Infrastructure for Environmental Interdisciplinary Research in Lower Danube Euroregion (INPOLDE)

INPOLDE laboratories and coordinators participate in international research programmes and actively collaborate with interdisciplinary teams from prestigious research institutions, such as Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russian Federation, Horia Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), Romania, Valahia University of Targoviste, Romania, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology, Kavala, Greece, Danube Delta Institute for R&D, Tulcea, Romania.

The coordinator has more than thirty years of experience in developing nuclear and related analytical techniques (INAA, XRF, PIXE, PIGE, AAS, ICP-AES, SEM-EDX) for various interdisciplinary studies and ten years of managing projects in the field of environment and life sciences.

The main research applications are:

1. Determination of concentrations of toxic chemical elements in biological, food and environmental samples (water, soil, bottom sediments, biota, wastes) using atomic, molecular and nuclear techniques

  • Analysis of chemical elements and heavy metals at trace level in various environmental matrices (water, soil, sediment, molluscs, fish, plankton, aquatic algae, vegetation, etc.) and industrial samples (by-products, waste materials) using atomic and nuclear techniques (XRF, AAS, INAA, PIXE, PIGE, ICP-OES, ICP-MS)
  • Analysis of organic compounds in environmental, pharmaceutical, biological and industrial samples by the FTIR and FTIR-ATR method.
  • Analysis of water samples by spectrophotometry in the double-beam UV-VIS field.

2. Assessment of atmospheric pollution using biomonitoring and nuclear and related techniques.

  • Analysis of heavy metals in mosses and other pollution bioindicators using atomic and nuclear techniques (AAS, INAA, XRF, PIXE, PIGE, ICP-MS).
  • Mapping the atmospheric pollution using GIS technology.

3. Assessment of concentration of radon and thoron activity in indoor air and residential exposure.

  • Measurement of the concentration of radon and thoron and their descendants in indoor air (dwellings, public spaces) and evaluation of the residential and occupational exposures.

4. Measurements of environmental radioactivity and nuclear radiation doses and assessment of population exposure and health risk .

  • Measurement of the concentration of radionuclides and dose rates in environmental compartments and evaluation of population exposure to nuclear radiations.