ICENS 20th Anniversary Report

Th is re port w as m ade possible by contributions from th e Environm e ntal Foundation of Jam aica, Th e Insurance Com pany of th e W e st Indie s, Th e Bank of Nova Scotia, Th e Unive rsity of th e W e st Indie s, and th e Gle ane r Com pany.

ICENSTH E FIRST 20 YEARS

19 84 - 2004

FO R FURTH ER INFO RM ATIO N:

Inte rnational Ce ntre for Environm e ntal and Nucle ar Scie nce sM ona Cam pusUnive rsity of th e W e st Indie sKingston 7JAM AICA

Te l: (876) 9 27 1777, 9 35 8532, 9 35 8533Fax: (876) 9 77 0768E- m ail: ice ns@ uw im ona.e du.jmInte rne t: h ttp://w w w .ice ns.org

CO NTENTSFO REW O RD 4

M ESSA G ES 5

H ISTO RY 17

SLO W PO K E 24

PERSO NNEL RA D IA TIO N M O NITO RING 28

M ETH O D S 32

ENVIRO NM ENTA L G EO CH EM ISTRY O F JA M A ICA 41

INFO RM A TIO N SYSTEM 63

O TH ER A CTIVITIES 67

PUBLICA TIO NS 78

CO NCLUSIO N 9 6

A CK NO W LED G EM ENTS 9 8

REFERENCES 9 9

4 20TH ANNIVERSARY REPO RT

Th e Ce ntre for Nucle ar Scie nce s w as a conse q ue nce of a sh are d vision, supporte d by succe ssive Prim e M iniste rs of Jam aica and th e Unive rsity of th e W e st Indie s, th at th e

value of scie nce as an age nt of de ve lopm e nt could be e nh ance d th rough inte grate d m ultidisciplinary program m e s, im prove d com m unity acce ss to data and e xce lle nt inform ation re trie val and analysis syste m s. As soon as it be cam e functional tw e nty ye ars ago, it be gan its ste e p le arning curve th at de ve lope d re m ark able analytical capabilitie s, a pow e rful ge ograph ic inform ation syste m , and its core staff.

Th e im pact w as such th at w h e n, follow ing on a de cision tak e n in 19 89 by th e H e ads of Gove rnm e nts of th e Non- Aligne d Countrie s, to cre ate a Ne tw ork of Inte rnational Ce ntre s of Exce lle nce for re se arch and training in se le cte d are as of scie nce and te ch nology, th e Ce ntre for Nucle ar Scie nce s (CNS) w as ch ose n in 19 9 4 as one of th e original te n node s of th e Ne tw ork .

Th is e ncourage d m e , at th e sugge stion of Sir Aliste r M cintyre , to e stablish a com m itte e to m ak e re com m e ndations on th e organisation and focus of ICENS. Base d on th e re com m e ndations, I be cam e Ch airm an of th e Inte rnational

Board of Gove rnors for ICENS. Th e Board h as acce pte d and e ncourage d th e first priority are as, w h ich e m brace inve stigations on th e im pacts of th e e le m e ntal conte nt of soils on agricultural productivity, land use , food q uality and th e h e alth of crops, anim als, and m an.

Th is re port atte sts to h ow m uch h as alre ady be e n ach ie ve d, its bre adth and its im portance . H igh conce ntrations of se ve ral e le m e nts in som e of our soils h ave raise d conce rns about pote ntial population e xposure s to h e avy m e tals. O ne such , le ad poisoning in ch ildre n, h as be e n tre ate d w ith urge ncy and w ith a large m e asure of succe ss, and oth e rs are be ing e xam ine d. Th e w ork re porte d is be ing applie d and h as w on local and inte rnational re cognition and support.

I am as ce rtain as one can be , th at vision te m pe re d by de dication and com m on se nse , and drive n by a re ach ing for e xce lle nce , count as m uch in scie nce as th e y do in anyth ing e lse . And, e ve nts ove r th e last ye ars, including th e ne w unce rtaintie s on th e availability of e ne rgy and m ate rials at affordable price s, re confirm form idable scie nce and te ch nology as k e y tow ards th e goal of a be tte r life for our pe ople .

Pe rsonally, and on be h alf of th e Board of Gove rnors of ICENS, I offe r w arm congratulations and say th ank you to th e Ce ntre and to th e Unive rsity of th e W e st Indie s, for th e contributions be ing re porte d and offe r m y continuing be st w ish e s and support tow ard your future ach ie ve m e nts.

P. J. Patte rson Prim e M iniste r of Jam aica and Ch airm an of th e National Com m ission on Scie nce and Te ch nology

FO REW O RD

M ost H on. P.J. Patte rson Prim e M iniste r of Jam aicaCh airm an Board of Gove rnors ICENS

5INTERNATIO NAL CENTRE FO R ENVIRO NM ENTAL AND NUCLEAR SCIENCES

Contrary to w h at pe ople w ould th ink , a gre at social re volution h as be e n tak ing place in our country. Le d by m e n of vision, th e strate gie s are proving to be cre ative and re w arding.

Tw e nty ye ars ago, th e Inte rnational Ce ntre for Environm e ntal and Nucle ar Scie nce s w as born out of th e re cognition of th e ch alle nge s th at h ave arise n w ith th e e volving ne e ds of m ank ind and th e re sultant e ffe cts on e arth 's re source s. In particular, in an e ffort to m aintain sustainable de ve lopm e nt, it h as sough t to focus atte ntion on Environm e ntal Ge och e m istry. Th e w ork of Profe ssor Ge rald Lalor and h is te am is critical to th e survival of th is and future ge ne rations and w e th ank God for th e ir vision and de dication. Th e y h ave ce rtainly m ade a gre at contribution not just to Jam aica, but th e ir re se arch and e xpe rtise h ave h ad a re gional and inte rnational im pact.

I e xte nd our nation's gratitude to th e m e m be rs of th e Inte rnational Ce ntre for Environm e ntal and Nucle ar Scie nce s as th e y m ark th is s ignificant m ile stone . I urge all of us to support th e e fforts to m aintain and pre se rve God's e nvironm e ntal gift to us.

H .E. Th e M ost H on. Sir H ow ard Cook eO.N., G.C.M .G., G.C.V.O., C.D.

Gove rnor Ge ne ral of Jam aica

M ESSAGES


It is a ple asure to be able to se nd a congratulatory m e ssage on th is h appy occasion. Th e h istory of th e Ce ntre is alre ady a re m ark able saga th at de m onstrate s w h at te nacity of purpose and clarity of obje ctive s can ach ie ve . It took conside rable pow e rs of pe rsuasion and re m ark able

pe rse ve rance to ge t th e Ce ntre e stablish e d and in its sh ort h istory to be able to fulfill its original m andate so com ple te ly. It w as born out of th e notion th at th e application of th e nucle ar scie nce s to som e of th e proble m s of local re le vance w as a prope r goal for th e be st scie ntific m inds and its pe rform ance and output to date h ave give n cre de nce to th at notion. I h ave be e n particularly im pre sse d by th e m anne r in w h ich it h as syste m atically gone about colle cting and analyz ing basic ge och e m ical data w ith th e ide a th at any h ypoth e se s could only be form ulate d w h e n th e se data w e re available .

Th e inve stigations into th e re lationsh ip be tw e e n th e se data and som e h e alth conditions is of particular inte re st to m e as it de m onstrate s not only th e value of accurate data and th e dire ct re le vance to local proble m s, but th e ne e d for and use fulne ss of collaboration across discipline s to m ak e th e ne ce ssary conne ctions th at can le ad to te stable h ypoth e se s. Its succe ss so far h as in gre at m e asure be e n due to th e e ne rge tic le ade rsh ip of its D ire ctor- Ge ne ral, Profe ssor Ge rald Lalor to w h om w e ow e a de bt for h is sustaine d com m itm e nt ove r th e past tw e nty ye ars. I h ave no doubt th at h e h as so im bue d h is younge r collaborators w ith th e sam e z e al for good scie nce th at th e future of th e Ce ntre w ill be assure d for m uch be yond th e ne xt tw e nty ye ars.

Profe ssor th e H on. Sir Ge orge Alle yneO.C.C., M D, FRCP

Ch ance llorUnive rsity of th e W e st Indie s


Ove r tw o de cade s ago, Profe ssor Lalor, along w ith th e n Vice Ch ance llor, Aston Pre ston, re cognise d th e im portance of h aving an ope rating nucle ar re actor in th e Caribbe an, and m ore e spe cially, in th e Unive rsity, as a facility to h e lp build inte rdisciplinary scie nce in th e

re gion. Th e Europe an Econom ic Com m ission acce pte d th at th e propose d program m e w ould be ne fit Jam aica, th e Caribbe an re gion, and oth e r countrie s and agre e d to provide th e re actor, and to support som e of its e arly w ork .

Th e past tw e nty ye ars h ave m ore th an justifie d th e e arly vision. Th e ge och e m ical m apping of Jam aica using th e re actor and th e inform ation th at h as re sulte d from th is e xe rcise h ave validate d its acq uisition. Th e inte r- disciplinary w ork , w ith inputs from Natural Scie nce , M e dical Scie nce and th e Social Scie nce s, is de aling to a large e xte nt w ith th e ge o- ch e m istry of th e soil on w h ich our pe ople live , th e crops th e y grow and e at, and now se e k s possible link s w ith intak e and h igh incide nce dise ase s. O ne outstanding e xam ple of th e be ne fits of its inve stigations is th e m itigation of le ad poisoning in ch ildre n, first in Kintyre and now island- w ide .

Th e Unive rsity of th e W e st Indie s is e xtre m e ly proud of th is Ce ntre and grate ful to th e organisations th at h e lpe d to m ak e it possible . W e say th ank s to th e scie ntists w h o are totally com m itte d to th e w ork th at tak e s place , and look forw ard to an incre asing num be r of young scie ntists, from all th e cam puse s, w h o w ill be ne fit from th e program m e s th at are e m e rging. I e xpe ct th at th e y, in th e ir turn, w ill m ove th e frontie rs of scie nce furth e r along th e road, providing som e of th e answ e rs to th e ch alle nge s facing th e w orld.

I am de ligh te d to se nd congratulations to th e Inte rnational Ce ntre for Environm e ntal and Nucle ar Scie nce s on th e occasion of its 20th Annive rsary. And w e are fortunate to h ave Profe ssor th e H on. Ge rald Lalor O.J., th e form e r Principal of th e M ona Cam pus, and Pro Vice Ch ance llor and one of th e Unive rsity's m ost distinguish e d sch olars, still at th e h e lm of th e Ce ntre w h ich w as h is brainch ild.

Profe ssor th e H on. Re x Ne ttle fordO.M .

Vice Ch ance llorUnive rsity of th e W e st Indie s


Tw e nty ye ars ago, in re cognition of th e fact th at sm all de ve loping countrie s are e spe cially vulne rable to e nvironm e ntal proble m s associate d w ith de ve lopm e nt, th e Ce ntre for Nucle ar Scie nce s w as e stablish e d at th e U W I, M ona. Th e Ce ntre , now th e Inte rnational Ce ntre for

Nucle ar and Environm e ntal Scie nce s (ICENS), w as de signe d to focus on collaborative program m e s th at w ould contribute to national and re gional de ve lopm e nt.

ICENS unde rstood, e ve n th e n, th at th e e fficie nt e xploitation of asse ts such as rock s, m ine rals, e ne rgy re source s, soil, and w ate r, re q uire d rigorous scie ntific inve stigation to facilitate discove ry, inte rpre tation, and application of k now le dge in such a w ay as to prom ote sustainable de ve lopm e nt. Guide d by th is k now le dge th e Ce ntre h as de ve lope d applications to agriculture , coastal z one s, e ducation and training, e nvironm e ntal ch ange , e pide m iology, h ydrology, m ining and industry, nutrition and h e alth , as w e ll as ph ysical planning and land use . Notable am ong th e se applications is th e ground- bre ak ing and aw ard- w inning w ork on th e discove ry and m itigation of le ad poisoning in Kintyre .

W ith a tiny SLO W PO KE re actor and oth e r e xce lle nt e q uipm e nt as its m ain tools, th e Ce ntre h as be e n m apping th e flow of h e avy m e tals and pote ntially h az ardous e le m e nts th rough th e soil, food and h um an path w ays, to inve stigate possible e nvironm e ntal link s w ith som e m ajor dise ase s of com m on local occurre nce . ICENS h as also be e n collaborating w ith th e M inistrie s of Agriculture ; Com m e rce , Scie nce & Te ch nology; Land and th e Environm e nt; H e alth ; W ate r and H ousing; and oth e r re le vant M inistrie s/age ncie s of th e Gove rnm e nt of Jam aica, as w e ll as local, re gional and inte rnational institutions in th e q ue st for k now le dge th at m ay facilitate scie ntific and e conom ic de ve lopm e nt in th e re gion.

Th e U W I, M ona congratulate s ICENS on its 20th annive rsary and offe rs e ve ry good w ish for continue d succe ss.

Profe ssor Ke nne th O. H all Ph . D.

Pro Vice Ch ance llor and PrincipalM ona Cam pus, Unive rsity of th e W e st Indie s


On be h alf of th e Inte rnational Atom ic Ene rgy Age ncy (IAEA), I am h appy to conve y congratulations on th e occasion of tw e nty ye ars of succe ssful w ork of th e Inte rnational Ce ntre for Environm e ntal and Nucle ar Scie nce (ICENS).

ICENS h as e stablish e d itse lf as an im portant ce ntre contributing to nucle ar scie nce s in th e re gion. Th e inte raction be tw e e n th e IAEA and th e Ce ntre h as be e n grow ing ove r th e ye ars. Th e Age ncy h as be e n supple m e nting th e capabilitie s of th e Ce ntre in th e utiliz ation of its SLO W PO KE re se arch re actor. Anoth e r im portant collaborative activity be tw e e n th e Age ncy and th e Ce ntre h as be e n in th e are a of de te ction of cadm ium in food ite m s - particularly in yam , an im portant ite m in th e local die t and an e xport crop e arning ove r $12 m illion p.a., w ith th e pote ntial for large incre ase s. Th e Age ncy h as re ce ntly e xte nde d its support to th e Ce ntre in th e are a of w ate r re source s as w e ll. Th e Age ncy h as lik e w ise supporte d th e initiative of th e Ce ntre to bring toge th e r 15 countrie s in a w ork sh op for sm all re actors w ith a th e rm al pow e r of 100 k W . Th is h as contribute d to im prove d utiliz ation of sm a1l re actors and to th e training of se ve ral scie ntists of th e Ce ntre .

I look forw ard to continuing fruitful coope ration w ith th e Ce ntre in th e application of nucle ar te ch niq ue s for sustainable de ve lopm e nt and in prom oting nucle ar scie nce s for pe ace ful purpose s. I w ish ICENS succe ss in th e ye ars to com e .

≤

Dr. M oh am e d ElBarade i

D ire ctor Ge ne ralInte rnational Atom ic Ene rgy Age ncy


I am ve ry ple ase d to add a tribute to th e Inte rnational Ce ntre for Environm e ntal and Nucle ar Scie nce s (ICENS) on th e occasion of its 20th Annive rsary. Th e Ce ntre is a uniq ue institution on th e M ona Cam pus, be cause of its inte rnational ch aracte r and th e innovative ne ss of its re se arch .

It is fortunate to h ave a sm all h igh ly de dicate d staff inspire d by its D ire ctor, Profe ssor Ge rald Lalor, w h o is also its founde r.

No praise is too h igh for Profe ssor Lalor, w h o conce ive d th e ide a of th e Ce ntre and h as tak e n it th rough its various stage s to be ing now a w e ll functioning institution. Th e Gove rnm e nt of Jam aica, as w e ll as th e M ona Cam pus of th e Unive rsity sh ould also be com m e nde d for providing critical financial and logistical support. Th e Board of th e Ce ntre w ith inte rnational m e m be rsh ip de se rve s re cognition for th e m om e ntum and guidance th at it h as be e n providing.

M ay th e Ce ntre go from stre ngth to stre ngth in th e pe riod ah e ad, continuing to build up vital re se arch findings and re le vant k now le dge in its are as of ope ration.

Th e H on. Sir Aliste r M cIntyreO.M ., C.C.H ., O.C.C., C.D.

Form e r Vice Ch ance llorUnive rsity of th e W e st Indie s


Th e 20th annive rsary of ICENS is th e occasion of gre at jubilation by th e progre ssive scie ntific com m unity w orldw ide . It 's uniq ue inte grate d approach to sustainability, ch arting th e route of k e y ch e m ical e le m e nts from rock s, soils, th e living spe cie s to h um an be ings th e m se lve s

constitute s a sh ining de m onstration on h ow to put scie nce at th e se rvice of h um an de ve lopm e nt.

It h as be e n for m e a h igh h onour to be able to sit am ong and e njoy th e com pany of th e far sigh te d m e m be rs of ICENS gove rning board.

Dr. José Israe l Vargas

H on. KCBE

Em e ritus Profe ssor of Ph ysical Ch e m istry,U FM G, Braz ilPre se ntly Vice Pre side nt of U NESCO 's Exe cutive Board


It is im portant to re cogniz e succe ss, and th e 20th annive rsary of th e e stablish m e nt of th e Ce ntre for Nucle ar Scie nce s, now th e Inte rnational Ce ntre for Environm e ntal and Nucle ar Scie nce s, at th e Unive rsity of th e W e st Indie s M ona Cam pus, and its w ork s ince th e n, is such a succe ss. Th e

Ce ntre h as m ade s ignificant contributions to both Scie nce and Te ch nology inte rnationally, and to Jam aican socie ty. Th e im portance of th e ir w ork on e nvironm e ntal ge och e m istry, and in particular ch ildre n's h e alth conce rning th e blood le ad le ve ls and site re m e diation cannot be ove rstre sse d. Th e h e alth and e ducation of a Nation's ch ildre n m ust alw ays be a prim e conce rn, th e y are th e Nation's future .

It h as be e n m y ple asure to w ork w ith th e Ce ntre 's staff during its 20 ye ars. Firstly, during th e Canadian Inte rnational D e ve lopm e nt Age ncy's M e tallic M ine rals proje ct w ith th e M inistry of M ining, Ene rgy and Tourism (19 84- 19 9 4); and se condly, re ce ntly, dire ctly w ith th e Ce ntre conce rning th e ge och e m istry of Jam aican soils and its re lationsh ip to e cosyste m and h um an h e alth . D uring th e M e tallic M ine ral proje ct, th e Ce ntre assiste d by providing h igh q uality analytical data for a suite of trace e le m e nts, including gold, be st de te rm ine d by Ne utron Activation Analysis. M ore re ce ntly th e conne ction h as be e n m ore pe rsonal as w e ll as scie ntific, and I h ave com e to appre ciate th e staff's de dication and com m itm e nt to th e ir w ork th rough collaborating w ith th e m at th e Ce ntre .

I w ish th e Ce ntre m any m ore ye ars of succe ss as it continue s to m ak e im portant contributions to Scie nce and Te ch nology inte rnationally, and to Jam aica.

Dr. Robe rt G. Garre tt

Applie d Ge och e m istry and M ine ralogyGe ological Surve y of CanadaEarth Scie nce s Se ctor, Natural Re source s Canada


It give s m e m uch ple asure in congratulating ICENS on re ach ing its tw e ntie th annive rsary. Since Fe bruary 19 9 9 I h ave h ad th e privile ge of se rving on th e ICENS Board of D ire ctors as its D istinguish e d Fore ign Scie ntist'. Profe ssor Ge rald Lalor, th e D ire ctor Ge ne ral, is to be

congratulate d on guiding and de ve loping ICENS ove r ye ars w h e n, e ve ryw h e re , funding for scie nce h as progre ssive ly dim inish e d. H is outstanding le ade rsh ip and te nacity h as e nsure d th at ICENS continue s to carry out its scie ntific m ission both to Jam aica and to th e w ide r scie ntific com m unity de spite m any se tback s and proble m s.

Visits to th e Ce ntre h ave also allow e d m e to unde rtak e collaborative program m e s w ith its scie ntists. M y stude nts h ave be e n re ce ive d as visitors w ith gre at courte sy. M ost contacts h ave be e n w ith th e analytical group unde r th e dire ction of D r M itk o K Voutch k ov. Th e NAA and X- ray fluore sce nce facility at ICENS is cutting e dge '. Th is w orld- class analytical e xpe rtise h as re sulte d in m any succe ssful proje cts, e .g., publication of th e Ge och e m ical Atlas, th e ide ntification and re solution of th e le ad proble m ne ar th e H ope le ad m ine , and oth e rs.

I look forw ard to continuing inte raction. I k now th at ICENS w ill continue to be an e xe m plar of scie ntific activity and e nvironm e ntal nucle ar e xpe rtise in both Jam aica and th e Caribbe an re gion.

Dr. Brian Davie s

Em e ritus Profe ssor Unive rsity of Bradford, England and Cle m son Unive rsity, U SA.


Th e y say tim e flie s w h e n you're h aving fun, and it doe s se e m lik e only ye ste rday w h e n w e starte d up th e re actor. Th e re w e re m any w h o said th at w e w e re w asting our tim e and gove rnm e nt m one y on som e th ing th at h ad no place in a de ve loping country. W e ll w e h ave n't

discove re d th e m e aning to life or anyth ing th at fundam e ntal, but I th ink th at w e h ave ach ie ve d a fair am ount of original and innovative w ork , m aste re d an are a of h igh te ch nology, and h igh ligh te d an are a of re se arch , h ith e rto ne gle cte d in Jam aica, th at of de ve loping a th orough unde rstanding of th e ch e m istry of our local e nvironm e nt and its e ffe cts.

