HNPS Advances in Nuclear Physics Banner

Evaluation of Environmental Radioactivity in Thessaly after Storm Daniel: A Pilot Study

pdf
Published: Feb 24, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/hnpsanp.8683
Keywords:
Storm Daniel Natural and artificial radionuclides Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) 137Cs gamma ray - spectroscopy radiological mapping
Evgenia Karpouza
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5261-813X
Foivos Panagiotis Gelatsoras
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4476-5067
Georgios Siltzovalis
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3874-2929
Theo J. Mertzimekis
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9191-7903
Abstract

The level of radioactivity is examined in regions of Thessaly affected by disastrous floods after storm Daniel in September 2023. The purpose of this study is to map the specific radioactivity of natural isotopes (40K, 232Th and 238U-series) and of the artificial isotope 137Cs in the affected areas. Twenty surface soil samples were collected from undisturbed locations, free of agricultural or urban activity, approximately a year after the floods. Following standard sample preparation, measurements were conducted with high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy using a High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector at the γSPEC laboratory of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). The results are illustrated on maps, while and values for the absorbed doses of ionizing radiation and the external hazard indices were calculated using UNSCEAR models.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Poster contributions
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References
E. Dimitriou et al. “Post-Analysis of Daniel extreme flood event in Thessaly, Central Greece: Practical lessons and the value of state-of- the-srt water-monitoring networks”. In: Water 16 (2024). issn: 2073-4441. doi: 10.3390/w16070980.
S.E. Simopoulos. “Soil sampling and 137Cs analysis of the Chernobyl fallout in Greece”. In: Int. J. Rad. Appl. Instr. A: App. Rad. Isot. 40 (1989), pp. 607–613. issn: 0883-2889. doi: 10.1016/0883-2889(89)90116-0.
P. Kritidis and H. Florou. “Radiological impact in Greece of the Chernobyl accident - A 10-y restrospective synopsis”. In: Health Phys. 5 (2001), pp. 440–446. doi: 10.12681/hnps.2820.
G.D. Arapis and M.G. Karandinos. “Migration of 137Cs in the soil of sloping semi-natural ecosystems in Northern Greece”. In: J. Env.
Rad. 77 (2004), pp. 133–142. issn: 0265-931X. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2004.03.004.
N.P. Petropoulos, E.P. Hinis, and S.E. Simopoulos. “137Cs Chernobyl fallout in Greece and its associated radiological impact”. In: Env. Int. 22 (1996). The Natural Radiation Environment VI, pp. 369–373. issn: 0160-4120. doi: h10.1016/S0160-4120(96)00133-X.
F.K. Vosniakos, N.M. Zoumakis, and C.S. Diomu. “The level of 137Cs concentration in Greek soils one decade after the Chernobyl accident”. In: One Decade after Chernobyl: Summing up the Consequences of the Accident – Poster Presentations, Volume 2. IAEA-TECDOC-964, International Conference held in Vienna, 8–12 April 1996. International Atomic Energy Agency. Vienna, 1996, pp. 18–22.
D. Karamanis, K. Stamoulis, K. Ioannides, and D. Patiris. “Spatial and seasonal trends of natural radioactivity and heavy metals in river waters of Epirus, Macedonia and Thessalia”. In: Desalination 224 (2008), pp. 250–260. doi: 10.1016/j.desal.2007.04.085.
D.E. Walling and Q. He. “Use of fallout 137Cs in investigations of overbank sediment deposition on river floodplains”. In: CATENA 29 (1997), pp. 263–282. issn: 0341-8162. doi: 10.1016/S0341-8162(96)00072-0.
NASA Earth Observatory. Greece’s agricultural heartland underwater. https : / / earthobservatory. nasa . gov / images / 151816 / greeces - agricultural-heartland-underwater. 2023.
