Environmental impact assessment due to the intake of uranium contained in surface waters in a semi-arid region in Brazil.

In Santa Quitéria City, part of the population uses surface water for potation. These waters do not undergo any treatment before consumption. As the region has a deposit of uranium, assessing water quality becomes important. In the present study, the uranium activity concentration (AC) in becquerels per liter was determined in water samples from six points. Univariate statistics showed differences between the soluble and the particulate fraction (soluble AC > particulate AC). The particulate fraction showed no variation in AC among the six points. On the other hand, the soluble fraction and the total fraction presented different ACs between them. The multivariate statistics allowed to separate the soluble from the particulate fraction of the points. The same tools applied to the total fraction made it possible to differentiate the sampling points, grouping them ((#1, #2); (#3, #4), and (#5, #6)). The maximum mean value of AC found was 0.177 Bq∙L-1, corresponding to 25% of the chemical toxicity limit (0.72 Bq∙L-1). The maximum mean dose rate, 2.25 µSv∙year-1, is lower than the considered negligible dose rate (> 10 µSv∙year-1). The excess lifetime cancer risk was 10-6, two orders of magnitude smaller than the threshold considered for taking action. The assessment parameters used in this work indicate that the risk due to the uranium intake by the local population is negligible.

Capacitaçäo e formaçäo em radioproteçäo dos alunos de odontologia no Estado do Rio de Janeiro / Qualification and certification in radioprotection of odontology students in the State of Rio de Janeiro

O trabalho em questäo tem como principal objetivo analisar a formaçäo e capacitaçäo dos alunos de todas as faculdades de odontologia do Estado do Rio de Janeiro e algumas do Estado de Säo Paulo, em relaçäo à radioproteçäo. A metodologia utilizada consistiu em questionários dirigidos aos professores da disciplina de radiologia, aos alunos que já haviam cursado esta disciplina e aos coordenadores ou responsáveis pela disciplina. Os questionários abordavam questöes fechadas e abertas, tendo, portanto, caráter qualitativo e quantitativo. Pela análise crítica das respostas obtidas, pode-se constatar que existe uma deficiência na formaçäo desses alunos, especialmente quando se leva em conta as novas Diretrizes do Ministério da Saúde. Conseqüentemente, sugere-se que as faculdades de odontologia promovam uma reestruturaçäo nos currículos de radiologia para que seus estudantes estejam mais bem preparados para enfrentar o desafio da qualidade profissional.