Som e body ask e d m e th e oth e r day w h e th e r I th ough t th at th e re actor w as re ally ne ce ssary, and h ad done anyth ing th at couldn't h ave be e n done any oth e r w ay. Afte r th ink ing about it I h ad to answ e r ye s. Th e pow e r of th e nucle ar analytical te ch niq ue s h as tim e and tim e again be e n a life save r. It h as allow e d us to ch art our ow n re se arch path for th e m ost part, confide nt in our ability to m e asure . I re m e m be r an incide nt w h e n w e first starte d our cadm ium w ork , and outsource d th e analyse s be cause th e pre fe rre d m e th od w as not by nucle ar analytical te ch niq ue s; th e re sults w e re dispute d, so w e h ad to de ve lop a nove l approach using th e re actor to ve rify th e value s and brok e ne w ground. Such ch alle nge s are probably am ong th e m ost re w arding e le m e nts of m y tim e h e re , along w ith th e group w ork w h ich constantly com bine s ch e m istry w ith ph ysics, e le ctronics, com pute r h ardw are and softw are de ve lopm e nt, and th e list goe s on now to e ncom pass botany, biology and m e dicine as w e start to look into th e e ffe cts of th e substance s th at w e m e asure on plants, anim als and h um ans. I am particularly ple ase d w ith th e fact th at our te ch nical com pe te nce is such th at w e h ave provide d assistance to oth e r individuals and institutions locally and inte rnationally, and sim ilar program m e s to our national ge och e m ical database th at w e starte d ove r 10 ye ars ago, are now be ing propose d in de ve lope d countrie s. M y congratulations to all th e staff of ICENS ove r th e ye ars, and th e Unive rsity, an institution de dicate d to th e answ e ring of q ue stions and de ve loping th e th ough t proce ss. I w ish all th e ve ry be st and h ope th at w h at h as be e n ach ie ve d w ill inspire th ose w h o w ill com e in th e future .

M r. Joh n Pre ston

Snr. Engine e rICENS


Dr. H ilary Roboth am

Form e r CoordinatorCe ntre for Nucle ar Scie nce s

As th e Coordinator for its first te n ye ars, it is w ith pride and nostalgia th at I look back on th ose e arly days w h e n w e starte d th is proje ct w ith a ve ry sm all te am of young scie ntists le d by a m an w ith a vision and an inde fatigable de te rm ination to m ak e it a re ality. Ste p by ste p,

building block by building block , th e Ce ntre de ve lope d into a m ulti- functional institution proje cting th e pe ace ful applications of nucle ar te ch nology in m any are as, prim arily th e ge ological, e nvironm e ntal and h e alth scie nce s. Th e story did not e nd th e re th ough . Th e Ce ntre continue s to grow from stre ngth to stre ngth , and to broade n its pale tte of activitie s. I congratulate Prof. Lalor, h is staff and inde e d all th ose w h o h ave playe d a role in m ak ing th e now Inte rnational Ce ntre for Environm e ntal and Nucle ar Scie nce s, ICENS, th e succe ss th at it is today.

O n a ph ilosoph ical note , th e succe ss of ICENS is of im portance not only for Jam aica, but h as a m e ssage for all de ve loping nations. Th e ach ie ve m e nts of th e Ce ntre sh ow th at, in spite of m any obstacle s, w e can all attain th e h igh standards of innovation and cre dibility e xpe cte d in scie ntific re se arch . I w ish ICENS continue d good fortune in m e e ting th e ch alle nge s th at lie ah e ad in its ne xt tw e nty ye ars, and in its future be yond th at.


Tw e nty five ye ars is a long tim e to m ost pe ople , in m y case h alf m y life tim e till now , but I still re m e m be r vividly th e e ve nts le ading up to th e construction of th e Inte rnational Ce ntre for Environm e ntal and Nucle ar Scie nce . I h ad just tak e n up th e post of Proje ct Arch ite ct at th e

Unive rsity of th e W e st Indie s, M ona, re porting to th e Estate M anage r at th e tim e D e lroy Ch arle y. Th is w as w h e n I first m e t Profe ssor Lalor, w h o w as Pro Vice Ch ance llor at th e tim e , to be brie fe d on th e propose d Ne utron Source Building. I ne e de d to k now just w h at e xactly a Ne utron Source Building involve d and, in a style th at I h ave le arnt ove r th e ye ars to be so typical of Prof. Lalor, h e advise d m e th at th is w as re ally a building to h ouse a nucle ar re actor but w e w e re calling it by anoth e r nam e so as "not to ge t pe ople too e xcite d". I w as e xcite d.

Tw e nty five ye ars late r I am still e xcite d w h e n I le arn of all th e gre at th ings th at th e Ce ntre h as planne d and alre ady ach ie ve d and proud to h ave be e n able to m ak e m y ow n sm all contribution to its succe ss.

M r. Bob Fow le r

Arch ite ct


H istoryTow ards th e e nd of th e 19 60's, th e late Aston Pre ston, th e n Unive rsity of th e W e st Indie s (U W I) Pro- Vice - Ch ance llor (Finance ), gave h is support to a conce pt of a m ultidisciplinary program m e base d on "Pe ace ful Use s of th e Atom ". Th is th e m e w as ch ose n be cause of th e form idable range of applications th at prom ise d to im pact on Caribbe an e xpe rtise , and its pote ntial to advance th e application of scie nce and te ch nology to th e sustainable de ve lopm e nt of th e m e m be r countrie s of th e Unive rsity of th e W e st Indie s. Th e pote ntial cost se e m e d daunting, but during a Canadian Inte rnational D e ve lopm e nt Age ncy (CID A) fe llow sh ip pe riod at th e Canadian Ch alk Rive r Nucle ar Re se arch Laboratorie s, in th e sum m e r of 19 70, I saw th e prototype of a tiny nucle ar re actor calle d SLO W PO KE (Safe Low Pow e r Kritical Expe rim e nt, a nice acronym but th e 'K' is pe rh aps push ing it a little ) th at se e m e d ide al for som e of th e ide as th at w e re form ing. Th e n in 19 74, as a

m e m be r of an Inte rnational Atom ic Ene rgy Age ncy (IAEA) sponsore d tour of Sovie t and East Ge rm an nucle ar re se arch re actors, I liste ne d w ith fascination in a se ssion at th e Institute of Nucle ar Pow e r Engine e ring not far from M oscow , in w h ich th e y de scribe d a ge och e m ical soil surve y, using ne utron activation analysis (NAA). Surface soil conce ntrations h ad be e n m appe d, and w h e re anom alous le ve ls of tungste n h ad be e n found, drilling de e p dow n, locate d one of th e large st tungste n de posits e ve r discove re d, and th is in an are a th at h ad pre viously give n no indication of th is valuable re source .

Th is convince d m e th at th e ge och e m ical m apping of Jam aica w ould be an im portant start, and w e be gan to se e k a ne utron source as th e ce ntral tool in th e h ope d- for Ce ntre . Th e first offe r of a re actor cam e soon, but th e de sign w as just too com ple x for th e cam pus, and w e be gan to w onde r about th e appare ntly unlik e ly possibility th at th e Europe an Econom ic Com m ission w ould conside r th is unde r th e re gional Africa Caribbe an and Pacific program m e of th e Lom é Conve ntion.

O n a visit to Brusse ls w ith Aston, w h o by th e n w as Vice - Ch ance llor, to discuss th e U W I re gional program m e unde r Lom é 1, w e w e re w arne d not to

Profe ssor Th e H on. G.C. Lalor

H on. A.Z . Pre ston O .J.


raise th e re actor issue be cause it w as im possible to fund th at; but at th e e nd of a long day, w e h ad a sum m ing- up m e e ting w ith th e late M aurice Fole y, w h o w as th e D e puty D ire ctor- Ge ne ral for D e ve lopm e nt in D G 8 at th e Europe an Econom ic Com m ission. H e w as a re m ark able m an, ve ry im patie nt of pointle ss form alitie s but e xuding a spirit of h um an w arm th . H e ask e d w h at w e m ost w ante d and w as told "a re actor".

W ith no trace of surprise , h e probe d k e e nly to be sure h e k ne w w h at w e w e re th ink ing about, and no doubt to asse ss th e fe asibility. As w e s ippe d som e e xce lle nt drink s in h is be autiful office , w e answ e re d h is q ue stions about th e conce pt de tails, and th e link s be tw e e n possible program m e s. At th e e nd of th at long but ve ry

com fortable m e e ting, h e surprise d h is staff, and us, by agre e ing to th e full Unive rsity proposal, for th e re w as a lot m ore in it, and adde d "It w ill not be e asy but I prom ise I w ill ge t you a little re actor". H e k e pt th at prom ise , and I k now for sure not w ith out difficulty!! As th e re w as no unit of Europe an origin sm all and sim ple e nough and low e nough in cost, th at w e could m anage , e ve ntually w e w e re allow e d to pay Atom ic Ene rgy of Canada, for a SLO W PO KE re actor, w ith EEC m one y, not a norm al type of transaction.

Le t m e note th at th is w as but one e xam ple of th e tre m e ndous support provide d by th e Europe an D e ve lopm e nt Fund (ED F) to th e re gional U W I unde r th e Lom é Program m e . At th e M ona Cam pus, th is include d th re e Ce ntre s - th e Biote ch nology Ce ntre , th e Ce ntre for Nucle ar Scie nce s and th e Social

Scie nce s D ocum e ntation Ce ntre , im portant library e xte nsions, facilitie s for aq uaculture , e ntom ology, a w ate r re cycling pilot plant, m any significant ite m s of re se arch e q uipm e nt including th e SLO W PO KE re actor and th e Ele ctron M icroscope Facility; th e Post Graduate Flats and th e Aston Pre ston H all of Re side nce ; buildings and e q uipm e nt for distance e ducation; acade m ic and te ch nical staff training, unde rgraduate and post graduate training and sch olarsh ips; e xpe rt te ch nical assistance in support of th e capital de ve lopm e nts, and m uch m ore including cam pus re h abilitation afte r "H urricane Gilbe rt". I re m e m be r th e se w ith gre at

Biote ch nology Ce ntre

Pre ston H all

Conce pt D e tails


w arm th be cause oth e rw ise th e re w ould probably h ave be e n little , if any, im prove d infrastructure s ince for m any ye ars m one y w as in tigh t supply.

Th e arch ite ct, Bob Fow le r, produce d a be autiful de sign for th e Ce ntre for Nucle ar Scie nce s (CNS). It w as w e ll e xe cute d by th e contractor A.C. Francis, w ith Francis Fe lix and m yse lf h ove ring ove r th e ir s h oulde rs, to w h ich th e y se e m e d not to obje ct. Th e de sign produce s th e im pre ssion of com ple tion at e ve ry stage ; its s iz e h as alre ady be e n double d and th e re is h ope fully m ore to com e - one day. Construction of th e re actor room and a laboratory w as starte d in 19 82, and during th is pe riod th e Gove rnm e nt of Jam aica volunte e re d additional funds to com ple te th e first ph ase in June 19 83. But as th e de live ry date approach e d so did ce rtain obje ctions about th e de live ry by Canada of th e e nrich e d fue l of U S origin. It re q uire d conside rable assistance from th e EEC de le gate in Jam aica, Roge r Booth , th e th e n Prim e M iniste r of Jam aica, th e M ost H on. Edw ard Se aga, and th e Inte rnational Atom ic Ene rgy Age ncy (IAEA) to ove rcom e th e se , and th e re actor core arrive d and ach ie ve d first criticality on M arch 21, 19 84.

And th e n th e full staff: Joh n Pre ston, Ange la M attis our first radiation safe ty officie r, H ilary Roboth am , w h o h ad com ple te d a Ph .D. w ith m e in Ph ysical-Inorganic Ch e m istry and I, sort of part- tim e be cause I w as th e n a Pro- Vice -Ch ance llor, se t to w ork to be gin a program m e w e h ope d w ould m ak e a re al diffe re nce for good, and convince scie ntists and adm inistrators of th e value of inte rdisciplinary collaboration for scie nce in Jam aica. W e w e re ble sse d w ith a lot of support from th e Cam pus, th e Gove rnm e nt, th e Scie ntific Re se arch Council, w h e re th e Exe cutive D ire ctor w as D r. Gladstone Taylor, w h o h ad also done h is Ph .D. w ith m e . H e se conde d one of h is re se arch staff, Carol Th om pson, full tim e during th e first ye ars. M uch assistance also cam e from th e IAEA, and from th e British Ge ological Surve y, e spe cially Jane Plant and Pe te r Sim pson tw o ve ry distinguish e d ge och e m ists.

Th e CNS w as form ally de clare d ope n by th e Vice - Ch ance llor, D r. A. Z . Pre ston, in June 19 84. M r. Roge r Booth , D e le gate of th e Europe an Econom ic Com m unity gave th e m ain addre ss. Am ong th e distinguish e d gue sts w e re th e H onourable Ronald Irvine , M iniste r of Scie nce , Te ch nology and th e Environm e nt, M r. Je re m y Jaspe r, D e puty H igh Com m issione r of Gre at Britain, and M r. W illiam H e w itt, Am bassador of th e Unite d State s of Am e rica.

M ost H on. Ed w ard Se aga

CNS ope ning, from l- r: D r. A.Z . Pre ston, Prof. G.C. Lalor, M r. And re w Booth , D r. Ronald Irvine , D r. H ilary Roboth am

Th e Form al O pe ning

Th e Ce ntre for Nucle ar Scie nce s


A National Group w as e stablish e d w ith w ide re pre se ntation, to advise on all aspe cts of th e utilisation of th e Ce ntre and its de ve lopm e nt and planning, proje ct se le ction, and funding to e nsure th at its program m e s re fle ct national prioritie s as w e ll as th e ne e ds of th e Unive rsity. Th is com m itte e laid th e ground w ork for th e de ve lopm e nt and progre ss of CNS so w e ll th at its influe nce is w ith us e ve n today.

Th e ope ning ce re m ony w as alre ady som e 10 ye ars afte r th e original conce pt w as raise d. Th e IAEA now incre ase d its assistance and provide d m any e sse ntial ite m s of e q uipm e nt and training. In th ose e arly ye ars w e h ad m any visits by distinguish e d e xpe rts and advisory te am s, as w e ll as ove rse as scie ntific visits and atte ndance at course s to h e lp train our staff and oth e rs, and to assist in future planning. In th is, th e Ce ntre ow e s a gre at de al to Joe D olnicar, th e IAEA program m e office r w ith re sponsibility for th e CNS proje ct, w h o e ncourage d and bullie d us as h e h e lpe d e nsure a good start for w h at h e conside re d an e xce lle nt cause .

W ith such assistance w e le arne d q uick ly and w e re soon attracting M .Ph il. and Ph .D. stude nts from th e D e partm e nts of Botany, Ch e m istry, and Ge ology, and building collaborations. D uring th is pe riod, funde d by th e Inte r-Am e rican D e ve lopm e nt Bank , w e com ple te d our first m ajor inve stigation: th e ge och e m ical m apping of Jam aica to provide base line data on e sse ntial and pote ntially h az ardous e le m e nts in th e Jam aican e nvironm e nt, re porte d in our Ge och e m ical Atlas of Jam aica (Lalor, 19 9 5). Th is atlas h as be e n a firm basis for m ost of th e subse q ue nt inve stigations. Local institutions also be cam e e xcite d by th e ide a of th e Ce ntre , and w e re ce ive d grants from th e Royal Bank Foundation and th e O rganisation of Am e rican State s.

Progre s s of th e CNS

M inistry of Fore ign AffairsM inistry of H e alth

M inistry of FinanceM inistry of M ine s and Ene rgy

Ch e m istry D e partm e ntBotany D e partm e nt

Ge ology D e partm e ntTropical M e tabolism Re se arch Unit

Jam aica Bauxite InstituteJam aica Bure au of StandardsScie ntific Re se arch Council

Statutory Bodie sPublic Se ctor

Scie ntific Com m unity

Com m itte e on Pe ace ful Us e s of th e A tom


Th e progre ss w as sufficie nt th at IAEA re q ue ste d CNS to h ost th e ir pre m ie r Inte rnational Nucle ar Ele ctronics Training Course in 19 86 and 19 87, and com m issione d a painting of our sm all staff, w h ich adorns th e front page of th e 30th annive rsary issuse of th e IAEA Bulle tin. Th is w ork also attracte d th e atte ntion of th e Nobe l Laure ate Abdus Salam in conne ction w ith a sch e m e h e w as ch am pioning to cre ate a ne tw ork of scie nce ce ntre s to contribute to th e de ve lopm e nt of th e countrie s of th e South . Th e M ost H on. M ich ae l M anle y, th e n Prim e M iniste r, re adily agre e d th at Jam aica sh ould be involve d and supporte d Salam 's vie w th at th e CNS be Jam aica's nom ine e for conside ration as a node of th e propose d ne tw ork .

Th e H e ads of Gove rnm e nts of th e Non- aligne d Countrie s agre e d to Profe ssor Salam 's conce pt at th e ir Be lgrade m e e ting in 19 89 . Th e y passe d a re solution calling for joint action by th e Gove rnm e nts of th e South , th e U N syste m , th e W orld Bank , and donor age ncie s to e stablish a ne tw ork of inte rnational ce ntre s of e xce lle nce for re se arch and training in are as of scie nce and te ch nology and e nvironm e ntal scie nce s of critical im portance to sustainable socio- e conom ic de ve lopm e nt in th e Th ird W orld.

CO M SATS w as e stablish e d to carry forw ard th is m andate and inaugurate d at a m e e ting, ch aire d by Pak istan's Prim e M iniste r M rs. Be naz ir Bh utto, in Islam abad O ct. 4- 5, 19 9 4, at w h ich U NESCO, U NID O, U NEP, th e W orld Bank and th irty- six countrie s w e re re pre se nte d.

Th e Com m is s ion on Scie nce and Te ch nology for Sus tainable D e ve lopm e nt in th e South (CO M SATS)

M ost H on. M ich ae l M anle y

Prof. Abd us Salam


Th e confe re nce de cide d th at th e H e adq uarte rs/Se cre tariat of th e Com m ission w ould be base d pe rm ane ntly in Islam abad, th at th e h ost- gove rnm e nt w ould provide for th e ope rational and adm inistrative e xpe nse s of th e Se cre tariat, and th at a Te ch nical Assistance Fund, consisting of m e m be rsh ip-contributions, incom e from se rvice s, and inte rnational grants/proje ct- funds, w ould assist in proje ct support.

Th e case for a Ce ntre in Jam aica pre viously approve d by Prim e M iniste r, Th e M ost H on. P.J. Patte rson, and supporte d by an asse ssm e nt by tw o distinguish e d consultants w as pre se nte d by th e th e n Exe cutive D ire ctor of th e Scie ntific Re se arch Council, D r. Gladstone Taylor, w h o re pre se nte d Jam aica. Th e CNS w as acce pte d as one of th e first te n node s of th e ne w Ne tw ork of Inte rnational Ce ntre s of Exce lle nce , along w ith institutions in: Bolivia, Braz il, Ch ina, Gh ana, Nige ria, Pak istan, Syria, Tanz ania, and Turk e y. Subse q ue ntly Colom bia, Jordan, and Egypt w e re adde d. Sadly, Profe ssor Salam die d in 19 9 6.

Acce ptance into th e CO M SATS ne tw ork e ncourage d th e nam e ch ange to th e Inte rnational Ce ntre for Environm e ntal and Nucle ar Scie nce s (ICENS), to be tte r re fle ct th e scie ntific focus and th e ne w status. Th e Vice - Ch ance llor, Sir Aliste r M acIntyre , m ade valuable sugge stions on th e e stablish m e nt and gove rnance of th e ne w Ce ntre , and th e Gove rnm e nt of Jam aica acce pte d th e re sponsibility and ch alle nge s offe re d by h aving a node in th e Ne tw ork . Th e Prim e M iniste r de le gate d th e re sponsibility to assist w ith m ak ing th e Inte rnational Ce ntre fully ope rational to th e M inistry of Fore ign Affairs and Fore ign Trade . An Inte rim Advisory Board, ch aire d by th e M iniste r of State , th e H on. Be n Clare , w as e stablish e d to de fine th e gove rnance of th e ce ntre and to outline th e first Scie ntific Age nda.

Th e gove rnance structure th at w as e stablish e d involve d a Board of Gove rnors ch aire d by th e Prim e M iniste r, a Board of D ire ctors w ith ge ne ral re sponsibility to e xe cute th e policie s se t by th e Board of Gove rnors, and th e O ffice of th e D ire ctor- Ge ne ral w ith re sponsibility for th e re se arch and de ve lopm e nt w ork of th e Ce ntre , and th e day- to-day adm inistration of its busine ss. As of 1st April, 19 9 7, th e Gove rnm e nt along w ith th e Unive rsity, h as be e n providing core funding for th e Ce ntre .

ICENS w as officially launch e d at Jam aica H ouse by th e Prim e M iniste r on Se pte m be r 2, 19 9 7. Th e first D ire ctor- Ge ne ral, m yse lf, assum e d th at office on O ctobe r 1, 19 9 7.

Th e scie ntific age nda e m ph asise s inte grate d re se arch program m e s base d on e nvironm e ntal ge och e m istry - th e ch e m istry of th e total e nvironm e nt and its e ffe cts on th e b iosph e re - and th e de ve lopm e nt and use of pow e rful database s and inform ation syste m s, w h ich allow for application

M ost H on. P.J. Patte rson

Th e Inte rnational Ce ntre for Environm e ntal and Nucle ar Scie nce s

Prim e M iniste r Be naz ir Bh utto ad d re ssing inaugural m e e ting of CO M SATS

Th e Scie ntific A ge nda


of th e data across se ve ral discipline s. It e m ph asise s inte r- institutional and inte rnational collaboration, and e ncourage s th e transfe r of k now le dge be tw e e n acade m ia, gove rnm e nt, and th e production and se rvice se ctors, and pe rh aps m ost im portantly contribute s to th e de ve lopm e nt of th e h um an re source . Its th rust is to be a catalyst to th e s h aring of e xpe rtise , data and inform ation, so th at scie nce be tte r se rve s national and re gional ne e ds.

ICENS is h ouse d in an attractive functional building. It h as th e capability to m e asure m ost of th e naturally occurring e le m e nts and its pow e rful database s and softw are , including ge ograph ical inform ation syste m s and sate llite im age ry, h ave m ade it possible to obtain, store and h andle th e e norm ous q uantitie s of data ne ce ssary to e m ploy e nvironm e ntal ge och e m istry as an age nt of de ve lopm e nt.

W e h ave m appe d th e soils of Jam aica and are producing ne w and valuable k now le dge about th is country w h ich is raising q ue stions, th e answ e rs to w h ich are also of inte re st to oth e r countrie s. Th is w ork h as le d us into continuing inve stigations into aspe cts of agriculture and food, and th e m itigation of le ad poisoning in ch ildre n. O th e r h e alth im plications be ing inve stigate d include link s be tw e e n h e avy m e tal intak e and prostate cance r, and re nal failure .

