Published date:Feb 21 2018

Journal Title: KnE Engineering

Issue title: XIII International Youth Scientific and Practical Conference "FUTURE OF ATOMIC ENERGY - AtomFuture 2017"

Pages:89-100

DOI: 10.18502/keg.v3i3.1609

Josiel de Jesus Barrios Cossio

Margaret Suárez

Patricia González Hernández

Clara María Melián Rodríguez

Nadia V. Martínez-Villegas

Oscar Díaz Rizo

Wael Badawy

Marina Frontasieva

A peloid is a maturated mud or muddy dispersion with healing and/or cosmetic properties, composed of a complex mixture of fine-grained natural materials of geologic and/or biologic origin, mineral water or seawater, and common organic compounds from biological metabolic activity. Cajio beach peloid is a traditional peloid of the south coast of Güira de Melena municipality located in Artemisa province, Cuba. The peloid is a sea mud, used in situ, by the population of the locality. The present study has tree aims: ones is to determine trace chemical elements content (Sc, Cs, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Tm, Yb, Hf, Ta, Th and U). The second aim is to determine natural (²²⁶Ra, ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ²¹⁰Pb, ⁴⁰K) and the anthropogenic (¹³⁷Cs) radionuclides in the peloid. Finally, to assess the level of contamination and radiological risk for the users of the peloid therapeutic practices.

[1] Gomes, Celso; et. al., 2013. Peloids and pelotherapy: Historical evolution, classification and glossary. Applied Clay Science 75-76 (2013) 28-38.


[2] Da Silva, Paulo Sergio Cardoso; et. al., 2015. Chemical and radiological characterization of Peruíbe Black Mud. Applied Clay Science 118 (2015) 221-230.


[3] Díaz Rizo, Oscar, et. al., 2013. Assessment of historical heavy metal content in healing muds from San Diego river (Cuba) using nuclear analytical techniques. Nucleus No. 53, 2013.


[4] Díaz Rizo, Oscar, et. al., 2013. Radioactivity levels and radiation hazard of healing mud from San Diego River, Cuba. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Volume 295, issue 2, pp 1293-1297.


[5] Díaz Rizo, Oscar, et. al., 2009. Characterization of the InSTEC´s low background spectrometer for environmental radioactivity studies. Nucleus. 46, 21-26.


[6] Currie, L. A., 1968. Limits for quantitative detection and quantitative determination. Anal. Chem. 40(3), 586.


[7] Kwon, Y. T.; Lee, C. W., 1998. Application of multiple ecological risk índices for the evaluation of heavy metal contamination in a coastal dredging área. Sci. Total Environ. 214, 203-210.


[8] Turekian, Kakl K.; Wedepohl, K. H., 1961. Distribution of the Elements in Some Major Units of the Earth´s Crust. Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 72, p. 175-192.


[9] Suárez Muñoz, Margaret; et. al. Physicochemical characterization, elemental speciation and hydrogeochemical modeling of river and peloid sediments used for therapeutic uses. Applied Clay Science 104 (2015) 36-47.


[10] UNSCEAR, 2000. Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation Vol. II and I. United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. UNSCEAR 2000 Report to the General Assembly with Scientific Annexes. Official Records of the General Assembly 55