Copernicus Emergency Management Service. EMSR692: Flood in Greece (Thessaly, Central Greece) – Storm Daniel, Rapid Mapping Activation. https://rapidmapping.emergency.copernicus.eu/EMSR692. 2023.
EUMETSAT. Floods caused by Storm Daniel lead to severe water quality impacts. https://user.eumetsat.int/resources/case-studies/floods-caused-by-storm-daniel-lead-to-severe-water-quality-impacts. 2023.
I. Ioannidis, T.J. Mertzimekis, A. Godelitsas, K.C. Stamoulis, and K.G. Ioannides. “Chernobyl still affects the environment of Greece:
Recent measurements of 137Cs in soil cores from Grevena–Trikala area”. In: HNPS Adv. Nucl. Phys. 21 (2019), 182–184. doi: 10.12681/hnps.2030.
C.A. Papachristodoulou, P.A. Assimakopoulos, N.E. Patronis, and K.G. Ioannides. “Use of HPGe 𝛾-ray spectrometry to assess the isotopic compositiion of uranium in soils”. In: J. Env. Rad. 64 (2003). Depleted Uranium, pp. 195–203. issn: 0265-931X. doi: 10 . 1016 / S0265 - 931X(02)00049-8.
F.-P. Gelatsoras, T.J. Mertzimekis, P. Krassakis, V. Lagaki, I. Madesis, and G. Siltzovalis. “A Study of natural radioactivity in urban parks”. In: HNPS Adv. Nucl. Phys. 30 (2024), 185–188. doi: 10.12681/hnpsanp.6229.
C.A. Kalfas, M. Axiotis, and C. Tsabaris. “SPECTRW: A software package for nuclear and atomic spectroscopy”. In: Nucl. Instrum. Meth. Phys. Res. A 830 (2016), pp. 265–274. doi: 10.1016/j.nima.2016.05.098.
C. Tsabaris, F.K. Pappa, G. Eleftheriou, E.G. Androulakaki, and D.L. Patiris. “Reconstruction Analysis of Radionuclides and Metals for
Studying Contamination Assessment and Coastal Variability at the Aegean Sea”. In: J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 11 (2023), p. 1579. doi: 10.3390/jmse11081579.
C. Martin, K. Cockerline, and S. Landsberger. “The appropriate environmental sample to educate novice students in environmental radioactivity measurements using gamma ray spectroscopy”. In: J. Env. Rad. 290 (2025), p. 107815. issn: 0265-931X. doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2025.107815.
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation. Report to the General Assembly with Scientific Annexes. Sales No. E.00.IX.3. New York: United Nations Publications, 2000. isbn: 92-1-142238-8.
M.J. Anagnostakis, E.P. Hinis, and S.E. Simopoulos. “238U and its daughter products in Greek surface soils”. In: The Natural Radiation Environment VII: VIIth Int. Symp. On the NRE. Vol. 7. Radioactivity in the Environment. Elsevier, 2005, pp. 175–186. doi: 10.1016/S1569-4860(04)07020-2.
T. Zafeiris, G. Siltzovalis, V. Lagaki, I. Madesis, and T.J. Mertzimekis. “Radioactivity studies in soils from Northwestern Greece”. In: HNPS Adv. Nucl. Phys. 30 (2024), 256–260. doi: 10.12681/hnpsanp.6121.
C. Papastefanou, M. Manolopoulou, S. Stoulos, A. Ioannidou, and E. Gerasopoulos. “Soil-to-plant transfer of 137Cs, 40K and 7Be”. In: J. Env. Rad. 45 (1999), pp. 59–65. issn: 0265-931X. doi: 10.1016/S0265-931X(98)00077-0.
A. El-Taher, S. Makhluf, A. Nossair, and A.S. Abdel Halim. “Assessment of natural radioactivity levels and radiation hazards due to cement industry”. In: App. Rad. Isoto. 68 (2010), pp. 169–174. issn: 0969-8043. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2009.09.001.
Ghazwa Alzubaidi, Zaini Hamzah, and Mohamad Alias. “Assessment of Natural Radioactivity Levels and Radiation Hazards in Agricultural and Virgin Soil in the State of Kedah, North of Malaysia”. In: Sci. World J. 2016 (2016). doi: 10.1155/2016/6178103.
K. He, Q. Yang, X. Shen, E. Dimitriou, A. Mentzafou, C. Papadaki, M. Stoumboudi, and E. N. Anagnostou. “Brief communication: Storm Daniel flood impact in Greece in 2023: mapping crop and livestock exposure from synthetic-aperture radar (SAR)”. In: Nat. Haz. Earth Sys. Sci. 24 (2024), pp. 2375–2382. doi: 10.5194/nhess-24-2375-2024.