Th e re se arch program m e s h ave h ad a significant m e asure of succe ss, and ICENS is be com ing k now n and acce pte d on th e inte rnational sce ne as th e m e ssage s of congratualtions se nt on th is occassion de m onstrate . ICENS is now a m e m be r of th e U NESCO Trace Ele m e nts Institute .

Th is re port is not brie f, but th e staff conside re d it im portant to re state th e principle s th at de te rm ine d th e origin of ICENS, its vital focus on th e application of h igh q uality scie nce to national and re gional de ve lopm e nt, and to pre se nt som e of th e ir inte re sting findings and th e pote ntial conse q ue nce s of th e se . W e h ope th at m ost pe rsons w ill find som e th ings of inte re st and som e nove l inform ation h e re , and w ould be h appy to provide furth e r de tails if re q ue ste d.

G.C. LalorD ire ctor- Ge ne ralJune 2004.

Pre s e nt Capabilitie s


SLO W PO KE is a tiny nucle ar re actor. It w as de signe d by D r. Joh n H ilborn at th e Ch alk Rive r Nucle ar Laboratory of Atom ic Ene rgy of Canada Lim ite d (AECL), spe cifically for use in unive rsitie s, h ospitals and re se arch institutions. It is a tank in pool re actor i.e . th e core is inside a se ale d tank containing e xtre m e ly pure w ate r, w h ich acts both as m ode rator (slow s th e fission ne utrons for im prove d fission e fficie ncy) and coolant for h e at transfe r to th e oute r pool. Th e pool is 6.4 m de e p, 2.4 m in diam e te r and 0.3 m th ick . It is constructe d of spe cially re inforce d w ate rproof concre te cove re d w ith m astic asph alt on th e outside , and e poxy re sin on th e inside . Th e concre te is se parate d from th e surrounding e arth by 0.9 1 m of pack e d sand. Th e pool contains continuously coole d and purifie d w ate r to a de pth of 5.1 m e te rs, for both h e at transfe r and biological sh ie lding. Th e m axim um rate d th e rm al pow e r output is only 20 k ilow atts.

Th e re actor core consists of an asse m bly of 29 6 fue l pins. A 100 m m th ick be ryllium annulus e ncase s th e 23 by 25 cm fue l cage . Th is, toge th e r w ith a 50 m m be ryllium disc at th e bottom of th e core , is th e m ain ne utron re fle ctor. Th e core containe r is se ale d and no inte rnal adjustm e nts are allow e d. Long te rm ch ange s in pe rform ance due to fue l burn- up and poison build- up are corre cte d for by adding top se m i-circular be ryllium re fle ctor sh im s, e ach only a fe w m illim e te rs th ick , to allow ve ry occasional adjustm e nts w ith usage .

Th e re actor is s im ple to ope rate . Th e ope rational fe ature s are locate d on a single console . Th e pow e r le ve l is controlle d to ± 1% of th e se le cte d se tting on th e console by a single cadm ium control rod, via fe e dback from a ne utron de te ctor locate d w ith in th e be ryllium annulus. Th is re m ark able stability e norm ously e nh ance s SLO W PO KE's value as an analytical tool.

Th e re actor pow e r le ve l, cadm ium rod position and te m pe rature are continuously m onitore d, e ve n w h e n th e re actor is not in use , and th e ch arts are store d

Re actor core

SLOW POKE

Re actor control console


inde finite ly. ICENS h as an e m e rge ncy pow e r ge ne rator of sufficie nt siz e to m aintain e le ctricity for all syste m s during a pow e r loss and in addition e m e rge ncy pow e r for m onitoring is provide d by a se t of truck batte rie s.

W h e n a 235U nucle us absorbs a ne utron, it alm ost instantane ously splits into tw o approxim ate ly e q ual parts and also produce s be tw e e n tw o and th re e ne utrons pe r fission.

Th e se ne utrons m ay in turn induce oth e r fissions, be lost by absorption in im puritie s, or m ay e scape from th e fissile m ass.

Th e ove rall be h aviour of th e ch ain re action de pe nds on th e m ultiplication factor, k = (num be r of fissions in one ge ne ration/num be r of fissions in th e pre ce ding ge ne ration). If k > 1 th e ch ain re action grow s rapidly w ith tim e ; if k < 1. th e ch ain re action cannot be m aintaine d. In a critical syste m , k = 1 and th e num be r of ne utrons is constant w ith tim e . Th is is ach ie ve d in SLO W PO KE by th e cadm ium control rod w h ose position w ith in th e re actor core is se t according to th e ne utron flux de sire d.

Th e q uantity 100(k - 1)/k , k now n as th e e xce ss re activity, is a conve nie nt m e asure of re actor be h aviour. Th e ve ry low e xce ss re activity of SLO W PO KE is an e sse ntial e le m e nt in th e safe ty ph ilosoph y of its de sign. M any re se arch re actors are de signe d to h ave ve ry large available e xce ss re activitie s (say 2% - 4% ) and ope rators are allow e d to alte r it, vary th e positions of th e fue l e le m e nts, and pe rform a varie ty of oth e r ope rations. Conse q ue ntly, such re actors m ust

An atom is th e sm alle st particle of an e le m e nt th at h as th e ch aracte ristics of th at substance . Lik e th e h e lium atom sh ow n for e xam ple , atom s consists of a ve ry de nse core containing positive particle s - protons, w h ich are actually th e nucle i of h ydroge n atom s, and th e s im ilarly siz e d but unch arge d ne utrons. O utside th e core th e num be r of ne gative ly ch arge d e le ctrons balance s th e num be r of protons (th e atom ic num be r Z ). It is Z th at de te rm ine s th e ch e m ical ide ntity of e ach e le m e nt, but atom s of th e sam e Z m ay h ave diffe re nt num be rs of ne utrons. Th e sum of th e num be rs of ne utrons and protons is th e m ass num be r A and atom s of th e sam e Z but diffe ring A are calle d isotope s. Th e isotope s of th e sam e e le m e nt are alm ost ide ntical ch e m ically but th e nucle ar prope rtie s can diffe r s ignificantly. Th e standard sh orth and notation is . Naturally occurring uranium consists m ainly of tw o isotope s and , th e form e r only to th e e xte nt of 0.7% but it is th e one use d for nucle ar re actors.

Nucle ar Fis s ion

Re activity

XZ

U2359 2 U238

9 2

A

Th e tim e re sponse of a re actor de pe nds on k , and T, th e tim e lapse be tw e e n succe ssive ge ne rations of ne utrons, according to th e e q uation

w h e re n0 is th e num be r of ne utrons at tim e z e ro, nt is th e num be r of ne utrons at tim e t; k - 1 rath e r th an k is use d s ince one ne utron in e ach fission m ust be absorbe d to continue th e ch ain re action. Pow e r m ultiplication can be ve ry rapid inde e d if criticality de pe nds on prom pt ne utrons only. In practice control is s im ple r be cause a sm all fraction, d (about 1% ), of th e contributing ne utrons is e m itte d from ne utron rich nucle i form e d in th e be ta de cay of ce rtain fission products. It is th is sm all proportion of ne utrons th at sim plifie s re actor control since , as long as k (1- d) < 1, th e rate controlling ste p sh ifts from th e th e rm alisation to th e de cay of th e ne utron rich fission products, and T be com e s of th e orde r of 0.1 s.

nt = n0 e (k - 1) t / T


include e xte nsive instrum e ntation to m onitor instantane ous pow e r le ve ls and rate s of pow e r incre ase , and also h ave duplicate d and autom atically actuate d sh utdow n syste m s.

SLO W PO KE doe s not re q uire th e se be cause of its large ne gative te m pe rature coe fficie nt, th e low e xce ss re activity and se ve re ly lim ite d ope rating conditions. W h e n our SLO W PO KE w as be ing com m issione d, th e e xce ss re activity w as only 0.34% com pare d w ith th e 0.788% for prom pt criticality, and th e re actor containe r w as th e n bolte d and se ale d. AECL state s th at no cre dible ope rator inte rve ntion could incre ase th e re activity to th is value th at could produce an uncontrolle d ch ain re action. Th e strong ne gative te m pe rature e ffe ct e nsure s th at th e re actor e fficie ncy falls off rapidly w ith te m pe rature , and inde e d one fairly im pre ssive com m issioning te st is to w ith draw th e control rod com ple te ly to de m onstrate th is se lf- lim iting be h aviour. In th e U W I te st, th e core w ate r outle t te m pe rature rose from 18.3°C to a pe ak te m pe rature of only 68°C, afte r w h ich th e pow e r, th at h ad pe ak e d at about 80 k W , de cre ase d le ading to sh utdow n. Th e se tw o fe ature s, low e xce ss re activity and se lf- lim iting pow e r e xcursions, th e basis of th e intrinsic safe ty of SLO W PO KE, do re strict re actor ope rations, but m ak e it possible for laboratorie s w ith lim ite d budge ts to safe ly ope rate th e re actor. AECL doe s not conside r th e s im ultane ous loss of both th e pool and containe r w ate r to be a cre dible e ve nt, but, e ve n if coolant w e re lost w ith th e re actor ope rating at full pow e r th e re is no dange r of a m e ltdow n.

D ue to th e s im plicity and th e inh e re nt safe ty of th e de sign, re gular te sting and m ainte nance of th e SLO W PO KE control syste m s are m inim al; th e w e e k ly m ainte nance of th e re actor consists of

ch e ck ing out a list of tw e lve ite m s, including e m e rge ncy sh utdow n proce dure s and back up syste m s, and ge ne rally tak e s no m ore th an tw o h ours to com ple te . As part of th e Safe guards Agre e m e nt to w h ich th e Gove rnm e nt of Jam aica is a signatory, th e re actor h as be e n m ade subje ct to inspe ction by IAEA.

D e spite its sm all siz e and inh e re nt safe ty, SLO W PO KE m ust be ope rate d w ith care and only according to th e agre e d protocol. Acce ss to th e re actor is strictly controlle d and ne w proposals for its use m ust be approve d by a re actor utilisation com m itte e . Th e se re strictions are adh e re d to, not only be cause of safe ty, but also be cause SLO W PO KE is an irre place able asse t.

Since no ch ange s are e ve r m ade to th e core , th e re are no fue l cycle s or spe nt fue l storage to be conside re d. Radioactive w aste disposal arise s only at th e e nd of th e use ful life of th e re actor, w h ich w ith th e installation of th e "big sh im ", donate d to U W I by th e Unive rsity of Toronto, is e stim ate d to Re actor Pool


be about 30- 40 ye ars h e nce . Th e contract w ith AECL spe cifie s th at th e spe nt core be re turne d to Canada.

Th e re are radiation m onitors w ith audio alarm s in th e re actor room . Th e alarm le ve ls are se t at 10m R/h for th e m onitor locate d on th e re actor pool w all 2ft above th e w ate r le ve l, and 4 m R/h for th e are a m onitor attach e d to th e ce iling dire ctly above th e re actor. If th e se lim its are e xce e de d th e re actor is im m e diate ly sh utdow n, a ve ry sim ple proce dure . Th e re are m ultiple sam pling points for ch e ck ing radiation w ith in and around th e facility, to e nsure safe ty and to m aintain th e low radiation back ground ne ce ssary for se nsitive e le m e ntal analysis.

SLO W PO KE is a re m ark able analytical tool. It brings e norm ous m ulti- e le m e nt analytical capability w ith h igh accuracy and th rough put to ICENS, and is th e basis of m ost of th e e xte nsive analytical w ork be ing pe rform e d.

Re actor Radiation M onitoring and Pe rs onne l Safe ty


Th e use of and e xposure to ionising radiation is subje ct to national and inte rnational code s of practice , re gulations and law s, be cause e xposure to x- rays, gam m a rays, alph a and be ta particle s can le ad to se rious h e alth e ffe cts, including cance rs. Som e e xposure is ine vitable since th e Earth is bath e d in radiation from th e sun and oute r space , and th e re are se ve ral radioactive e le m e nts in th e natural e nvironm e nt. Eve n w ith in our bodie s radioactive isotope s (14C and 40K) of tw o e sse ntial e le m e nts, carbon and potassium , are source s of radiation, and its use in m e dicine is standard practice . Th e guiding principle is th e re fore to e nsure th at e xposure le ve ls are as low as is re asonably ach ie vable (ALARA), a principle be ing incre asingly applie d to all e xposure s th at re pre se nt a possible h az ard. W ith th e adve nt of SLO W PO KE th e re w as an im m e diate ne e d for th e radiation m onitoring of CNS pe rsonne l. As e arly as e arly as July 19 84, th e IAEA provide d a sm all Th e rm olum ine sce nce D osim e try (TLD ) unit, a supply of badge s containing th e "cards" use d as radiation de te ctors, and training for staff. M ost radiation w ork e rs in th e country use d a U S base d film badge se rvice but incre asing costs and postal de lays e ncourage d th e m to conside r using TLD dosim e try.

A four m onth long com parison w ith th e e xisting fore ign film badge se rvice confirm e d th e q uality of our m e asure m e nts, and th e se rvice w as soon offe re d to oth e r use rs of ioniz ing radiation such as de ntists, industrial radiograph e rs, and X- ray te ch nicians. Th e e xte rnal m onitoring se rvice w as

Th e rm olum ine sce nce is th e e m ission of ligh t by a h e ate d m ate rial. W h e n ce rtain type s of crystal, e .g. lith ium fluoride , are e xpose d to ioniz ing radiation, som e of th e e le ctrons are prom ote d to a h igh e r e ne rgy le ve l and m ostly trappe d th e re , until th e crystal is h e ate d sufficie ntly to raise th e e ne rgy to anoth e r le ve l from w h ich th e y can re turn to th e original (ground) state w ith th e e m ission of ligh t, th e inte nsity of w h ich is proportional to th e radiation dose .

H e at

Conduction Band

Ioniz ing Radiation

Forbidde n Gap

Ele ctron in Ground State Vale nce Band

Visible Ligh t

Th e rm olum ine s ce nce D os im e try

Pe rsonne l Radiation

M onitoring


inaugurate d in 19 86 and provide d routine m onth ly m onitoring, and annual re porting for individuals w e aring TLD badge s; com pute r arch iving, of th e individuals' re sults m aintaine d for at le ast 30 ye ars; ce rtification as re q uire d of total e xposure dose ; e arly w arning w h e ne ve r th e cum ulative dose s are approach ing or h ave e xce e de d th e re com m e nde d lim its; advice on th e safe use , h andling, storage and transportation of radiation source s; and are a surve ys for ioniz ing radiation, radiation contam ination, le ak te sting and natural radioactivity in foods.

In Nove m be r 19 9 3 th e se rvice w as gre atly e xpande d unde r a National Radiation M onitoring Program m e w ith th e IAEA, w ith th e acq uisition of a h igh volum e , autom ate d H arsh aw 6600 TLD re ade r w ith a capacity of 200 cards, a glow curve de convolution program m e , and th e H arsh aw Radiation Evaluation and M anage m e nt Syste m softw are . Th is facilitate d th e adoption of th e se rvice by th e M inistry of H e alth at th e e nd of 19 9 4, th e Unive rsity H ospital of th e W e st Indie s in M arch 19 9 6, and th e se rvice h as grow n ste adily to include clie nts in th e local public and private se ctor, and re gionally in Barbados and Turk s and Caicos Islands.

To date , m ore th an tw e lve institutions including W e st Indie s Alum ina Com pany (W IND ALCO ), Air Jam aica, th e Cigare tte Com pany of Jam aica and th e Port Auth ority of Jam aica, h ave re q ue ste d radiation surve ys. In all case s th e re adings w e re w ith in th e norm al back ground radiation le ve l of 9 0 ± 9 counts pe r m inute .

Th e m ost re ce nt use r of th e pe rsonne l m onitoring se rvice is th e Port Auth ority of Jam aica, for th e m onitoring of staff w ork ing w ith or around gam m a ray scanne rs use d for th e de te ction of contraband ite m s in sh ipping containe rs. Th e unit at th e e nd of th e boom contains a 60Co source , and as th e truck drive s slow ly past th e ite m to be scanne d, a gam m a cam e ra m ounte d on th e truck produce s an im age . Th e se scanne rs w ork in a sim ilar m anne r to X- ray m ach ine s at airports, but th e cobalt- 60 gam m a rays are far m ore pe ne trating. Gam m a Ray Scanne r

Grow th of TLD D osim e te rs pe r ye ar

Nu

mb

er o

f Do

sim

eter

s

Ye ar

H arsh aw 6600 TLD Re ad e r


A re vie w of th e m onitoring of 59 0 pe rsons in Jam aica and an additional 88 in Barbados and Turk s and Caicos Islands sh ow e d th at th e annual e ffe ctive dose s (m Sv/Yr) for th e se Caribbe an radiation w ork e rs w e re w e ll w ith in inte rnationally acce pte d lim its, and com pare w e ll w ith th ose of oth e r countrie s (Grant, e t al., 2001). Th e low e st occupational dose s w e re re porte d from de ntal office s and laboratorie s in w h ich th e only source s of ionising radiation are x- ray fluore sce nce and x- ray diffraction e q uipm e nt. Substantially h igh e r dose s, th ough still w e ll w ith in th e acce pte d lim its, are re porte d from am ong th e industrial use rs and in nucle ar m e dicine . Th e pre paration of radioph arm ace uticals w ith th e re lative ly large count rate s use d for organ im aging is not e asy to pe rform w ith out som e e xposure to th e practitione rs th rough a varie ty of m e ch anism s. Th is orde r of absorbe d dose am ongst various cate gorie s of w ork e rs in Jam aica follow s th e w orld tre nd. Th e re sults are at le ast as good as th ose in th e countrie s for w h ich data are pre se nte d h e re , e xce pt pe rh aps for th e U K.

In all case s th e Caribbe an institutions m onitore d are w e ll be low th e re com m e nde d dose e q uivale nt lim its of 20 m Sv/Yr. H ow e ve r, during th e pe riod M arch - M ay, 19 9 2 tw o industrial radiograph e rs re corde d an e ffe ctive dose of 16.8 m Sv, and 12.6 m Sv, by w ork ing long h ours close to th e radiation source . Also in 19 9 2, tw o pe rsons at th e Ve te rinary Clinic h ad re corde d e ffe ctive dose s of th e orde r of 6 m Sv in one m onth , conside rably h igh e r th an pre viously re corde d dose s. Th e clinic w as visite d and it w as obse rve d th at th e assistants w ould le ave th e be am on be tw e e n e xposure s and th e n re ach across th e path of th e x- rays in orde r to adjust th e anim als in th e righ t position for film ing. In re ce nt tim e s th e re h as only be e n a single re porte d case of ove re xposure (23 m Sv) for a tw o m onth pe riod in 2001, and it w as re com m e nde d th at th at pe rson's furth e r e xposure be lim ite d.

Im m e diate ly afte r th e Ch e rnobyl nucle ar re actor accide nt in 19 86, th e gove rnm e nt re q ue ste d th e m onitoring of food im ports for possible contam ination from th e radioactive fallout, and e xporte rs re q uire d ce rtification of th e radiation le ve ls in e xports of rum , coffe e and pim e nto. As e xpe cte d th e e xports containe d only back ground le ve ls of radiation. Num e rous food im ports e .g. canne d fish , s k im m e d m ilk pow de r, infant form ula, rice , flour and ce re al, ch e e se s, w ine s and caviar w e re e xam ine d, and m ost w e re ve ry low in radioactivity. H ow e ve r, one sh ipm e nt of sk im m e d m ilk

Country Nucle ar M e dicine

D e ntal Radiology

D iagnostic Radiology

Radioth e raph y Industrial Radiograph y

Canada 1.37 0.01 0.10 0.34 3.39

Arge ntina 2.71 0.46 1.50 0.64 0.83

Braz il 1.57 0.15 0.33 1.47 1.40

India 0.65 0.15 0.24 0.70 1.84

Jam aica 0.89 0.09 0.18 0.38 0.66

U .K. 0.22 0.10 0.10 0.15 0.76

O ccupational D ose s (m Sv/Yr) for se ve ral countrie s

Th e Caribbe an Pe rform ance in Radiation Prote ction

Food M onitoring


pow de r re corde d 284 Bq /k g, ne ar to th e Canadian lim it of 300 Bq /k g, but still w e ll be low th e th e n EEC lim it of 370 Bq /k g. Th e Ce ntre re porte d th at th e radioactive contam ination value s w e re w ith in th e acce pte d lim its, but as th e re re m aine d strong conce rns, sugge ste d th at th e m ilk could be re se rve d for pe rsons above 50 ye ars of age , be cause th e ris k w as low and ve ry long pe riods are re q uire d for cance rs due to m ild radiation e xposure s to de ve lop.

Th is ge ne rate d a com m e nt from th e M ost H on. H ugh Sh e are r, th at h e h ad ne ve r h e ard a m ore callous re m ark , and th at se ttle d th at m atte r - th e m ilk w as ne ve r distribute d!

Na(Tl) low le ve l rad ioactivity counting syste m .


ICENS analyse s ve ry large num be rs of sam ple s of diffe re nt type s, and to pre ve nt cross-contam ination, use s se parate facilitie s for e ach sam ple type . Soil sie ving and initial w ash ing of crops are done unde r a te nt outdoors, and se parate sam ple pre paration room s are use d for ge ological, and plant sam ple s; a cle an room is use d for sam ple s in w h ich th e am ounts of trace e le m e nts are sm all, as is th e case w ith b iopsy tissue , blood and urine .

M e th ods

Bulk Sam ple Pre paration

< 2m m1. D ry sie ve2. Air or ove n drie d3. Grind

< 150 µm1. W e t sie ve2. D ry 70°C - 80°C)3. Grind

Soils1. W ash (using tap w ate r)2. Rinse (using distille d w ate r)3. Pe e l (if ne ce ssary)4. D ice (to re duce s iz e )5. W e igh (to de te rm ine m oisture conte nt)6. D ry7. Grind

Food Crops

Fre sh1. Cut2. W e igh

D rie d1. Cut2. W e igh3. D ry (60°C)

A nim al/H um an Tis s ue W ate r

1. Filte r (0.45 µm )2. D ire ct analysis

Blood1. D ire ct analysis

Liq uids

Analysis Te ch niq ue Pre paration

Acid dige stion of solids

A A S/FIA /TXRFSam ple s h e m olyse d

A SVGrinding pe lle tisingor fusion

Grinding and e ncapsulation

XRF NA A


Th e ge ograph ic locations of soil and food sam ple s are de te rm ine d accurate ly from 1:12,500 m aps, or by a global positioning syste m (GPS) re ce ive r. D uring th e sam ple re gistration proce ss, th e se coordinate s are ve rifie d by IKO NO S im age ry.

