with the topics: investigation of metals (including Hg), radioisotopes, nutrients, pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors in environmental components (water, sediment, soils, aquatic organisms);
- working visit for field and laboratory monitoring of environmental radioisotopes with the updated nuclear equipment.
The events took place at “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati.
The main themes debated at the high level training event were: Presentation of the project objectives, target toxicants and expected results; Radioisotopes – sources, detection methods and level of radioactivity concentration and gamma ambiental doses în Black Sea Basin target areas; Pharmaceutical emerging contaminants – aquatic pollution and ecotoxicological effects; Radiopharmaceuticals. Predictable perspectives and hidden dangers; Nuclear radiations dosimetry; Evaluation of impact of radioactive content of drinkable water on people’s health.
Parallel visits at interdisciplinary research laboratories and field measurements comprised:
I. High resolution gamma ray spectroscopy and alpha spectroscopy for the analysis of radionuclides in environmental samples, and indoor radon & thoron;
II. Training for microbiological evaluations and application of HPLC technique for the determination of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors;
III. Laboratory training for AAS technique – determination of heavy metals and trace elements;
IV. Molecular spectroscopy methods for the analysis of nutrients, mineralogical constituents, microplastics: UV-VIS, FTIR, ATR-FTIR;
V. X-ray based investigation methods: X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Analysis (SEM-EDX);
VI. Field training for professionals and students – measurements of gamma radiation dose rates.
The activities gathered a large number of representatives of target groups: members of the project research teams, academic staff, researchers, technicians, undergraduate students (from Environmental Science, Medicine and Pharmacy, Food Science and Engineering), PhD and master students, experts in environmental and health issues, as well as high school teachers and students.
The full agenda of the training session is available here.