Approxim ate ly 2 k g of bulk soil sam ple is colle cte d and sub-sam ple d. Th e sam ple s are dry sie ve d th rough a 2m m nylon m e sh and a portion th e re of furth e r w e t sie ve d th rough a 150 µm m e sh . Th e fractions are air drie d in Kraft pape r bags at am bie nt te m pe rature , and subse q ue ntly ove n- drie d at approxim ate ly 80°C for 2 days, ground, h om oge nise d, and store d in nitric acid w ash e d polye th yle ne containe rs.

Food sam ple s from farm s, are colle cte d along w ith th e associate d soil. Som e sam ple s are colle cte d from local m ark e ts. Th e sam ple s are transporte d fre sh to ICENS, rinse d w ith tap w ate r to re m ove soil, th e n w ith distille d w ate r, and patte d dry w ith pape r tow e ls. If ne ce ssary th e e dible portions are se parate d. Afte r cutting into sm all pie ce s th e y are ove n drie d to constant w e igh t at 60°C. Th e m oisture conte nt is de te rm ine d to allow th e re porting of th e data on th e usual fre sh w e igh t basis.

Anim al k idne y and live rs, froz e n afte r sam ple colle ction are th aw e d com ple te ly prior to analysis. Exce ss fat is re m ove d from th e sam ple s and discarde d. Th e k idne ys and live rs are th e n cut into sm alle r pie ce s using a stainle ss ste e l k nife or scalpe l. Th e sam ple s are th e n ove n drie d at 60°C to constant w e igh t. Th e drie d m ate rial is th e n ground using liq uid nitroge n as an aid.

H um an k idne y and live r sam ple s are re m ove d at autopsy. Th e k idne ys are se ctione d coronally along th e long axis, and th e m e dulla disse cte d out and discarde d. A m inim um q uantity of 5g of fre sh corte x is store d on ice in acid- w ash e d, cadm ium - fre e plastic spe cim e n containe rs. Live r tissue sam ple s are tre ate d lik e w ise . Analytical portions are re m ove d from th e k idne ys and live rs w ith a scalpe l, transfe rre d to a polye th yle ne vial, dige ste d in strong acids and analyse d. Analyse s are re porte d on a fre sh w e igh t basis.

Sam pling is pe rform e d using th e finge r prick m e th od. Th e ch ild's h ands are th orough ly w ash e d w ith soap and w ate r, and th e finge rs are rinse d w ith de - ioniz e d w ate r and drie d. Afte r th e prick , th e first drop of blood is discarde d and a 50µL sam ple is tak e n for analysis.

Sam ple Colle ction and Pre paration

Food Crops

K idne ys and Live rs

Blood

Soil sie ving

Blood sam pling

Soils

Pre paring k id ne y sam ple s for analysis


Accuracy and inte rnational com parability are e nsure d by analyse s of blank s and duplicate sam ple s; by th e routine analysis of ce rtifie d re fe re nce m ate rials (CRM s) unde r ide ntical conditions to th ose of th e sam ple s; and additionally by re gular ch e ck analyse s using m ore th an one te ch niq ue in ICENS, and by analyse s in oth e r laboratorie s. Such controls are e spe cially ne ce ssary w h e n large num be rs of sam ple s are be ing analyse d by autom ate d or se m i- autom ate d m e th ods. Th e ce rtifie d re fe re nce m ate rials are ch ose n w ith e le m e ntal com positions as ne ar as possible to th e unk now n sam ple s, and agre e m e nt of our data w ith th e ce rtifie d value s is ge ne rally be tte r th an ± 5- 10 % . H ow e ve r, CRM s are ve ry e xpe nsive and som e Jam aican soils contain re m ark able le ve ls of iron, alum inium , rare e arth e le m e nts and cadm ium . An in- h ouse re fe re nce m ate rial h as th e re fore be e n de ve lope d.

A typical Jam aican bauxitic soil re fe re nce m ate rial (SO J) h as be e n de ve lope d afte r e xte nsive analysis at ICENS, by th e Instituto de Pe sq uisas Ene rge ticas e Nucle are s (IPEN) in Braz il, and by th e Ge ological Surve y of Canada. Sm all q uantitie s of th is m ate rial m ay be m ade available on re q ue st.

ICENS ope rate s tw o ve ry pow e rful com ple m e ntary nucle ar te ch niq ue s w h ich provide e norm ous analytical pow e r for a w ide range of e le m e nts.

Ne utron Activation Analysis (NAA) is th e flagsh ip analytical m e th od of ICENS. It is probably th e m ost pow e rful of e le m e ntal analytical te ch niq ue s, and is an im portant re fe re nce m e th od against w h ich oth e r te ch niq ue s are fre q ue ntly com pare d. Th e principle of NAA is th at a nucle us w ill absorb ne utrons to produce a ch aracte ristic radionuclide th at usually e m its gam m a rays. Com pute rise d data re duction of th e colle cte d gam m a ray spe ctra allow s th e e le m e nts in th e sam ple

Nucle ar A nalytical Laboratory

Ne utron Activation A nalys is

A nalytical Q uality Control

In- h ous e Re fe re nce Soil

Ne utron Activation Analysis


to be ide ntifie d and q uantifie d w ith e xq uisite se nsitivity. Th e e q uation w h ich de scribe s th e ne utron activation analysis proce ss, giving th e activity A, of a m ass of m gram s of sam ple is :

w h e re : ti, td and tc = irradiation, cooling (th e pe riod be tw e e n irradiation and m e asure m e nt), and sam ple counting tim e in se conds; = th e rm al ne utron flux; N = Avogadro's num be r, 6.023×1023 atom s/ m ole ; = abundance of th e activate d nuclide ; = absorption cross- se ction of th e irradiate d spe cie s; = gam m a e m ission probability; = conce ntration of analyte ; m = sam ple m ass; = e ffe ctive th e rm al ne utron flux; = e fficie ncy of th e counting syste m ; M = m ole cular m ass of th e targe t e le m e nt; and = de cay constant of th e radioisotope produce d. Be cause of th e re m ark able stability of SLO W PO KE, an activation constant can be m e asure d for e ach e le m e nt, and using th is th e e le m e ntal conce ntration in th e sam ple is give n by

Analyse s are usually done w ith out ch e m ical pre - tre atm e nt of th e sam ple , th us avoiding proble m s re late d to incom ple te dissolution, for e xam ple of soils and rock s; loss of volatile s; pote ntial contam ination; and additional e xpe nse . M ore ove r, s ince ne utrons inte ract dire ctly w ith th e atom ic nucle i, th e state of ch e m ical com bination is not re le vant. Th e ore tically, som e 70% of th e 88 naturally occurring e le m e nts can be de te rm ine d by NAA.

Th e Jam aica SLO W PO KE h as five available irradiation site s. Th e ne utron flux around th e core is radially h om oge ne ous, w ith le ss th an a 1% diffe re nce be tw e e n th e four inne r s ite s. A pne um atic syste m is use d for sam ple transfe r to and from th e re actor core . Irradiation tim e s range from se conds to h ours de pe nding on th e h alf- live s of th e radionuclide s involve d.

NA A at ICENS

SLOWPOKE

θρ

NAA gam m a spe ctrum

Irrad iation controlle r Sam ple re ce ive r

A =ϕ N θ σ γ ρ m Φ ε

(1 - e - ti ) (e - td) (1 - e - tc)λ λλ

M λ

γσ

ϕ

εΦ

C = [CW

standardstandard

sam pleW sam ple ][

A sam ple e - tλ standard

A standard e - tλ sam ple ]

λ


An in- pool irradiation syste m h as be e n de ve lope d for sam ple s up to about 20 g. Th e incre ase d sam ple siz e com pe nsate s for th e 9 0% re duction in ne utron flux, but th e analytical sim plicity suffe rs. Ne ve rth e le ss, th e syste m can be e spe cially use ful, w h e n, as w ith analysis of gold, th e re m ay be a strong nugge t e ffe ct and th e re fore large r sam ple s are de sirable . ICENS pre se ntly routine ly m e asure s th e conce ntrations of about 54 e le m e nts at parts pe r m illion (ppm ), or parts pe r billion (ppb) lim its of de te ction, de pe nding on th e particular e le m e nt and th e sam ple m atrix. Th e se lim its could e ve n be re duce d by use of post- irradiation se paration te ch niq ue s but, for th e tim e be ing at le ast, no radioch e m ical se parations are allow e d.

Th e induce d gam m a radioactivity is m e asure d w ith one of four h igh - re solution gam m a spe ctroscopy syste m s using solid- state ge rm anium de te ctors. Tw o syste m s are de dicate d to sh ort- live d radionuclide s; th e oth e r tw o, are conne cte d to autom ate d sam ple ch ange rs, for unatte nde d counting ove r longe r pe riods.

Th e m inim um am ounts of e le m e nts th at can be de te cte d in routine NAA at ICENS are sh ow n:

To date th e SLO W PO KE h as pe rform e d ove r 30,000 irradiations on som e 75,000 sam ple s, of rock s, se dim e nts, soils, plants, foods, and h um an and anim al tissue s.

NAA analysis is not possible or is inconve nie nt for se ve ral im portant e le m e nts such as coppe r, le ad, m agne sium , nick e l, ph osph orus, and potassium . For th e se , e ne rgy dispe rsive X- ray Fluore sce nce (ED XRF) is one of th e m ost conve nie nt analytical m e th ods, offe ring m ulti- e le m e nt de te rm ination w ith ve ry little or no sam ple pre paration. In ED XRF th e sam ple absorbs incide nt x- rays and fluore sce s w ith its ow n ch aracte ristic X- rays. A spe ctrom e te r consists of an X- ray source , se m iconductor X- ray de te ctor, spe ctrum analyse r and com pute r. Th e first ED XRF unit w as se tup in

D e te ction Lim it(µg/g)

Ele m e nts

0.01 Au, Ir, Sm

0.01 - 0.1 D y, Eu, Im , As, H o, La, Lu, Sb, Sc, Th , U , W , Rh0.1 - 1 Ag, Co, M n, Se , V, Cr, Cs, Ga, Gd, H f, Nd, Ta, Tb, Yb

1 - 100 Al, Ba, Cl, Na, Sb, Sr, Ti, Cd, Ce , Fe , M o, Ni, Pt, Rb, Cu, Z n, Z r

100 - 1000 Ca, K, M g1000 Si, Sn, S

Se ns itivity

X-Ray Fluore s ce nce

Ene rgy D ispe rsive X- Ray Fluore sce nce

Autom atic Sam ple Ch ange r/Gam m a Counting Syste m

G am m a Spe ctros copy Sys te m


19 84 w ith a Sie m e ns M olybde num X- ray tube and ge ne rator, Canbe rra Si(Li) X- ray de te ctor and a M ultich anne l Analyse r. Th e sam ple s are in th e form of pe lle ts and th e e xcitation m e th od utilise s a num be r of se condary targe ts to provide an optim ise d X- ray be am .

In 19 9 9 , a Ke ve x ED X- 771 X- ray fluore sce nce spe ctrom e te r w as installe d w ith a 16 position sam ple ch ange r and e nh ance d analysis softw are th at allow e d for im prove d sam ple th rough put. Th e de te ction lim its are ge ne rally low parts pe r m illion and th e accuracy is usually be tte r th an ± 5% .

Total re fle ction X- Ray fluore sce nce analysis (TXRF) is ultra se nsitive to am ounts dow n to a picogram m e (one m illionth of a m illionth of a gram ) of som e e le m e nts. It is s im ilar to ED XRF e xce pt th at th e incide nt angle of th e x- rays on th e sam ple , place d on a flat q uartz re fle ctor, is ve ry sm all. Th e sam ple is e xcite d by both th e incide nt and th e re fle cte d be am , and scatte ring at th e de te ctor is m inim al, im proving th e se nsitivity by orde rs of m agnitude , com pare d w ith conve ntional XRF.

Total Re fle ction X- Ray Fluore s ce nce

TXRF Analyse r

ED XRF Spe ctrum

Ke ve x ED X- 771 Spe ctrom e te r

Sam ple pe lle ts

TXRF sam ple carouse lTXRF spe ctra


Th e ICENS TXRF analyz e r w as installe d in August 2003. It is a state of th e art unit de signe d and built by Atom institut in Vie nna, Austria, w h e re th is te ch niq ue w as pione e re d som e 20 ye ars ago. It consists of a m olybde num x- ray tube , an autom atic sam ple ch ange r, a silicon drift de te ctor w ith 140 e V e ne rgy re solution at 5.9 k e V, w h ich utiliz e s th e Pe ltie r e ffe ct for cooling e lim inating th e ne e d for liq uid nitroge n, and a spe ctrum analyz e r. It is curre ntly be ing use d in h e alth re late d re se arch , to m e asure th e ofte n e xtre m e ly low conce ntrations of e sse ntial and pote ntially toxic e le m e nts in h um an tissue and body fluids. Th is e xtre m e se nsitivity provide s a re m ark able opportunity for th e inve stigation of biological tissue s and th e influe nce of trace e le m e nts on h um an h e alth .

Th is laboratory analyse s sam ple s in solution and solids m ust e ith e r be e xtracte d or dissolve d, as appropriate . Th is ofte n re q uire s th e use of conce ntrate d acid m ixture s. In addition to th e instrum e ntal te ch niq ue s, standard w e t ch e m istry m e th ods such as titrations and pH m e asure m e nts are carrie d out as re q uire d.

Atom ic Absorption Spe ctrom e try (AAS) is a pow e rful te ch niq ue base d on absorption of m onoch rom atic ligh t by atom s. Th e spe ctroscopic m e asure m e nts are pe rform e d on sam ple s introduce d into an air/ace tyle ne or nitrous oxide /ace tyle ne flam e , or an e le ctrically h e ate d graph ite furnace . A be am of ligh t suitable for th e e le m e nt of inte re st is dire cte d th rough th e atom ise d sam ple . Th e am ount of ligh t absorbe d, afte r corre ction for back ground radiation and oth e r inte rfe re nce s, allow s th e calculation of th e conce ntration of th e e le m e nt of inte re st according to th e Be e r Lam be rt Law . Since 19 9 8, ICENS h as be e n ope rating a dual m ode Pe rk in Elm e r 5100PC Atom ic Absorption Spe ctrom e te r. In th e flam e m ode , th e se nsitivity is in th e ppm conce ntration range . In th e graph ite furnace m ode , m uch low e r conce ntrations can be m e asure d.

Som e im portant e le m e nts such as arse nic and se le nium can be m e asure d at ve ry h igh se nsitivity by a variation of th e te ch niq ue calle d H ydride Ge ne ration AAS. Th is involve s re duction to th e volatile h ydride s, w h ich are sw e pt from solution by a stre am of argon gas into a h e ate d q uartz tube . Th is e lim inate s m atrix inte rfe re nce s and im prove s th e se nsitivity by a factor of 100 to 1,000 tim e s ove r th at of flam e AAS. M e rcury is m e asure d sim ilarly using th e Cold Vapour AAS te ch niq ue . Th e m e rcury in a sam ple is re duce d to th e e le m e ntal form , and vaporise d into th e ligh t absorbing path . Low ppb conce ntrations can be de te rm ine d.

Solutions A nalys is Laboratory

A tom ic A bs orption Spe ctrom e try

Flam e Atom ic Absorption Spe ctrom e try

Atom ic Absorption Spe ctrom e te r


At ICENS, AAS is be ing use d for th e m e asure m e nt of e sse ntial nutrie nt e le m e nts (calcium , coppe r, iron, m agne sium , m angane se , potassium , sodium , and z inc) and th e pote ntially h az ardous arse nic, cadm ium , le ad, and m e rcury in foods. It provide s an accurate , pre cise and re liable m e th od for se q ue ntially m e asuring a suite of th e se e le m e nts across th e range of conce ntrations at w h ich th e y e xist in food crops. It is also incre asingly be ing use d on e xtracts pe rform e d unde r m ild conditions, to provide e stim ate s of bioavailability, and to analyse th e soil pore w ate rs - both im portant indicators of th e lik e ly e ffe cts of th e e le m e nts in soils on plant and anim al life .

Autopsy and biopsy tissue s are also be ing analyse d and m e th ods are be ing asse sse d for analysis of h e avy m e tals in urine as indicators of h um an e xposure . It is e xpe cte d th at AAS w ill contribute s ignificantly to th e analyse s of furth e r biological sam ple s, as th e h e alth - re late d aspe cts of re se arch acce le rate .

In Ion Ch rom atograph y (IC) th e sam ple is inje cte d onto an ion e xch ange re sin, and th e ions are e lute d se q ue ntially, th e m ost w e ak ly bound e xiting first. Th e ions are m e asure d w ith a suitable de te ctor. In 19 9 0 a D ione x® Se rie s 4500i ion ch rom atograph w as obtaine d. Th e de te ctors on th is instrum e nt are base d on e le ctrical conductivity and spe ctroph otom e try.

Flow Inje ction Analysis (FIA) autom ate s traditional spe ctroph otom e tric te ch niq ue s. It h as th e advantage of be ing able to analyse solutions containing h igh conce ntrations of dissolve d solids and is particularly use ful for brack ish or se aw ate r sam ple s. In FIA, a sm all, pre cise volum e of sam ple is

A A S A pplications at ICENS

Ion Ch rom atograph y

D ione x® 4500i Ion Ch rom atograph

H yd rid e ge ne ration AAS

Flow Inje ction A nalys is

IC Flow d iagram and output trace


inje cte d into a continuously flow ing carrie r stre am and m e rge d w ith re age nt stre am s on a m anifold. Th is produce s a coloure d com pound, th e optical absorbance of w h ich is m e asure d w ith a flow - th rough de te ctor to de te rm ine th e conce ntration.

In 19 9 5 a Lach at® FIA instrum e nt w as obtaine d for th e low le ve l de te rm ination of nitrate , nitrite , orth oph osph ate , am m onia and silicate . Th e unit h as also assiste d nutrie nt analysis by graduate stude nts carrying out e nvironm e ntal re se arch at U W I and U TECH , and in m arine and fre sh w ate r analyse s for organisations involve d in e nvironm e ntal im pact asse ssm e nts. An im portant ne w application of FIA at ICENS is th e m e asure m e nt of cre atinine in urine , an im portant param e te r for use in e valuating h e avy m e tal e xposure in h um ans.

Th e Solutions Lab adds conside rable de pth to ICENS' alre ady im pre ssive analytical capabilitie s. Th e ability of th e laboratory to also pe rform traditional non- instrum e ntal w e t ch e m istry te ch niq ue s (e .g. organic carbon by W alk e ly- Black m e th od) provide s additional analytical data using e stablish e d re fe re nce te ch niq ue s.

Lach at® Flow Inje ction Analyse r

FIA sch e m atic


Environm e ntal ge och e m istry de als w ith th e ch e m istry of th e total e nvironm e nt and its e ffe cts on th e cre ature s th at inh abit th e b iosph e re . Conse q ue ntly, th e re are num e rous applications e .g. in agriculture , natural re source s, prote ction of th e e nvironm e nt, nutrition and h e alth , and land use . Th is is th e corne rstone of th e pre se nt w ork of ICENS.

Th e drive for national de ve lopm e nt, couple d w ith incre ase d conce rn about th e state of th e local and global e nvironm e nts, h as raise d e nvironm e ntal consciousne ss w orldw ide . Th e im pacts of population grow th , agricultural e xpansion, and industrial de ve lopm e nt are incre asingly obvious and m any countrie s h ave introduce d program m e s and le gislation in th e h ope of obtaining e conom ic be ne fits w h ile arre sting or re ve rsing h arm ful tre nds. D ue in no sm all part to th e re m ark able advance s in ch e m ical analysis, ch e m istry and ge och e m istry are m ak ing vital contributions to solving e nvironm e ntal proble m s. Furth e rm ore , th e advance s in com pute rise d data storage and h andling, including Ge ograph ical Inform ation Syste m s (GIS) and Global Positioning Syste m s (GPS), m ak e it possible to store and h andle th e e norm ous m asse s of data ne e de d to clarify th e source s, re actions, transport, e ffe cts, and fate s of ch e m ical spe cie s in th e b iosph e re . Th e pow e r of m ode rn tools and m e th ods h as profoundly alte re d e nvironm e ntal inve stigations and th e unde rstanding of th e inte raction of th e e nvironm e nt w ith h um an life .

Jam aica lie s on th e north w e st rim of th e Caribbe an plate , and m ay be re garde d as th e e aste rly tip of th e Nicaragua Rise . Th e island is principally a Cre tace ous volcano- plutonic arc. It is m ountainous and e xte nsive ly faulte d. About tw o- th irds of th e island h as a lim e stone base , one group of w h ich , th e W h ite Lim e stone Group, accum ulate d during late Eoce ne /e arly M ioce ne tim e s, is now th e large st surface form ation of th e island.

Environm e ntal Ge och e m istry of

Jam aica

G e ology and G e och e m is try of Jam aica


Th e M ioce ne w as a pe riod of inte nse volcanic activity. Th e re w as e xte nsive volcanism in Jam aica but th is pale d in com parison w ith as m any as 580 m ainly ande sitic volcanoe s th at e xiste d in Ce ntral Am e rica, along a continuous be lt w ith 40 significant inde pe nde nt e difice s (W e yl, 19 80; Carr and Stoibe r, 19 9 0). Th e ir activity cove re d m uch of th e Caribbe an w ith ash laye rs so e xte nsive th at th e y indicate one of th e m ajor k now n e xplosive volcanic e pisode s. Th e ash th at fe ll on th e uplifte d and k arstifie d lim e stone platform of proto- Jam aica, toge th e r pe rh aps w ith locally ge ne rate d m ate rial, w ould h ave be e n le ach e d and re w ork e d ove r m illions of ye ars, le ading to th e loss of soluble m ate rial and conce ntration of re sistate se condary m ine rals in th e te rra rossa soils. O ne re sult h as be e n th e oxidise d bauxitic soils w ith th e ir e le vate d iron and alum inium le ve ls, th e latte r of w h ich today m ak e Jam aica a w orld le ade r in bauxite production.

For so sm all an island Jam aica h as a re m ark ably dive rse ge ological profile and th e soils re fle ct th is.

Base line air q uality data h ave be e n obtaine d using h igh volum e and PM 10 sam ple rs (for re spirable siz e s), w ith filte r pape r as th e colle ction m e dium . Ele m e ntal analyse s w e re carrie d out w ith NAA and XRF. In ge ne ral th e obse rve d value s are w ith in th e W orld H e alth O rganisation's (W H O ) standards e xce pt for H arbour Vie w , Kingston, and M onte go Bay w h e re th e obse rve d m e ans are 70, 100, and 110 µg m - 3 re spe ctive ly, com pare d w ith th e W H O lim it of 60 µg m - 3. Th e m e an le ad conce ntrations in th e particulate s in th e m ajor city ce ntre s w e re at th e uppe r lim its se t by W H O, and th e m e asure d Br/Pb ratio (0.382) in particulate s island w ide corre late d w e ll w ith th at obse rve d in le ade d gasoline , re ve aling, as m igh t be e xpe cte d, th at gasoline w as th e m ajor contributor to le ad in th e atm osph e re .

D uring 19 9 2- 19 9 6, ICENS participate d in a 15 country IAEA Coordinate d Re se arch Proje ct (CRP) to colle ct data for th e Back ground Air Pollution M onitoring Ne tw ork Program of th e W orld M e te orological O rganiz ation using th e PM 2.5 particulate fractions (< 2 µm ) th at re adily pe ne trate s de e ply into th e re spiratory syste m . Th e ave rage conce ntrations w e re 13µg m - 3 for th e fine s (PM 2.5) and 17µg m - 3 for th e coarse (PM 10), w h ich are be low th e U SEPA lim its of 15µg m - 3 and 50µg m - 3 re spe ctive ly. Th e e le m e ntal data are w ith in w orld standards and sh ow th e patte rns e xpe cte d e .g. in

A ir Q uality M onitoring

Alluvium

Coastal Group

W h ite Lim e stone

Ye llow Lim e stone

W agw ate r and Rich m ond Form ations and ne w castle Volcanics

Se dim e ntary and Volcanic Rock s, Se rpe ntinite and Sch ists

Cre tace ous Inlie rs :1 - H anove r2 - M arch m ont3 - Sunde rland4 - Ce ntral5 - Above Rock s6 - Be nbow7 - Blue M ountainsSim plifie d Ge ology of Jam aica


bauxitic are as th e Al conce ntrations are h igh , and th e le ad conce ntrations are som e 5 to 35 tim e s gre ate r in urban th an in rural are as.

D uring 19 9 7- 2002, ICENS participate d in a 15 country (Africa, Asia, Europe , Latin Am e rica and th e Caribbe an) IAEA Coordinate d Re se arch Proje ct (CRP) for th e Back ground Air Pollution M onitoring Ne tw ork Program of th e W orld M e te orological O rganiz ation (W M O ) to validate suitable e piph ytic plants for air pollution studie s. W e de m onstrate d th at th e w ide ly distribute d Tilland sia ge nus w as h igh ly suitable for th is purpose . Biom onitoring h as contribute d to our ow n studie s of th e distribution of le ad pollution in Jam aica. Th e m e th odology de ve lope d by th e participants during th is proje ct h as be e n adopte d by th e IAEA and is re com m e nde d for use in oth e r tropical countrie s.

Base line data for 240 sam ple s of Jam aica's surface and unde rground w ate rs, h ave be e n obtaine d on: biological and ch e m ical oxyge n de m ands, dissolve d oxyge n, fae cal coliform , h ardne ss, alk alinity, pH , conductivity, and th e conce ntrations of sodium , potassium , m agne sium , h e avy m e tals such as Cd, Cr, Cu, H g, Ni, Pb and Z n, and th e anions ch loride , fluoride , nitrate , orth oph osph ate and sulph ate .

H igh nitrate and fae cal coliform value s w e re found to be associate d w ith som e w e lls in th e Kingston m e tropolitan re gion and on th e agricultural alluvial plains of south Clare ndon. Ph osph ate value s are distribute d ove r a sim ilar patte rn as nitrate , re fle cting th e lik e lih ood of fe rtilise r source s. Sodium le ve ls in ground w ate r source s ne ar th e coast sh ow th e w e ll k now n e ffe cts of saline intrusion. Th e h e avy m e tal conce ntrations w e re ve ry low .

H igh loadings of nitrate , orth oph osph ate , s ilicate , and am m onia w e re found in th e Low e r M orass of th e Black Rive r in St. Eliz abe th , an are a th at is prote cte d unde r th e Ram sar Conve ntion, w h ich provide s for inte rnational coope ration in th e conse rvation of w e tland h abitats, containing m any e nde m ic and e ndange re d spe cie s. Th e rapid grow th of ph ytoplank ton th at can re sult from h igh nutrie nt le ve ls can cause asph yxiation of aq uatic life th at de pe nds on dissolve d oxyge n in th e w ate r for survival.

Th e conce ntrations of th e se nutrie nts in sam ple s colle cte d from th e Black Rive r and its m ain tributarie s, and along a transe ct into th e Black Rive r Bay, cle arly de m onstrate th e e ffe cts of fe rtiliz e r runoff from th e surrounding agricultural lands.

Biom onitoring

W ate r

Th e Black Rive r M oras s

Tilland sia Re curvata (k now n as old m an's b e ard )

Th e Black Rive r flow ing th rough th e Low e r M orass


Th is is th e base program m e for m ost of th e agricultural and h e alth e nvironm e ntal inve stigations and applications of ICENS. Large am ounts of ge ograph ically re fe re nce d and oth e r data are at h and and th e q uantity is ste adily incre asing. Virtually all th e 88 naturally occurring e le m e nts, can be found in soils, and, since soil is th e basic m ate rial on w h ich h um ans de pe nd, a k now le dge of th e le ve ls and distribution of th e se e le m e nts is e sse ntial to m any activitie s. Se ve ral re gions in Jam aica use d e xte nsive ly for crop- production contain soils th at are e nrich e d in h e avy m e tals. For th e e sse ntial and be ne ficial e le m e nts th is is lik e ly to be fine ; th e pote ntially toxic e le m e nts m ay, h ow e ve r, be of both trade and public h e alth conce rns.

Approxim ate ly 6,700 k ilom e tre s of roads and track s w e re trave rse d by a Land Rove r drive n by M r. Patrick (H arry) M cClarty, w ith a rigidly m ounte d 6" × 4" inch sodium iodide scintillation de te ctor. Th e gam m a activity w as re corde d on a strip ch art re corde r.

Th e low e st dose rate s so far re corde d in th e island (<2µR/h ), are in th e Blue M ountain Inlie r. Th e lim e stone s of th e Coastal Group, w h ich form a narrow discontinuous be lt 2- 5 k m in w idth along th e north e rn and south - w e ste rn coasts of th e island, h ave gam m a dose rate s be low 4µR/h , and th e re are s im ilar le ve ls on adjace nt form ations.

G e och e m ical M apping of Jam aica

Radioactivity

Na(Tl) gam m a rad iation d e te ctor

Th orium

pe rce ntile

m g/k g

Uranium

pe rce ntile

m g/k g

5.3 7.5 14.1

50 75 9 5 pe rce ntile

R/h rµ

Radiationγ Bauxite


Ave rage or be low ave rage gam m a activitie s are ge ne rally obse rve d across th e Cre tace ous inlie rs alth ough th e re are som e sm all outcrops w ith h igh e r value s. Th e re are se ve ral sligh tly radioactive m ine ral springs in Jam aica, but only th e Black Rive r Spring in St. Eliz abe th se e m s to be associate d w ith surface activity. M ost of th e activity of th e springs appe ars to be de rive d from de e p unde rground source s (Vince nz , 19 59 ). D ose rate s of up to 20 µR/h are found ove r th e Above Rock s Cre tace ous inlie r, and are probably due to uranium . Th e h igh e st value s se e m to be associate d w ith iron- staine d sh e ar structure s transe cting th e Borde r Volcanics (Lalor e t al., 19 89 ).

W h ile th e patte rn of back ground gam m a activity in Jam aica re fle cts m any of th e fe ature s of th e be drock ge ology, th e distribution of th e h igh e r value s m atch e s alm ost ide ntically th at of bauxite , de spite th e low radioactivity of th e lim e stone s unde rlying th e bauxite soils. Th e re se m blance of th e gam m a distribution m ap w ith th at of alum inium is so re m ark able th at gam m a ray m apping m igh t w e ll be an aid to bauxite e xploration in Jam aica.

Th e se facts, and:

sugge st th at th e activity is due m ainly to uranium and th orium , adsorbe d on iron oxide s in bauxite , and th at th e re is le ach ing of uranium and th orium daugh te rs from bauxite s on th e surrounding h igh e r ground, w ith th e ir fixation in th e pe aty m orasse s in th e valle ys.

Soil is a significant source of th e radon isotope s, 220Rn and 222Rn, gase ous daugh te rs of th orium and uranium re spe ctive ly, and diffusion of th e se is a significant, som e tim e s dom inant, source of th e gas in h om e s. Radon le ve ls in Jam aican soils h ave be e n inve stigate d at 16 rural site s, w ith in an are a of h igh e r radioactivity in St. Eliz abe th . Th e ave rage radon activity w as 185 Bq /k g, substantially h igh e r th an th e w orld ave rage of 26 Bq /k g. D am age due to th e h igh e ne rgy alph a particle e m issions from radon can le ad to lung cance r, and radon is th e se cond gre ate st cause of th is in th e U SA. H ow e ve r, ge ne rally, th e ope n de signs of h om e s and th e s h ort life tim e of its longe st live d isotope w ill re duce e xposure in m ost instance s.

Th e m ain factors de te rm ining th e gam m a inte nsitie s in Jam aica are not th e lith ology, but th e conce ntration and re - distribution of radioe le m e nts, by w e ath e ring, le ach ing, and fixation, from th e original de posits. Th is vie w is re inforce d by th e occasional h igh uranium conte nt of ground and surface w ate rs in bauxitic are as in St. Eliz abe th . O n th e basis of th e pre se nt w ork , th e e nvironm e ntal im plications of th e natural radioactivity in Jam aica appe ar to be sm all, e xce pt th at som e caution m ay be appropriate in se le cting applications for th e re d m ud w aste s, and th e re is th e possibility of conce ntration in tobacco and agricultural crops.

Radon

1. th e s im ilarity of th e gam m a ray distribution w ith th ose of th orium and uranium ;

2. th e radioactivity of th e re d m ud w aste ;

3. th e obse rvation th at th e h igh e st surface e xposure rate s w e re found on th e alluvial and m arsh de posits in St. Eliz abe th e .g. th e Black Rive r M orass, in m ark e d contrast to th ose of th e Ne gril M orass;


Since little ge och e m ical m apping h ad pre viously be e n done in Jam aica, a de taile d orie ntation study w as ne ce ssary. Six sam ple site s th at cove r th e m ain lith ologic and clim atic z one s of Jam aica w e re se le cte d. Sam ple s w e re analyse d in Jam aica for 35 e le m e nts and in England by th e Britsh Ge ological Surve y, using ne utron activation analysis, X- Ray fluore sce nce analysis, and dire ct re ading optical e m ission spe ctrom e try.

Th e optim al sam pling m e dium for a re gional ge och e m ical surve y of Jam aica w as sh ow n to be th e <150 µm (<100 m e sh ) fraction of soil. Jam aican soils contain a h igh proportion of th is fine - fraction m ate rial, w h ich provide s be tte r ge och e m ical diffe re ntiation th an oth e r sam ple m e dia, and sh ow m inim al variation of e le m e nt conce ntrations w ith particle siz e . Th e sam pling m e th od is ve ry robust.

Am ong th e advantage s offe re d by th is s iz e fraction are th e m ark e d re duction in sam ple pre paration tim e and re duce d w e ar on e q uipm e nt, w h ich re duce s cost - ofte n a ve ry significant factor. Th is fraction is also now an inte rnationally re com m e nde d standard for m ulti- e le m e nt and m ultipurpose re gional ge och e m ical surve ys of soils and stre am se dim e nts (D arnle y e t al., 19 9 5), and th e data are th e re fore com patible w ith th e global ge och e m ical database .

Th is study e stablish e d th e sam pling and sam ple pre paration m e th odologie s, and fine tune d se ve ral of th e te ch niq ue s use d in th e subse q ue nt w ork .

M any of th e naturally occurring e le m e nts h ave biological e ffe cts. Som e are ne ce ssary in q uite large am ounts, oth e rs are e sse ntial at low conce ntrations but de ficie ncie s can le ad to dise ase or de ath . M any are toxic e ve n at low conce ntrations and e xposure to th e se , and to all radioactive e le m e nts, is re stricte d to th e low e st possible le ve ls ach ie vable . Th e re gional surve ys provide an ove rall picture of th e le ve ls of occurre nce and th e distribution of th e e le m e nts th at can be m e asure d, and provide th e back ground for m ore de taile d studie s. Th is surve y w as done at a de nsity of 1 sam ple in 64 k m 2 using surface sam ple s colle cte d from be tw e e n 5 and 30 cm de pth . D ata are now available for 54 e le m e nts on th is scale island- w ide , and at m uch h igh e r sam ple de nsity for m uch of ce ntral Jam aica. Th e trace e le m e nt ge och e m istry of Jam aican soils is e xtre m e ly variable due to th e ir dive rse pare nt m ate rials, varying m aturity (age s range from re ce nt to > 5 m illion ye ars), and th e varie ty of soil form ing proce sse s. Th e le ach ing h as

Th e Re gional G e och e m ical Surve y

Pe riod ic Table of Ele m e nts

Soil G e och e m is try

O rie ntation Surve y


le d to de ple tion of silica and base cations, Ca2+ , M g2+ , Na+ and K+ , and th e re by to e le vate d Fe and Al le ve ls typical of th e e conom ically vital te rra rossas, w ith th e ir e nh ance d conce ntrations of se ve ral h e avy m e tals. As sh ow n in th e pe riodic table above , m any of th e naturally occurring e le m e nts are b iologically active and, to add to th e com ple xity, th e re can be both antagonistic and syne rgistic inte ractions be tw e e n m any pairs of th e se e le m e nts.

All th e e le m e nts e sse ntial to plants, e xce pt boron, are e sse ntial to h um ans w h o also re q uire m any m ore . Th e se e le m e nts are obtaine d from th e soils in w h ich th e plants are grow n, or th e anim als th at consum e th e plants, and th e re fore th e conce ntrations in soils can be im portant for agriculture and for h e alth , e spe cially for com m unitie s th at e at m ainly locally grow n foods. A fe w e xam ple s illustrate typical data now h e ld in th e ICENS database .

Th e re is no e vide nce th at Cr is e sse ntial to plants, and th ough it is poorly absorbe d by h um ans th rough th e gastrointe stinal tract, it is e sse ntial as an insulin co-factor in glucose and lipid m e tabolism .

H e xavale nt ch rom ium is toxic to anim als and m an, but th e m argin be tw e e n e sse ntiality and toxicity is w ide . Eve n in pollute d soils th e poor translocation of Cr(III) from roots to oth e r plant parts m ak e s th e accum ulation of ch rom ium in th e food ch ain via plants unlik e ly (Adriano, 19 86). Th e possible source s of Cr pollution in Jam aica are : fe rtiliz e rs, pe trole um re fining, le ath e r tanning, and pow e r plants.

Th e ch rom ium conte nt of th e h um an body is rath e r low and h igh ly variable . Th e total am ount can be as little as 1 m g but m ay re ach 12 m g. Th e range in blood is 6- 100 ppb, in bone 100- 300 ppb, and in tissue 25- 800 ppb. Ch rom ium de ficie ncy in both h um ans and anim als can re sult in im paire d glucose tole rance , e le vate d blood glucose le ve ls and th e de ve lopm e nt of aortic plaq ue s. Alth ough total ch rom ium conce ntrations in Jam aican soils appe ar h igh , m ore de taile d inform ation on its distribution and availability is de sirable be cause of th e possible re lationsh ip be tw e e n die tary intak e s of ch rom ium and obe sity and diabe te s - com m on h e alth proble m s in Jam aica. Th is is now re ce iving atte ntion.

Ch rom ium (Cr) Ch rom ium

pe rce ntile

m g/k g

Es s e ntial Ele m e nts

ESSENTIAL ELEM ENTS FO R PLANTS AND H UM ANS

NITRO GEN

PO TASSIUM

CALCIUM

M AGNESIUM

PH O SPH O RUS

SU LFUR

M ANGANESE

IRO N

CH LO RINE

Z INC

CO PPER

M O LYBD ENUM

NICKEL

BO RO N

PLANTS H UM ANSNITRO GEN

PO TASSIUM

CALCIUM

M AGNESIUM

PH O SPH O RUS

SU LFUR

M ANGANESE

IRO N

CH LO RINE

Z INC

CO PPER

M O LYBD ENUM

NICKEL

SO D IUM

FLU O RINE

IO D INE

SELENIUM

SILICO N

CH RO M IUM

ARSENIC

VANAD IUM

CO BALT

TIN

H UM ANS REQU IRE M O RE M ICRO NU TRIENTS AND H AVE A H IGH ER SO D IUM REQU IREM ENT TH AN PLANTS.


Iodine in soil is m ainly obtaine d from se a spray and th e h igh e st conce ntrations are ge ne rally found in coastal re gions. Iodine is e sse ntial for plants, com m only in th e range 0.1 to 1 ppm , and plant uptak e follow s th e soil iodine conte nt. D e ficie ncy sym ptom s in plants, ofte n re se m bling e xce ss salt e ffe cts lik e ch lorosis, h ave be e n re porte d for le ve ls be low 0.05 ppm . Iodine is an e sse ntial m icronutrie nt for m an and farm anim als. D e ficie ncy is com m on in h um ans, affe cting alm ost one billion pe ople w orld- w ide , and is a m ajor cause of e nde m ic goitre and cre tinism . Th e se proble m s occur particularly in inne r- contine ntal re gions of Africa and Asia, but also in an island as sm all Sri Lank a w h ich re ce ive s a h igh iodine influx from th e oce an. Th is s h ow s th at h um an iodine assim ilation m ay be m e diate d by com ple x e nvironm e ntal factors, of w h ich se le nium availability is now conside re d particularly im portant. Alth ough goitre doe s e xist in Jam aica it w ould se e m th at th e re is sufficie nt iodine available in m ost are as and in any case iodise d table salt is com m on. Iodine de ficie ncy sh ould not, th e re fore , be a m ajor proble m .

M angane se is an e sse ntial m icronutrie nt for all spe cie s including plants, and a catalyst in th e oxyge n- e volving re action of ph otosynth e sis. M angane se de ficie ncie s in plants are com m only obse rve d on w e ll-draine d ne utral or sligh tly alk aline soils due to th e insolubility of th e oxide s and h ydroxide s. Toxic le ve ls m ay occur in acidic soils and can le ad to an iron de ficie ncy or to M n toxicity be cause of an incre ase d availability and plant uptak e of m angane se .

Th ough it is e sse ntial, h um ans re q uire only m ode st am ounts of M n. Th e blood contains 2- 8 ppb, bone 0.2- 100 ppm and tissue 0.2- 2 ppm . Its role in h um an m e tabolism is not fully unde rstood but it functions both as an e nz ym e activator and as a constitue nt of m e talloe nz ym e s; it is involve d in glucose m e tabolism , and th e functioning of Vitam in B1. Th e h um an re q uire m e nt is e stim ate d to be 2 - 5 m g pe r day for adults and 0.3- 3 m g pe r day for infants and ch ildre n. It is re q uire d for good bone structure , for ce ntral ne rvous syste m functions, and for w ound h e aling.

M n h as produce d toxic e ffe cts e spe cially in m ine rs, w ith sym ptom s som e w h at sim ilar to Park inson's dise ase but re ve rsible . Th e toxicity of m angane se is not ge ne rally conside re d a th re at in th e soil- plant- anim al path w ays, but som e conce rns h ave be e n e xpre sse d for th e future now th at m e th ylcyclope ntadie nyl m angane se tricarbonyl (M M T), is one of th e anti- k nock additive s use d to

M angane s e (M n)M angane se

pe rce ntile

%

Iodine (I) Iodine

pe rce ntile

m g/k g


re place te trae th yl le ad in gasoline . Conse q ue ntly, as w as th e case w ith le ad, ve ry large q uantitie s of m angane se w ill be adde d to th e h um an e nvironm e nt for m any ye ars.

Jam aican farm e rs m ust re ly on large q uantitie s of ph osph ate fe rtilise r to ach ie ve e conom ic le ve ls of productivity, but a com parison of th e total to th e available ph osph orus sh ow s th at th ough it is th e tw e lfth m ost abundant e le m e nt in th e e arth 's crust, m ost of it is unavailable to plants. It is e stim ate d th at som e 9 5% of adde d fe rtiliz e r ph osph ate rapidly be com e s im m obilise d in Jam aican bauxitic soils (W e ir, 19 72). Th e ne ce ssity for large fe rtilise r inputs adds cost and m ay le ad to incre ase d algal grow th in stre am s, rive rs, and coastal w ate rs.

Ph osph orus is ne ce ssary for all organism s. It is an e sse ntial com pone nt of D NA and th e e ne rgy producing AD P/ATP cycle and h as num e rous oth e r functions. Its availability is one of th e m ajor factors th at m ay lim it th e productivity of e cosyste m s.

Th e conce ntrations of z inc vary w ide ly across Jam aica and tw o population distributions are cle arly obse rvable . Th e h igh e r conce ntrations are w e ll corre late d w ith alum inium . Th e low e r conce ntrations display no particular patte rn. Z inc is e sse ntial for h igh e r plants, anim als and h um ans. In m am m als it is an im portant constitue nt of a num be r of diffe re nt e nz ym e s and h e nce de ficie ncie s s h ow up as a re sult of insufficie nt e nz ym e activity. M arginal or de ficie nt Z n intak e rath e r th an toxicity is th e m ajor h e alth conce rn in th e ge ne ral population. Ade q uate z inc intak e is conside re d prote ctive against poisoning by som e h e avy m e tals e spe cially cadm ium .

Th e re is so w ide a range be tw e e n typical e nvironm e ntal le ve ls and toxic conce ntrations of z inc th at th e W H O /FAO and U S- FD A guide line s on z inc de al w ith it only as an e sse ntial m icronutrie nt.

Z inc (Z n)

pe rce ntile

m g/k g

Ph osph orus(available )

m g/k g

403020

Ph osph orus(total)

m g/k g

2742

1426

678

43025

50

75

9 5

Ph os ph orus (P)

Z inc


Th e re are fe w m e tallic e le m e nts of prove n com m e rcial value in Jam aica, alth ough th e re are m any are as of k now n m ine ralisation. Coppe r, s ilve r, le ad and z inc w e re m ine d during th e 19 th Ce ntury and de posits of th e se , and of m angane se and nick e l, and gold h ave be e n m appe d to som e e xte nt. Th e re are se ve ral sh ow ings of gold, but to date only a sm all m ine h as be com e ope rational. Th e re is also pote ntial for silve r and h ints of platinum . Gallium , th e arse nide and nitride of w h ich are assum ing incre ase d im portance in th e e le ctronics and com pute r industry, m ay just be re cove rable from bauxite w aste s. Th e m ine ral pote ntial of som e are as still probably w arrants furth e r inve stigation.

Alum inium is vital to th e Jam aican e conom y. It is th e Earth 's th ird m ost abundant e le m e nt and is ubiq uitous in soils. Th e h igh e r soil conce ntrations (> 15% ) alm ost e xclusive ly ove rlie th e Te rtiary W h ite Lim e stone Group, alth ough th e re are a fe w such are as th at are q uite low (4- 7% ). Th e Black Rive r Gre at M orass and St. Th om as in- th e - Vale Basin also h ave fairly h igh Al conce ntrations (13- 20% ), w ith th e e le m e nt pre dom inantly h e ld in th e fine argillace ous fraction. Th e Cre tace ous inlie rs are ch aracte rise d by soils w ith low or m ode rate Al conce ntrations (<10% ). Th e low e st le ve ls, w ith m ost value s e ve n be low th e crustal ave rage , occur in are as such as D arliston in W e stm ore land, Ale xandria in H anove r and Spring Garde ns in St. Th om as. Th is distribution as far as it re late s to h e avy m e tals th at accom pany alum inium in Jam aica is be ginning to appe ar to h ave som e influe nce on th e e le m e ntal conte nts of crops. Th e re se m blance of se ve ral h e avy m e tal conce ntration distributions to th at of Al is obvious.

Al h as not be e n sh ow n to be e sse ntial to any living spe cie s but is w ide ly found in all plants and foods. It is norm ally poorly absorbe d by th e h um an gut, but once tak e n up is difficult to re m ove from th e body. Blood contains about 0.4 m illigram s pe r litre , bone 4- 27 ppm , and tissue 1- 28 ppm . At th e le ve ls norm ally found in food and w ate r alum inium is no longe r conside re d a h e alth h az ard.

Gold is e xtre m e ly rare (1- 2 ppb) in th e e arth 's crust be cause (Ke rrich , 19 9 9 ):

G old (A u)

Ele m e nts of Econom ic Value

A lum inium (A l)

pe rce ntile

Alum inium

%

(1) th e e le m e nts of atom ic num be r gre ate r th an Fe are form e d only in rare supe rnovae e ve nts;

(2) e le m e nts w ith odd atom ic num be rs are le ss stable th an th ose w ith e ve n Z (79 Au is rare r th an 80Pt and 80H g);

(3) as Earth 's iron core w as be ing form e d it e xtracte d gold and oth e r s ide roph ile e le m e nts such as Pt, Pd, Ir, and Rh from th e liq uid silicate sh e ll;


Ye t, be cause it ofte n occurs as obvious grains and nugge ts, it w as one of th e first m e tals w ork e d by m an. Stre am se dim e nt studie s by th e Canadian Inte rnational D e ve lopm e nt Age ncy and th e M ine s and Ge ology D ivision of th e M inistry of M ining and Ene rgy produce d data th at le d to th e ope ning in 2001 of th e sm all AusJam m ine in Clare ndon, and th e re is som e h ope th at oth e r w ork able de posits m igh t be found.

Th e m ap illustrate s h ow w ide spre ad gold is in Jam aican soils. Th e gre e n are as sh ow th e norm ally acce pte d le ve ls of 2- 5 parts pe r billion. Th e ye llow , orange and re d are as are m ore inte re sting as th e se conce ntrations are som e w h at above norm al. A strik ing fe ature is th e band in th e w e st e xte nding across se ctions of St. Eliz abe th , W e stm ore land, H anove r and St. Jam e s, w h e re conce ntrations as h igh as 30 parts pe r billion h ave be e n obse rve d. Th is se e m s to m e rit furth e r e xam ination. Gold h as not ye t be e n found in h um ans but it h as be e n obse rve d in se ve ral plants.

Arse nic, cadm ium , le ad and m e rcury are com m only acce pte d as th e e le m e nts of gre ate st conce rn in th e e nvironm e nt. Som e Jam aican soils contain re m ark able le ve ls of trace e le m e nts com pare d w ith typical w orld value s e .g. Canada and D e nm ark .

Exce pt for le ad and m e rcury, e ve n th e m e an value s e xce e d th e Canadian guide line s for agricultural land use , and th e m axim a approach or e xce e d th e D anish crite ria, at w h ich th e soil is conside re d too contam inate d for any h um an contact. Th e cadm ium le ve ls are e xce ptionally h igh . In all case s th e re are s ignificant conce ntration variations island- w ide , and th e data on se ve ral of th e se e le m e nts m ay w e ll contribute to th e de bate on th e origin of bauxite .

Ele m e nt (ppm )

Jam aicanSoils1

CanadianSoils2

D anishSoils3

M axim um M e an

Guide line Lim its for

Agricultural Land

Cut off Crite ria

Arse nic 373 25 12 20

Cadm ium 409 20 1.4 5

Ch rom ium 1063 309 64 1000

Coppe r 657 102 63 500

Le ad 89 7 47 70 400

M e rcury 0.830 0.221 6.6 3

Z inc 9 36 205 200 1000

1Lalor, 19 9 5; 2CCM E, 2001; 3D anish EPA, 2000.

Pote ntially Toxic Ele m e nts

parts pe r billion

5

Gold

15.6

7.9


Th e ave rage conce ntration of As in Jam aican soils is som e 5 tim e s th e re porte d value for w orld soils. D e spite th e re se m blance to th e spatial distribution of alum inium th e conce ntrations are not w e ll corre late d. Th e h igh value s in St. Eliz abe th w e re of inte re st be cause arse nic is ofte n a path finde r for gold, and in W e st Be ngal and Banglade sh , m illions are at risk from arse nicosis and cance rs as a re sult of arse nic in th e w ate r supply. In Jam aica, As is ve ry firm ly h e ld in th e soil and rock s and is not conside re d to be a h az ard unde r pre se nt conditions of land use . Re ce nt w ork h as indicate d th at As is not a path finde r for gold in Jam aica.

D e spite its w e ll k now n toxicity - a dose of m ore th an about 100 m illigram s can k ill a h um an - arse nic appe ars to be e sse ntial for som e anim als e .g. ch ick e ns. It occurs in h um an blood to th e e xte nt of about 2-9 m icrogram s pe r litre ; in bone 0.1- 1.6 ppm and in tissue 0.1- 1.6 ppm . Ve ry sm all q uantitie s can be analyse d and th e arse nic conte nt of h um an h air h as be e n use d in m urde r convictions.

Cadm ium is re lative ly rare , 65th in abundance , am ong th e e le m e nts, w ith a conce ntration of only about 0.1 ppm in th e Earth 's crust. W orldw ide , soil- cadm ium conce ntrations are in th e range of 1 ppm com pare d to le ve ls h undre ds of tim e s gre ate r in som e Jam aican soils. Th e re are no com parable le ve ls of cadm ium th at w e k now of in any unpollute d re gions in any oth e r country. Th e cadm ium in Jam aica occurs naturally and appe ars to be associate d w ith bauxite , but th e origins are not w e ll unde rstood.

An e norm ous num be r of publications and re ports te stify to th e toxicity of cadm ium both as an occupational and an e nvironm e ntal h az ard. Th e re are conce rns th at th e Cd conte nt of agricultural soils globally is ris ing be cause ph osph ate fe rtilise rs usually contain significant q uantitie s of cadm ium . Th e re are de bate s h ow e ve r, about w h e th e r e nvironm e ntal le ve ls are as h az ardous as is ge ne rally assum e d.

Th e cadm ium le ve ls in h um an blood are ve ry low , about 5 parts pe r trillion; bone contains m uch m ore , about 2ppm . Cadm ium accum ulate s in k idne ys and th e live r, w h e re ve ry m uch h igh e r le ve ls can be found.

Arse nic

pe rce ntile

m g/k g

Cadm ium

pe rce ntile

m g/k g

A rs e nic (A s )

Cadm ium (Cd) arse nicosis


Th e w ide variation in th e e le m e ntal soil conce ntrations across Jam aica provide s an opportunity to e xam ine th e possibility th at th is m ay affe ct th e q uality of crops from various re gions. Th e soil- to-plant transfe r of trace e le m e nts unde r tropical conditions, h as be e n ve ry little e xam ine d com pare d w ith th ose of th e te m pe rate clim ate s, and is of inte re st h e re and in m any oth e r countrie s.

Th e natural conce ntrations of le ad in Jam aican soils are acce ptable by w orld standards. Th e re w as a le ad m ine ne ar to Papine but th is w as close d in th e late 19 th ce ntury. Subse q ue nt e xploration h as not yie lde d any furth e r m ine able de posits. A h igh value ne ar to th e M ona Cam pus le d us to th e discove ry of th e le ad poisoning of num e rous ch ildre n in th e Kintyre are a. Th is is re porte d on page 59 .

Th e ave rage conce ntration of m e rcury in Jam aican soils is also h igh e r th an w orld le ve ls. Th e e aste rn portion of th e island e xh ibits re lative ly low conce ntrations, and th e h igh e r conce ntrations follow th e by now alm ost e xpe cte d association w ith bauxite s. M e rcury is ofte n found as a by product in th e alum ina proce ss. Th e re are also q uite h igh conce ntrations in th e m orass soils, probably due to its w e ll k now n affinity for accum ulation in organic- rich anae robic substrate s, but m ore w ork is ne ce ssary to unde rstand th e origin. Espe cially in its organic form s H g can be a dange rous ne urotoxin and th e re h ave be e n w e ll re porte d case s of its contribution to h arm and de ath s. In som e q uarte rs th e re is conce rn about th e use of m e rcury in de ntal am algam s, and as a pre se rvative in ch ildh ood vaccine s.

Food is th e m ain source for h um ans of e le m e nts th at are ne ce ssary for nutrition and biological de ve lopm e nt, and also th ose th at are h az ardous. Conce rns about pe rce ive d h arm ful e ffe cts of h e avy m e tals on food q uality and safe ty h ave le d to re gulations on th e e le m e ntal conte nts of foods (O JEC, 2001; FSANZ , 2002) and m axim um allow able intak e s for h um ans h ave be e n e stablish e d by W H O. Se ve ral products h ave alre ady run afoul of som e of th e se re gulations e .g. Australia- cattle offal to Europe ; Canada- D urum w h e at to Europe ; Ch ina- pe anuts to Australia; U SA- sunflow e r se e ds to Europe ). Exports of Jam aican conch to Europe re q uire ce rtification for th e conte nts of cadm ium , le ad and m e rcury, and ICENS assists in th is.

M e rcury (H g)

Le ad (Pb)

Le ad

pe rce ntile

m g/k g

M e rcury

pe rce ntile

µg/k g

Food


W ith incre asing globalisation, such re gulations w ill probably e ve ntually apply to all inte rnational trade in foods and could be com e significant non- tariff trade barrie rs for som e countrie s. For th is re ason, and also since th e re are e fforts to incre ase th e consum ption of local foods, it is im portant to e stablish th e e le m e ntal conce ntrations in Jam aican foods to prope rly guide die tary advice and e ve ntually to re com m e nd food standards.

Be cause of th e se re asons, ICENS is e xam ining (a) soil/food re lationsh ips, (b) consum ption patte rns and die tary intak e s of foods to asse ss e xposure s, and (c) possible conse q ue nce s of th e se to h e alth and trade .

Th e com m unitie s of spe cial inte re st at pre se nt are in ce ntral Jam aica. Th e q uality of farm s varie s gre atly. Som e are q uite productive , w h ile it se e m s re m ark able th at a living can be e arne d from oth e rs, but th e inform ation from th e se is ne ve rth e le ss im portant be cause som e of th e se soils h ave e xtre m e ly h igh conce ntrations of various e le m e nts.

Th e conce ntrations of 28 e le m e nts in sam ple s of fruit, le gum e s, le afy and root ve ge table s, and oth e r root crops, h ave be e n de te rm ine d and are re porte d in Table 1. M any of th e se e le m e nts occur at le ve ls w e ll above th ose re porte d from oth e r countrie s, but it se e m s unlik e ly th at m ost of th e se w ill contribute to a public h e alth ris k .

Th e conce ntrations vary significantly be tw e e n crop type s. Th e e sse ntial e le m e nts appe ar to be satisfactory and th e low conce ntrations of le ad in all food type s indicate s th at food is unlik e ly to contribute to th e le ad poisoning be ing obse rve d in ch ildre n. At th is stage , cadm ium is th e e le m e nt th at m e rits m ost atte ntion. It is a substance of conce rn in inte rnational trade , is pre se nt at h igh conce ntration in som e soils, and ve ry m obile in th e soil/plant syste m . Th e h om e ostasis m e ch anism s th at h e lp control e le m e ntal uptak e from soils, appe ar to be ve ry m uch w e ak e r for

Farm ing on bauxitic soilsYam farm

Th e H e avy M e tal Status of Jam aican Food Crops

Le ve ls of k e y e le m e nts in food sam ple s by asce nding cadm ium conce ntration

Log1

0 co

nce

ntr

atio

n


cadm ium as sh ow n by th e orde ring according to cadm ium conte nt.

A m ajor e ffort is unde rw ay to provide a full unde rstanding of h e avy m e tal uptak e by foods. In addition to its value for agriculture , trade , land- use and public h e alth , k now le dge of th e e le m e ntal conte nts sh ould provide a be tte r unde rstanding of th e role of trace e le m e nts in life proce sse s, and support th e e ve ntual e stablish m e nt of Jam aican guide line s and re gulations for pote ntially h arm ful e le m e nts in foods.

Ele m e nts(ppm )

Fruit(n=27)

Le gum e s(n=6)

Le afy Ve ge table s

(n=14)

Root Ve gitable s

(n=16)

O th e r Root Crops(n=46)

CaRange 18 - 4866 282 - 1066 20 - 20161 101 - 684 13 - 9 79

M e an 360 514 2580 39 0 150

CdRange 0.001 - 0.16 0.018 - 1.2 0.02 - 1.7 0.02 - 1.4 0.002 - 0.9 5

M e an 0.029 0.33 0.4 0.4 0.2

CrRange 0.006 - 0.40 0.082 - 0.18 0.01 - 0.28 0.01 - 0.32 0.017 - 1.08

M e an 0.04 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.11

CuRange 0.1 - 2.0 0.3 - 5.0 0.1 - 1.9 0.2 - 1.14 0.5 - 3.2

M e an 0.8 2.8 0.6 0.7 1.6

FeRange 3.1 - 30 4.2 - 76 1.5 - 43 1.5 - 56 3.0 - 36

M e an 6.7 30 15.5 12.9 9 .6

K (% )Range 0.08 - 387 0.09 - 1.38 0.17 - 0.69 0.18 - 0.75 0.11 - 3.4

M e an 0.46 0.67 0.38 0.41 0.47

NaRange 1.7 - 26 1.2 - 8 12 - 19 2 26 - 19 20 2.1 - 400

M e an 9 .8 4.16 9 0.1 727 48.7

M nRange 0.2 - 4.9 2.1 - 26.9 2.2 - 23.6 0.02 - 21.6 0.1 - 7.8

M e an 1.7 10.6 8.3 4.3 1.6

P (% )Range 0.005 - 0.25 0.010 - 0.180 0.01 - 0.1 0.012 - 0.045 0.012 - 0.049

M e an 0.032 0.09 7 0.042 0.027 0.027

PbRange 0.001 - 0.048 de te ction lim it de te ction lim it 0.003 - 0.083 0.002 - 0.25

M e an 0.01 - - 0.01 0.02

Z nRange 0.7 - 32 1.7 - 38 1.1 - 7.3 2.0 - 6.5 1.5 - 76

M e an 2.6 16.3 4.2 3.4 5.8

Table 1. H e avy m e tal conce ntrations in som e Jam aican foods.


H e avy M e tals and H e althTh e pote ntial e ffe cts of h um an uptak e of e le m e nts from natural and pollute d soils h as be com e a m ajor focus of ICENS. Th e h um an body contains alm ost all th e naturally occurring e le m e nts in conce ntrations th at som e w h at m irror th ose in th e Earth 's crust. Som e are ne ce ssary for life , som e , w h ile pe rh aps not absolute ly ne ce ssary, are at le ast be ne ficial. Th e e sse ntial e le m e nts are involve d as structural m ate rials, ne rve conductors, m uscle trigge rs, in e le ctron transfe r, in e nz ym e syste m s, e tc. M any e le m e nts h ave no obvious biological role , and oth e rs are obviously toxic. Th e e ffe ct de pe nds on th e dose : at conce ntrations low e nough , e sse ntial e le m e nt de ficie ncie s can k ill, as can h igh e nough dose s of m any of th e sam e e le m e nts. Som e e le m e nts are poisonous e ve n at ve ry low conce ntrations. Ve ry large num be rs of h e alth - re late d studie s on h e avy m e tals h ave be e n re porte d. Th e priority e le m e nts at pre se nt for ICENS are cadm ium , ch rom ium , coppe r, and se le nium .

Cadm ium h as no appare nt be ne ficial affe cts in h um ans and is ge ne rally conside re d to be h igh ly toxic. Th e body burde n in th e ne w born is ve ry low but it accum ulate s w ith age . M ost of th e cadm ium is found in th e k idne y and live r but it also occurs in bone , th e gall- bladde r, pancre as, prostate , te ste s, th yroid, and oth e r organs. It is large ly h e ld in th e body as a cadm ium m e talloth ione in, w h ich m ay be im portant in cadm ium de toxification. Th e lite rature abounds w ith publications on link s be tw e e n cadm ium and num e rous dise ase s including lung cance r, oste oporosis, re nal dise ase , cardiovascular proble m s, and prostate cance r. Th e e xtre m e ly painful Itai- itai (ouch - ouch ) dise ase th at occurre d in Japan in th e 19 50s e m ph asise d th e dange rs of e nvironm e ntal cadm ium poisoning, and e ncourage d e fforts to re duce e xposure s to m inim um ach ie vable le ve ls. W H O m aintains a provisional tole rable w e e k ly intak e for cadm ium of 7 µg/k g of body w e igh t. Th e "critical" cadm ium conce ntration for re nal e ffe cts is e stim ate d as about 200 ppm in th e re nal corte x. Such figure s are e stim ate s and re nal e ffe cts at m uch low e r conce ntrations h ave be e n re porte d.

Ch rom ium , th ough re q uire d in ve ry sm all am ounts, is ne ce ssary to m aintain stable blood sugar le ve ls. It m ay also assist in pre ve nting coronary dise ase . Coppe r is re q uire d in th e form ation of h ae m oglobin, and bone s, am ong oth e r th ings. Coppe r de ficie ncy, ofte n associate d w ith iron de ficie ncy, m ay re sult in anae m ia, incre ase d incide nce of infe ctions, oste oporosis, th yroid gland dysfunction, h e art dise ase and oth e r proble m s. Exce ss m ay le ad to h ype ractivity, conce ntration losse s and le arning disabilitie s.

Se le nium is toxic at q uite low le ve ls, but is e sse ntial in trace q uantitie s. It h e lps th e body figh t infe ctions and is im portant in h um an re production. It h as antiviral and anti- carcinoge nic prope rtie s, m ay be h e lpful in pre ve nting h e art attack s and strok e , is an antagonist to toxic m ine rals such as m e rcury, le ad and cadm ium , and h e lps rid th e body of fre e radicals. Se le nium w as

Ne gative e ffe cts

D e ath

Ne gative e ffe cts

D e ficie ncy

Norm al

Poisoning

D e ath

Re lative Conce ntration

0.1 1.0 10


postulate d as a re ason th at th e survival rate of badly m alnourish e d ch ildre n in Jam aica w ith low blood se le nium value s and h igh iron, w as m uch w orse th an th at of sim ilar ch ildre n w ith norm al le ve ls of both th e se e le m e nts (Golde n and Golde n, 19 88).

Th e h igh soil- cadm ium conce ntrations in som e are as of Jam aica, and its pre se nce in som e foods le d to an e xam ination of k idne ys and live rs of 40 paire d autopsy case s of age s 40 ye ars and ove r at tim e of de ath . Th e se w e re from are as w ith th e "low e r" cadm ium conce ntrations, but com pare d w ith th e countrie s for w h ich data w e re re adily available , are h igh , and se cond only to Japan w h e re th e re h ave be e n cadm ium - re late d proble m s.

Th e se re sults le ad to q ue stions about w h e th e r th e re m ay be link s be tw e e n cadm ium and ce rtain dise ase s in Jam aica, particularly in vie w of th e ve ry h igh incide nce of re nal proble m s and prostate cance r for w h ich som e studie s on h um ans indicate possible link s (ATSD R, 19 9 9 ).

Cause /e ffe ct re lationsh ips in h um an h e alth are ofte n com ple x and m ultivariate . In countrie s, w h e re such w ork is of inte re st, cadm ium e xposure s are now low and so strictly re gulate d, th at th e e ffe cts of long- te rm low - le ve l e nvironm e ntal e xposure s are ve ry difficult to se parate from oth e r possible factors. A spe cial advantage of inve stigations in Jam aica is th at th e ave rage conce ntration of cadm ium is e xtraordinarily h igh and th e obse rve d range is ve ry w ide . If e nvironm e ntal cadm ium is as toxic as is ge ne rally assum e d, Jam aica sh ould th e re fore pre se nt an unusual opportunity to contribute to th e be tte r unde rstanding of its e ffe cts in th e h um an e nvironm e nt. Espe cially in case s w h e re th e local populations e at m ainly local products grow n in anom alous are as, th e s ignal m ay be strong e nough to yie ld cle ar inte rpre tations.

A positive corre lation w ould se t one train of e ve nts in m otion; if it can be e stablish e d th at th e re are no such e ffe cts, th e re asons for th is w ould also be of conside rable inte re st.

Country com parisons of th e cad m ium conte nt of h um an k id ne ys and live rs.

Cadm ium in Jam aicans


Goya's Saturn (God of Le ad) D e vouring H is Son sum s up th e m ode rn vie w on th e dange rs of th is e le m e nt. Le ad w as discove re d around 6500 BC in Turk e y, and by about 2500 BC it w as in production on a significant scale . Its acute toxicity h as be e n k now n for at le ast 3,000 ye ars and as e arly as 100 BC Gre e k ph ysicians h ad provide d a de taile d clinical picture of its e ffe cts. It soon be cam e obvious th at le ad m ine rs w e re not lik e ly to h ave m uch of a future .

Be tw e e n 500 BC and 300 AD th e Rom ans m ine d and use d le ad e xte nsive ly for aq ue ducts, cook w are , cups and plate s for e xam ple . W orse , th e y pre pare d le ad ace tate , "sugar of le ad", by boiling grape pulp in le ad ve sse ls, for use as a sw e e te ne r for foods and th e im prove m e nt of w ine s. Th e ir pe r capita consum ption, as re fle cte d in m ining and usage figure s and in th e le ad conte nts of th e ir bone s, w as so h igh th at it h as be e n argue d th at le ad poisoning contribute d to th e fall of th e Rom an Em pire (Nriagu, 19 83).

Alth ough th e use of le ad dim inish e d for som e ce nturie s afte r th e fall of Rom e , it re m aine d a m ost use ful m e tal and th e re continue d to be re ports of occupational illne sse s and am ong alcoh ol drink e rs. In 1724, th e young Be njam in Frank lin, th e n a printe r's appre ntice , corre late d a life long paralysis calle d "dangle s", w ith h e ating th e

le ad type w h ile cle aning off th e ink . In 1745, h e trace d th e "dry gripe s," or stom ach cram ps - th e n an e pide m ic in Am e rica - to th e drink ing of rum distille d in ve sse ls w ith le ad coils. In 1767, in England, th e ph ysician, Ge orge Bak e r, sh ow e d th at th e "D e vonsh ire colic" w as cause d by le ad in th e D e vonsh ire apple cide r m ade by using pre sse s w ith le ad line rs. H is fe llow doctors, th e cle rgy, and th e m ill ow ne rs conde m ne d h im th orough ly, for inte rfe ring w ith a value d local product. Th e Industrial Re volution unle ash e d a ne w round of le ad contam ination.

In th e e arly de cade s afte r W orld W ar 2, atte m pts by Clair Patte rson to m e asure th e age of th e Earth by use

Goya's Saturn

W rist d rop "d angle s" d ue to ad ult le ad poisoning

Le ad and Ch ildre n in Jam aica


of uranium /le ad isotope ratios - convince d h im th at le ad h ad be com e a global pollutant, and th at th e use of te trae th yl le ad as th e antik nock in gasoline starting in th e e arly 19 20s, w as a m ajor contributor to th is. Eve n th e th e n acce pte d back ground le ve ls of le ad in th e e nvironm e nt w e re indicators of anth ropoge nic pollution (D avidson, 19 9 8). H is w ork , and th e incre asing re alisation th at ch ronic le ad inge stion, e ve n at ve ry low le ve ls, pre se nte d h az ards for h um ans, be cam e th e basis of th e e ffort in th e de ve lope d countrie s, and by th e W orld Bank , to re strict population e xposure to le ad.

Ch ildre n are at gre ate st risk from le ad e xposure be cause th e y:

Th e ris k be gins in th e foe tus as le ad in th e m oth e r's blood re adily crosse s th e place nta, and th e de ve loping foe tus h as no blood- brain barrie r. Eve n th e m oth e r's pre vious e xposure carrie s ris k , as le ad m ay be store d in bone s and re le ase d during pe riods of calcium stre ss, such as pre gnancy and lactation. Le ad poisoning in young ch ildre n can re sult in pe rm ane nt ne urobe h avioral disorde rs and h as be e n corre late d w ith num e rous de fe cts including IQ loss, viole nt be h aviour, incre ase d crim e rate s, and m any oth e r m aladie s (Ne vin, 2000). As th e dange rs of ch ronic le ad poisoning be cam e m ore appare nt, th e acce pte d inte rve ntion blood le ad value in ch ildre n w as re duce d. In 19 79 , it w as 60 m illionth s of a gram pe r de cilitre (µg /dL); today 70 µg/dL is conside re d a m e dical e m e rge ncy, and th e low e re d inte rve ntion le ve l, now 10 µg/dL is conside re d to be probably still too h igh .

Le ad poisoning h as be e n obse rve d in Jam aica since at le ast 1786 (Cam pbe ll, 19 9 3), and th e re h ave be e n num e rous re porte d case s in ch ildre n, w ith a m ajor e ve nt tak ing place in St. Cath e rine (M atte e t al., 19 89 ). O ur inte re st in le ad be gan w ith th e obse rvation from th e ge och e m ical m apping program m e th at th e re w as a h ot spot ne ar to th e M ona Cam pus. Th is w as be cause ore from a le ad m ine , th at w as abandone d in th e late 19 th ce ntury, w as transporte d th e re and contam inate d are as in Kintyre . Starting in th e 19 50's, th e are a gradually be cam e re side ntial and th e old proce ssing plant be cam e th e Kintyre Basic Sch ool. For m any ye ars th e ch ildre n live d and playe d on m ine w aste and w e re e xpose d to large q uantitie s of le ad ove r e xte nde d pe riods of tim e . In re trospe ct, le ad poisoning w as ine vitable .

1. play m ore in soils, are close r to and spe nd m ore tim e on th e ground, w h e re th e y m ay com e into contact w ith le ad contam inate d soil and dust;

2. are m ore lik e ly to e at soil (pica), and in re lation to body w e igh t th e y inge st m ore food and w ate r th an adults;

3. absorb le ad about te n tim e s m ore e fficie ntly th an adults and w orst, le ad inte rfe re s w ith th e de ve loping brain, and oth e r organ syste m s.

Le ad in Jam aica

Le ad

m g/k g

50

150

350

Le ad conce ntration in Kintyre .

Ch ild re n playing in le ad w aste in Kintyre .


At th e tim e of th e first te sts all of th e 61 ch ildre n at th e Kintyre Basic Sch ool w e re le ad poisone d. Th e ave rage blood le ad le ve l w as a ve ry h igh 38 µg/dL, and not a single one w as be low th e CD C lim it of 10 µg/dL. For m itigation, th e sch ool w as th orough ly cle ane d and re painte d, and h and- w ash ing facilitie s put in place . M arl w as laid as an alk aline barrie r ove r th e sch oolyard and th e n ce m e nte d ove r. Any h igh le ad outcrops th at w e re found in th e im m e diate ne igh bourh ood w e re tre ate d sim ilarly and food supple m e nts rich in iron and calcium w e re provide d.

Afte r 11 m onth s, 25 ch ildre n, w h o w e re available and w illing w e re re te ste d. Th e y sh ow e d gre at, but still not satisfactory im prove m e nt, indicating som e furth e r e xposure source s. Th e se w e re ide ntifie d and isolate d as sh ow n in th e e xam ple s.

Th e re duction of blood le ad le ve ls as a re sult of th is m itigation in Kintyre is now unde r control.

Blood Le ad Te s ting

In front of Kintyre Basic Sch ool b e fore m itigation. Afte r m itigation.

M ine w aste in a yard b e fore m itigation. Afte r m itigation.

Ch ild No. in incre asing ord e r of Pb blood le ve ls

Pb

bloo

d -

µg/

dl


Studie s in Kingston and Clare ndon, in collaboration w ith th e M inistry of H e alth , re ve ale d low e r but surprisingly h igh blood le ad le ve ls in a num be r of ch ildre n w ith no obvious e xposure to le ad contam ination (Lalor, e t al., 2001). Conse q ue ntly an island- w ide surve y of blood le ad in ch ildre n w as starte d w ith th e assistance of th e Environm e ntal Foundation of Jam aica to asse ss th e s ituation, and to ide ntify and provide assistance to th ose w ith h igh blood le ad conte nts. Up to m id- M ay 2004, re sults h ave be e n obtaine d on 831 ch ildre n from 25 basic sch ools.

O n th e basis of th e CD C guide line s, 18% of th e se ch ildre n are le ad poisone d and re q uire som e le ve l of inte rve ntion. Th ose in th e tw o h igh e st classe s h ave h ad or w ill sh ortly re ce ive m e dical atte ntion. M uch of th e oth e r follow up w ork is unde rw ay or planne d. Th e e m e rge ncy case s indicate ve ry h igh le ve ls of e xposure to bioavailable le ad.

Se ve re ly le ad- poisone d ch ildre n h ave be e n found in M arve rly and M ona Com m ons. O ne ch ild h ad a blood le ad le ve l as h igh as 200 µg/dL, 50 units above th e le ve l at w h ich de ath be com e s lik e ly. All h ave re ce ive d m e dical atte ntion including succe ssful ch e lation th e rapy to low e r th e ir blood le ad le ve ls.

Class Blood Le adµg/dl

Num be r of ch ildre n to

date in class

CD C Re com m e ndation

I < 9 677 Not conside re d le ad poisone d

IIA 10 - 14 60 Pre ve ntion activitie s and m ore fre q ue nt scre e ning

IIB 15 - 19 22 Nutritional and e ducational inte rve ntions, fre q ue nt scre e ning, e nvironm e ntal

inve stigation and inte rve ntion

III 20 - 44 52 Environm e ntal and m e dical e valuation, and re m e diation. Ph arm acological tre atm e nt of

le ad poisoning m ay be ne e de d

IV 45 - 69 14 M e dical and e nvironm e ntal inte rve ntions, including ch e lation th e raph y

V > 70 6 M e dical e m e rge ncy. M e dical and e nvironm e ntal m anage m e nt m ust be gin

im m e diate ly

Em e rge ncy Cas e s

Is landw ide Blood Le ad Scre e ning

Blood le ad le ve ls of Jam aican ch ild re n using CD C guid e line s


Th e ch ildre n be ing e xam ine d are in e ffe ct bioindicators for le ad, and atte m pts h ave be e n m ade to find th e source s of le ad. W e ll re cognise d source s include food contam inate d during production, proce ssing and pack aging; drink ing w ate r from le ad- containing pipe s and fauce ts, brass fixture s; som e ce ram ic table w are ; solde r; le ade d- crystal glassw are , and le ad- glaz e d potte ry; ce rtain "natural" calcium supple m e nts, and folk re m e die s; h air colourants and oth e r cosm e tics; paints, w aste s ite s, industrial source s; and le ad re cycling ope rations. To date , in all th e ve ry h igh blood le ad case s ide ntifie d, th e source of contam ination w as le ad- acid batte ry re cycling w h ich contam inate th e location, and to a conside rable e xte nt th e surroundings.

Th is w ork h igh ligh ts th e ve ry h igh ris k of back yard le ad proce ssing, and one can only w onde r w h at conse q ue nce s such e xposure s h ave produce d in te rm s of re duce d IQ, dam age d brains, poor sch ool pe rform ance , une m ploym e nt, and crim e .

ICENS h as de ve lope d e ducational tools in collaboration w ith th e Environm e ntal Foundation of Jam aica to support ch ildh ood le ad- safe e ducation. Th e se outline m atte rs such as le ad e xposure and its e ffe cts; le ad safe ty rule s and th e im portance of good pe rsonal h ygie ne , and h ave be e n circulate d fre e to te ach e rs, and care - give rs. Th e proje ct h as be e n re ce iving a good de al of cove rage in th e national print, radio and te le vision m e dia.

Th e re sponse and coope ration of th e pare nts and te ach e rs h as be e n e xce lle nt. M ore surprising pe rh aps h as be e n th at of th e ch ildre n. Som e ch ildre n are of course q uite anxious about th e blood sam pling and re lie ve d th at it is so spe e dy and re lative ly painle ss. O ne little boy ask e d if h e gave a se cond blood sam ple w ould h e re ce ive a se cond sw e e t - h e w as give n a fe w . Th e ir w illingne ss to be te ste d is obvious and pare nts and te ach e rs h ave be e n m ost appre ciative .

Le ad Safe Education

Public Re lations

Basic sch ool ch ild e n aw aiting blood le ad te sting.

Source s of Le ad


Inform ation Syste m

Inform ation h e ld in inte ractive ge och e m ical database s is critical to m any aspe cts of sustainable de ve lopm e nt, and can im pact on for e xam ple , e conom ic and policy de cisions in agriculture and fore stry, e nvironm e ntal prote ction, natural re source utilisation, nutrition and h e alth , and land use planning. Succe ssful applications of such database s de pe nd gre atly on pow e rful se arch e ngine s and re ady acce ss for appropiate use rs in public and private institutions, and pe rh aps m ost im portantly, on inte rdisciplinary collaboration be tw e e n th ose involve d in data colle ction and analysis.

Ge och e m ical database s, ofte n use d in conjunction w ith im age analysis syste m s, offe r a w ide varie ty of such applications in m any countrie s, such as Canada, France , Ge rm any, th e U K, th e U SA, and Scandinavia, and it is now w e ll re cogniz e d th at k now le dge of th e spatial distribution of th e e sse ntial and toxic e le m e nts and substance s of actual or pote ntial e conom ic be ne fit h ave e norm ous value .

Th e Inform ation Syste m s Unit w as form e d in 19 86 w ith a m andate to capture , m aintain and m ak e available in a digital m e dium , all th e data colle cte d and ge ne rate d from th e various proje cts along w ith any oth e r re le vant inform ation. It be gan w ith a classical re lational database on a D igital Eq uipm e nt Corporation M icroVAX- II m ini com pute r w ith 20 M B of disk space and 7 te rm inals. Th ough prim itive by today's standards, it

pe rform e d sple ndidly and laid th e ground w ork for th e pre se nt syste m . Th e database contains point sam ple data for soils, rock s, stre am se dim e nts, air particulate s, surface and unde r ground w ate rs and m aps on w ate r q uality, soil prope rtie s, ge och e m istry, and plant nutrie nt conte nt.

Unde r an IAEA program m e in th e late r part of 19 86, D r. Ne džad Lim ic from th e Unive rsity of Z agre b visite d th e CNS and de ve lope d a com pute r program m e to cre ate surface m aps from th e point data. Th is ope ne d up a

VT100 Te rm inal

M icroVax II

Sparc Station I

Th e Inform ation Sys te m s Unit


w h ole ne w se t of possibilitie s for using th e point data to e stim ate th e value at any point in Jam aica. In 19 9 0 a pow e rful Ge ograph ic Inform ation Syste m (GIS) th e Unite d State s Arm y's Ge ograph ic Re source Analysis Support Softw are (GRASS), running on a Sun Sparc Station I, w ith 1M B of m e m ory, and 1GB of h ard disk space w as adde d. W ith its spatial proce ssing capabilitie s, large use r base , and availability of source code , GRASS provide d an e xce lle nt platform on w h ich to de ve lop and m anage th e data h oldings. M aps sh ow ing th e distribution of 35 e le m e nts across th e Jam aican landscape w e re cre ate d from th e point sam ple d data store d in th e database , and com bine d w ith digitise d h ard copy m aps such as soil classification, ge ology land- use , and im portant soil ch aracte ristics, allow ing th e de te rm ination of spatial corre lation and variability, an im portant factor in inte rpre ting th e ge och e m istry of th e land.

W ith th e adve nt in th e m id 19 9 0's of th e w orld w ide w e b, w ork starte d on th e de ve lopm e nt of a brow se r base d front- e nd to th e database and GIS, th at w ould allow use rs acce ss to th e syste m from th e ir de sk s as w e ll as re m ote acce ss for collaborators locate d off cam pus. Th e Spatial Inform ation Vie w ing Syste m (SIVS) as it is calle d, provide s a digital m apping e nvironm e nt, offe ring use rs re ady acce ss to th e point sam ple database re sults in a w e b- base d e asy to use form at. Use rs cre ate datase ts from th e large database , spe cifying type s and groupings of sam ple s, and com bine th e se w ith various th e m atic m aps such as land- use , soil classifications, or ge ology, to

study spatial corre lations. Th e syste m also offe rs m ask ing of se le cte d are as, w h ich provide s a fle xible m e ch anism to furth e r isolate study are as. Inte ractive q ue rying of m ap outputs allow s th e use r to drill dow n th rough unlim ite d laye rs and re trie ve spatially associate d data.

Th e pre se nt syste m h olds gigabyte s of data running on a state of th e art 3GH z ultra fast com pute r se rve r, w ith ove r 400GB of storage space , and a 350M H z vide o graph ics proce ssor. It h ouse s th e large st digital ge o-

Spatial Inform ation Vie w ing Syste m

D istribution of M agne sium in Jam aican Soils

GIS Quality Assurance

Spatial Inform ation Vie w ing Sys te m

Th e G IS D atabas e


ch e m ical data re pository in th e re gion, w h ich include s a point sam ple database , spatial m ap database , sate llite im age database , and sate llite and ae rial ph otograph ic im age ry. Th e point sam ple database contains ove r 400,000 ge ograph ically re fe re nce d data re cords for som e 15,000+ sam ple s of soils, stre am se dim e nts, rock s, surface and ground w ate r, air particulate s, food, and anim al and h um an tissue s; se le cte d socio- e conom ic data, h e alth statistics, and m e dical e pide m iology.

Th e m ap database curre ntly h olds m aps for soil ge och e m istry, topograph y, soil classification, land use , ge ology, and m ine ral de posits, w h ile th e sate llite im age database h olds IKO NO S 1 m e tre re solution im age ry for all of Jam aica tak e n be tw e e n Nove m be r 2001 and July 2002, and ae rial im age ry for m ajor urban are as. Th is latte r re source plays a vital role in fie ld sam pling, one of ICENS core activitie s, assisting in th e se le ction of sam ple site s and ve rification of sam ple locations.

ICENS is critically de pe nde nt on th e q uality of its digital database s w h ich are ste adily be ing e nlarge d, and th e data are routine ly subje cte d to q uality assurance (QA) proce dure s to e nsure th at th e y are of th e h igh e st q uality and re liability. Acce ss is available via Inte rne t protocols to m axim ise data

IKO NO S sate llite im age of M ona Cam pus, Unive rsity of th e W e st Ind ie s, as se e n from 423 m ile s above th e e arth .

Alum inium , Am m onium , Antim ony, Arse nic, Barium , Be ryllium , Bicarbonate Alk alinity, Bism uth , Boron, Brom ine , Cae sium , Cadm ium , Carbonate , Calcium , Ce rium , Ch loride , Ch lorine , Ch rom ium , Cobalt, Coppe r, D ysprosium , Europium , Fluoride , Fluorine , Gallium , Gold, H afnium , H olm ium , Iodine , Iron, Lanth anum , Le ad, Lute tium , M agne sium , M angane se , M e rcury, M olybde num , Ne odym ium , Nick e l, Nitrate , Nitrite , Niobium , O rganic Carbon, Particulate Carbon, Particulate Nitroge n, Ph osph ate , Ph osph orus, Potassium , Radon, Rubidium , Sam arium , Scandium , Se le nium , Silicate , Silicon, Sulph ate , Sodium , Strontium , Te rbium , Th orium , Tin, Titanium , Total D issolve d O xyge n, Tungste n, Turbidity, Uranium , Vanadium , Ytte rbium , Yttrium , Z inc, Z irconium

Biological O xyge n D e m and, Easting, Fae cal Coliform , pH , Salinity, Total Alk alinity, Flow Rate , Total D issolve d O xyge n, Total H ardne ss, O rganic Carbon, Particulate Carbon, Turbidity, Particulate Nitroge n, North ing, Conductivity, Te m pe rature , Total Coliform , Total D issolve d Solids, Total Suspe nde d Solids, W ate r Te m pe rature

Point sam ple d atabase fie ld s

Ele m e nt/Ion Data

Oth e r Num e ric Data

IKO NO S im age ry of th e M ona Cam pus of th e Unive rsity of th e W e st Ind ie s, as se e n from 423 m ile s above th e e arth


sh aring, collaboration, and provide policy m ak e rs w ith a pow e rful inte ractive tool to obtain and asse ss inform ation. It is a pow e rful e le m e nt in data analysis and planning, providing a k e y tool in th e e nvironm e ntal data fram e w ork , se rving as a im portant com m unication outle t for disse m inating e nvironm e ntal inform ation to th e public and policy m ak e rs.

Th e syste m , w h ich is constantly be ing im prove d w ith re spe ct to softw are , h ardw are , additional data laye rs, training, and th e q uality and de tail of th e m aps, h as gre atly influe nce d m uch of th e Ce ntre 's inte rpre tative w ork , and attracte d th e adm iration and inte re st of num e rous e xpe rt visitors. ICENS is coordinating th e furth e r de ve lopm e nt of e le m e nts of its softw are w ith a group from th e D e partm e nt of Engine e ring of th e Unive rsity of Tre nto, Italy, w h ose re se arch e rs spe nd tim e at ICENS collaborating on de ve loping syste m capabilitie s.

M uch inte re st h as also be e n e xpre sse d locally in m ak ing th e data available to inte re ste d non-gove rnm e ntal organisations and e nvironm e ntal groups to assist th e m in h aving a be tte r unde rstanding of th e local e nvironm e nt. ICENS re m ains com m itte d to th e se and sim ilar ve nture s, to m axim ise th e use of th e data colle cte d.

W e be lie ve our syste m is uniq ue in th e Caribbe an in te rm s of conce pt, cove rage and de tail; and m any institutions in de ve lope d countrie s are now conside ring sim ilar initiative s. Th is is an e xtre m e ly valuable re source , th e pow e r of w h ich w ill grow as additional laye rs and data are adde d, and th e use fulne ss of w h ich w ill be incre asingly appare nt as k now le dge of our e nvironm e nt be com e s critical to our ve ry e xiste nce .

Agricultural Soil Sam pling Site s

O AS 2001 surve y (148 site s)

FO O D 2003 surve y (334 site s)

FO O D 9 9 surve y (71 site s)


Th e Ce ntre be gan w ith one full tim e staff m e m be r, D r. H ilary Roboth am , ope rating from th e Ch e m istry D e partm e nt w ith a gre at de al of assistance from M r. Joh n Pre ston and M r. Tony W alling, both from th e U W I Ele ctronics Unit. M r. Pre ston w as transfe rre d to th e CNS in 19 84, and th e staff num be rs be gan to grow .

To date th e Ce ntre h as provide d gainful sh ort- te rm e m ploym e nt and se condm e nts for som e 150 young pe rsons w h o h ave be ne fite d from on th e job and oth e r training re ce ive d. M any h ave continue d to graduate de gre e s, and som e h ave m igrate d. A fe w h ave m ove d to im portant local positions.

Th e staff is ve ry conscious of its public se rvice role , w h ich tak e s a varie ty of form s including th e provision of advice on scie ntific and e nvironm e ntal m atte rs, re fe re e ing for inte rnational journals,

Oth e r Activitie s

Prof. G. Lalor D ire ctor 19 83 - pre se nt

D r. H . Roboth am Coordinator 19 83 - 19 9 3

M r. J. Pre ston Ele ctronics Te ch nologist Jan. 19 84 - pre se nt

M s. Ange lla M attis H e alth Te ch nologist Fe b. 19 84 - Se p. 19 85

D r. W . Pinnock * Radiation Safe ty O ffice r Jan. 19 84 - Se p. 19 84

D r. C. Ale ta** Radiation Safe ty O ffice r Se p. 19 84 - Jul. 19 85

M rs. P. M orant Se cre tary Fe b. 19 84 - O ct 19 84

M rs. R. Th om pson Se cre tary O ct. 19 84 - M ay 19 85

M r. A. Rose H EART Traine e Te ch nician D e c. 19 84 - M ay 19 85

*Le cture r, D e partm e nt of Ch e m istry **Consultant on assignm e nt from th e M inistry of M ining and Ene rgy

Staff Public Se rvice

First staff m e m be rs of CNS


and supporting oth e r analytical laboratorie s. ICENS is also an im portant link be tw e e n th e Gove rnm e nt of Jam aica and th e IAEA.

M e m be rsh ips in Boards and Le arne d Socie tie s include :

ICENS Staff 2004

Profe ssor th e H on. Ge rald Lalor O.J.

Ch airm an:Board of D ire ctors ICENS

M e m be r:Board of Gove rnors of ICENS, Board of Gove rnors of th e ICW I Group Foundation; Board of D ire ctors of th e Gle ane r Com pany and th e Insurance Com pany of th e W e st Indie s Group; Council of th e Th ird W orld Acade m y of Scie nce s; National Com m ission for Scie nce and Te ch nology; Jam aica Socie ty of Scie ntists and Te ch nologists; Am e rican Association for th e Advance m e nt of Scie nce ; Am e rican Ch e m ical Socie ty; Royal Socie ty of Ch e m istry; Te ch nical Com m itte e of th e Scie ntific Re se arch Council; Board of Studie s, Unive rsity Council of Jam aica, Council Institute of Jam aica.

Editorial Boards:Re vista Latinoam e ricana de Quím ica (Re gional Editor); Jam aican Journal of Scie nce and Te ch nology; W e st Indian M e dical Journal; Environm e ntal Ge och e m istry and H e alth ; Th e Scie nce of th e Total Environm e nt.


M e m be rs of th e Board of D ire ctors of ICENS :

ICENS Staff m e m be rs:

Dr. M itk o Vutch k ovDr. Robin Rattray

Council of th e Jam aican Socie ty of Scie ntists and Te ch nologists; Laboratorie s Association of Jam aica.

Se cre tary :

D ire ctor : Lions Club of M ona.

M e m be r : Am e rican Ch e m ical Socie ty, Inte rnational Air and W ate r Quality Sub- com m itte e s; AO AC Inte rnational; Air and W ate r Quality Sub com m itte e s (National Environm e ntal Prote ction Age ncy); Ch e m ical M e trology W ork ing Group (Bure au of Standards);

M e m be r : Products Re se arch and D e ve lopm e nt Com m itte e , Scie ntific Re se arch Council.

Re ce nt Aw ards and H onours

Profe ssor Ish e n Kah w aTh e Gle ane r

Aw ard in Scie nce

and Te ch nology

for 2003

Dr. Arnoldo Ve nturaNational M e dal of Scie nce and Te ch nology

Dr. th e H on.Carlton Davis O.J.LL.D H onoris Causa (U W I)

M r. Joh n Pre ston

M e m be r : Land Inform ation Council of Jam aica; Te le com m unications Appe als Tribunal; Jam aica/Cuba Scie ntific and Te ch nological Coope ration National Co-ordination Com m itte e .

M rs. Joan Th om as

M e m be r : Radiation Prote ction Advisory Com m itte e of Jam aica; Inne r W h e e l Club of Kingston.

Profe ssor th e H on. Ge rald Lalor O.J.Sir Ph illip Sh e rlock Aw ard for Exce lle nce ;

Norm an M anle y Aw ard for Exce lle nce ;

Gold M usgrave M e dal for D istinguish e d

Em ine nce in Scie nce ; Pe lican Aw ard;

Norm an W ash ington M anle y Aw ard for

Exce lle nce in Scie nce and Te ch nology for

D e ve lopm e nt; National M e dal for

Scie nce and Te ch nology, Fe llow of th e

Institute of Jam aica.


Be cause of th e m ultidisciplinary nature of its program m e s, th e Ce ntre h as de ve lope d a long and continuing h istory of succe ssful collaborations w ith individuals and institutions.

Th e se include :

Dr. M itk o Vutch k ovTh e Gle ane r Aw ard in Scie nce

and Te ch nology for 2002.

M r. Joh n Pre stonSh e ll Young Scie ntist Aw ard

19 9 3

Collaborators

Life Scie nce s D e partm e ntD r. P. Coate s- Be ck fordProfe ssor Ge orge SidrakD r. Eric H e slop

Ch e m istry D e partm e ntProf. I. Kaw aD r. A. Gre e naw ayD r. W illard Pinnock

Ge ology D e partm e ntProfe ssor Te d RobinsonProfe ssor Tre vor Jack son

D e partm e nt of M e dicineProf. Eve rard Barton

D e partm e nt of Surge ryProf. th e H on. Law son D ouglas, O.J. (H onorary Profe ssor )

D e partm e nt of Path ologyD r. Nadia W illiam s

Unive rsity H e alth Se rviceD r. Blossom Anglin- Brow n

Tropical M e tabolism Re se arch UnitD r. M ich ae l Golde nD r. Barbara Golde nD r M ich ae l W ongD r. Julie M e e k s - Gardne rProfe ssor Susan W alk e r

Unive rsity of th e W e st Indie s

Scie ntific Re se arch CouncilM rs. Carol Th om pson

M inistry of M ining,M ine s and Ge ology D ivisionM r. Carlton Baxte r

M inistry of AgricultureM r. Vince nt Cam pbe llM r. T.R. D e k ruyffe

Caribbe an Food and Nutrition InstituteD r. Pauline Sam uda

W ate r Re source s Auth orityM r. Basil Fe rnande z

Oth e r Local Institutions


Se nior Fulbrigh t Fe llowProfe ssor Je rom e Nriagu from th e Sch ool of Public H e alth at th e Unive rsity of M ich igan spe nt a six-m onth pe riod at ICENS during 2002. Profe ssor Nriagu is a w orld le ade r in th e e ffe cts of h e avy m e tals on h um ans and h as initiate d a proje ct on risk analysis in ce ntral Jam aica. ICENS look s forw ard to continuing collaborations w ith th is distinguish e d sch olar.

Th ird W orld Acade m y of Scie nce (TW AS/U NESCO) Associate sD r. Pe rcy O nianw a, Re ade r in th e D e partm e nt of Ch e m istry, Unive rsity of Ibadan, Nige ria - s ix m onth s ove r tw o sum m e r pe riods, 2000 - 2001

D r. Toyin Arow olo, Re ade r in th e D e partm e nt of Environm e ntal M anage m e nt and Toxicology, Unive rsity of Agriculture , Abe ok uta, Nige ria - tw o th re e m onth pe riods; M ay - August 2002; O ctobe r 2003 - January 2004.

IAEA Fe llow sD r. Law re nce D im , Re se arch Fe llow at th e Ah m adu Be llo Unive rsity, Z aria, Nige ria. - January 19 9 6 for 6 m onth s to le arn ne utron activation analysis.

D r. M ark O ladipo, Re se arch Fe llow at th e Am h adu Be llo Unive rsity, Z aria, Nige ria, Fe bruary 19 9 6 for 6 m onth s to le arn ne utron activation analysis.

Vis iting Fe llow s

British Ge ological Surve yM r. Pe te r Sim psonD r. Jane PlantM s. Jane H urdle yM r. J. M ille rD r. M artin W illiam s

Cle m son Unive rsityProfe ssor Brian D avie s

Dalh ousie Unive rsityProfe ssor A. Ch att

Ge ological Surve y of CanadaD r. Robe rt Garre ttM s. Gw e ndy H all

Instituto Nacional Inve stigacione sNucle are s, M e xicoD r. M igue l Balcaz ar

Instituto de Pe sq uisas Ene rge ticas, Braz ilD r. Ana Figue ire do

Unive rsity of M ich iganProfe ssor Je rom e Nriagu

Unive rsity of Ne w H am psh ireProfe ssor Te d Lode r

Unive rsity of Pavia, ItalyProfe ssor P.F. M anfre di

Ove rse as Institutions


ICENS ope rate s a fe llow sh ip sch e m e th at provide s for an individual w ith a particular sk ill from anoth e r institution to join in full- tim e program m e s of m utual institutional inte re st. Th e first re cipie nt of th is aw ard w as M r. Vince nt Cam pbe ll, a soil scie ntist from th e Rural Ph ysical Planning D ivision of th e M inistry of Agriculture , w h o spe nt e igh te e n m onth s at th e Ce ntre in 19 9 9 - 2000. D uring h is stay, link s w ith th e local agricultural com m unity w e re stre ngth e ne d, and w ork on ph osph orus and dry land farm ing in St. Eliz abe th w as publish e d. Th is is a valuable program m e and it is h ope d th at it w ill re ce ive additional support.

Training for staff, associate s and stude nts is an e sse ntial part of th e Ce ntre 's ope rations. Local training tak e s th e form of:

Training h as also include d, scie ntific visits, e tc. to laboratorie s of ve ry h igh q uality in: Arge ntina, Austria, Braz il, Canada, Ch ile , Ge rm any, D e nm ark , Guate m ala, th e Unite d Kingdom and th e Unite d State s of Am e rica, for ICENS staff and staff from oth e r de partm e nts and oth e r institutions. In addition to th e k now le dge gaine d th is h as e stablish e d a m e asure of global ne tw ork ing.

O ne staff m e m be r M s. Andre a H ow e , is pre se ntly on a te n- m onth training program m e w ith th e IAEA Safe guards D ivision. Anoth e r, our Ch ie f Re actor O pe rator, M r. Ch arle s Grant, h as be e n participating in SLO W PO KE re - sh im m ing in Jam aica and Canada and w as an obse rve r at th e de com m issioning of th e Unive rsity of Toronto SLO W PO KE.

ICENS h as h oste d num e rous w ork sh ops and se m inars in topics including nucle ar e le ctronics, nucle ar analytical m e th ods, m ultivariate statistics, safe ty, e xploration ge och e m istry, program m e s for h igh sch ool stude nts and te ach e rs, and th e disse m ination of its ow n re sults. Am ong th e se w as a Caribbe an w ide confe re nce h e ld on th e Cave H ill Cam pus in Barbados, w ith participants from Aruba, Bah am as Barbados, Be liz e , D om inican Re public, Jam aica, St. Lucia, Surinam e , Trinidad & Tobago, and th e U S Virgin Islands, to disse m inate th e re sults of th e ID B Funde d Proje ct - Te ch nical Coope ration Program m e for D e ve lopm e nt of a M onitoring Syste m for Ke y Environm e ntal Param e te rs. A Caribbe an- w ide program m e on radiation safe ty w as de live re d on th e U W ID ITE ne tw ork .

Training

ICENS Fe llow s h ips

1. on th e job training, se m inars and w ork sh ops, e .g. sam pling and sam ple pre paration; analytical m e th ods; q uality control; com pute r database m anage m e nt and m ainte nance ; ge ograph ical inform ation syste m s and th e ir applications; e nvironm e ntal ge och e m istry;

2. w ork study assistance for Applie d Ch e m istry unde rgraduate stude nts;

3. unde rgraduate and h igh e r de gre e program m e s;

4. sum m e r e m ploym e nt/training program m e s for U W I and U TECH unde rgraduate s and scie nce te ach e rs.

5. se m inars and training program m e s de live re d by visiting e xpe rts.

W ork s h ops and Se m inars


An inte rnational w ork sh op on Sm all Re se arch Re actors, organise d jointly by ICENS and th e IAEA and funde d alm ost e ntire ly by IAEA w as h e ld at M ona in January 2003. Th is provide d a forum for e xch ange of inform ation and e xpe rie nce am ong use rs of sm all re se arch re actors w orldw ide to h e lp im prove capabilitie s to contribute to national de ve lopm e nt, and to build link s be tw e e n th e institutions. Th e re w e re a total of 27 pre se ntations, 4 of w h ich w e re m ade by ICENS staff m e m be rs.

D istinguish e d scie ntists and consultants visiting ICENS pre se nt se m inars to w h ich m e m be rs of th e Cam pus and com m unity are invite d.

ICENS h as be e n contributing to unde rgraduate and graduate program m e s in th e de partm e nts of Ch e m istry, H istory, Ge ograph y and Ge ology, and Life Scie nce s at M ona, and h as also be e n assisting th e Unive rsity of Te ch nology (U TECH ) stude nts in th e ir re se arch proje cts. Incre asingly th e oth e r cam puse s, and th e oth e r unive rsitie s in Jam aica are re q ue sting assistance , and som e program m e s are be ing discusse d.

Th e Ce ntre h as alre ady m ade contributions to graduate program m e s. Th e follow ing h ave re ce ive d graduate de gre e s base d large ly on th e Ce ntre 's contributions.

Se ve ral ove rse as unive rsitie s are e nq uiring about possible opportunitie s for th e ir stude nts to conduct graduate studie s at ICENS and th is is unde r conside ration. Th e pre se nt program m e s offe r e xce lle nt opportunitie s e spe cially for M .Ph il., Ph .D. and M .D. candidate s in th e Faculty of M e dical Scie nce s, and ICENS staff are e ncourage d to re giste r for U W I h igh e r de gre e s.

Sum m e r opportunitie s are provide d for unde rgraduate s m ainly from U W I and U TECH , h igh sch ool scie nce te ach e rs, and occasionally for a fe w h igh sch ool stude nts. Th e re is a spe cial sch e m e in w h ich e ach cam pus principal and th e pre side nt of U TECH e ach se le cts an e xce ptional stude nt in any scie nce - base d discipline . For th e se stude nts, all e xpe nse s including trave l are m e t by ICENS and, subje ct to e xce lle nt pe rform ance at ICENS and on th e cam pus, th e y h ave th e option to re ne w e ach sum m e r th rough out th e ir unde rgraduate care e rs. Fourte e n stude nts be e n w e lcom e d unde r th is program m e , and th e re h ave be e n som e e xce lle nt participants w h o h ave m ade use ful contributions.

An inte rnsh ip program m e w as introduce d to h e lp young scie ntists, w h o on com ple ting graduate w ork , w e re h aving difficulty finding local e m ploym e nt in scie nce . Th is program m e provide s an opportunity to e xpand re se arch s k ills and to gain valuable e xpe rie nce . It h as be e n w ork ing ve ry w e ll

Stude nts

Pos tgraduate Stude nts

Ge ology D e partm e ntM r. Norm an Clayton (M . Ph il)M r. R. O live r (M . Ph il.)M iss Nicole W ynte r (M . Ph il.)Botany D e partm e ntM rs. J. D ixon (Ph .D.)M iss T. H e ffe s (M . Ph il.)

Ch e m istry D e partm e ntM iss A. Rank ine (M . Ph il.)M r. E. H arty (M . Ph il.)M iss M . Se w e ll (M . Ph il.)M rs. A. Joh nson (M . Ph il.)Ge ology D e partm e nt, Cle m son Unive rsity M r. Je re m y Vaugh n (M . Ph il.)

Sum m e r W ork O pportunitie s

Inte rns h ips


and to date th e Ce ntre h as be ne fite d from th irty m an- m onth s of se rvice from th re e M .Sc. and one Ph .D. inte rn. Th e w ork h as h e lpe d th e m se cure pe rm ane nt positions e lse w h e re , and is a use ful conce pt w h ich , e xpande d in num be rs and to oth e r institutions could h e lp re duce th e brain drain.

In th e long run, it is th e public th at supports scie nce and th e re fore it se e m s only righ t th at re se arch institutions assum e a re sponsibility to k e e p th e com m unity inform e d as w e ll as to publish in journals. ICENS atte m pts to m e e t th is pe rce ive d obligation by:

ICENS h as w e lcom e d ove r 3,000 visitors. Th e se include royalty, gove rnors- ge ne ral, prim e m iniste rs and pre side nts, h e ads of unive rsitie s and acade m ics, local and ove rse as m iniste rs of gove rnm e nts, h e ads of inte rnational institutions, am bassadors, jurists, m e m be rs of th e private se ctor, and m any oth e r distinguish e d pe rsons.

W e h ave be e n h onoure d to h ave h oste d: H is Royal H igh ne ss Prince Ph ilip, D uk e of Edinburgh ; tw o of Jam aica's Gove rnors Ge ne rals, Sir Floriz e l Glasspole and Sir H ow ard Cook e ; Th e H on. L. Ersk ine Sandiford and Th e H on. O w e n Arth ur, Prim e M iniste rs of Barbados; Th e H on. Ch e ddi Jagan, Pre side nt of Guyana, and tw o of our ow n Prim e M iniste rs, th e M ost H onorable M ich ae l M anle y and Th e M ost H onourable P.J. Patte rson, w h o is also Ch airm an of th e ICENS Board of Gove rnors.

Th e h e ads of unive rsitie s include d th re e of our Vice - Ch ance llors: D r. Th e H on A.Z . Pre ston O.J., Sir Aliste r M cIntyre , and Th e H on. Re x Ne ttle ford O.M .; D r. Rich ard South w ard, Vice Ch ance llor, Unive rsity of O xford and Ch airm an and National Radiological Prote ction Board, U .K; and D r. Ch ong W ook Le e , founde r and H on. Pre side nt of Suw on Unive rsity, Kore a & H on. Consul Ge ne ral for Jam aica in Kore a.

Am ong th e h e ads of Inte rnational O rganisations th e re w e re D r. H ans Blix , D ire ctor- Ge ne ral of th e IAEA, and D r. Enriq ue Igle sias Pre side nt of th e Inte r- Am e rican D e ve lopm e nt Bank . Th e private se ctor visitors include d: Th e H on. O live r Clark e O.J., Th e H on. D e nnis Lalor O.J., and M r. D ouglas O rane . Am ong th e distinguish e d scie ntists w e re Profe ssor Jose Vargas, and Profe ssor C.N.R. Rao,

Public Re lations

• acce pting invitations to spe ak at m e e tings of associations and se rvice clubs;

w h e re possible inviting th e com m unity in w h ich w ork is be ing done to participate ;

contributing to e xh ibitions such as th e Cam pus Re se arch D ay, th e D e nbigh Agricultural Sh ow , and th e SRC's Scie nce W e e k ;

h osting and participating in local scie ntific confe re nce s and se m inars;

publish ing in local and ove rse as journals

contributing to ne w spape r article s, and te le vision and radio ne w s and fe ature s;

h osting O pe n D ays and tours for sch ool ch ildre n and th e ir te ach e rs;

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D is tinguis h e d Vis itors


form e r and pre se nt Pre side nt of Th e Th ird W orld Acade m y of Scie nce s, and both m e m be rs of th e Board of Gove rnors; D r. Joh n Ew e n, re cipie nt of th e Unite d State s National Aw ard in Te ch nology and D r. Ge orge s Ve ndrye s, a re cipie nt of th e Enrico Fe rm i Aw ard.

O ne of our m ost re ce nt distinguish e d visitors w as M r. Noe l H ylton O.J., CEO of th e Port Auth ority of Jam aica, w h o w as th e Gle ane r M an of Th e Ye ar for 2003.


CNS ground bre ak ing ce re m ony

Sh ip carrying re actor fue l

U ranium fue l sh ipm e nt containe rCNS und e r construction

SLOW PO KE re actor core asse m bly

SLOW PO KE core containe r asse m blyFirst sam ple b e ing se nt into re actor for irrad iation


H .R .H . Prince Ph illip

GG Sir H ow ard Cook e and Lad y Cook e

M ost H on. P.J. Patte rson

GG Sir. Flore z e l Glasspole

D r. H ans Blix (D .G. IAEA) and D r. Sch rie r (IAEA)ICENS Board of Gove nors tour re actor


Publications

1. Roboth am , H ., Lalor, G.C., M attis, A., Rattray R. and Th om pson C., 19 87. Trace Ele m e nts in Jam aican Soils Part I: Th e Parish e s of Clare ndon, St. Cath e rine , Portland and St. Elizabe th . Journal of Radioanalytical and Nucle ar Ch e m istry, 116(1), 27-34.

Th e re sults of th e analysis of approxim ate ly 100 soil sam ple s for Na, M g, Al, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, M n, Fe , Co, As, Sb, Ba, La, Sm , Eu, D y, Lu, H f, Th , and U by ne utron activation analysis, in th re e soil h oriz ons from four of th e m ain agricultural parish e s of Jam aica are pre se nte d. W h ile th e re is som e re gional variation in th e abundance s, th e re are no statistically significant distributions of abundance s across th e h oriz ons. Th e re sults for a fe w se le cte d e le m e nts are com pare d w ith abundance s in oth e r countrie s.

2. Lalor, G. C., and Roboth am , H ., 19 87. Pe ace ful Use s of th e Atom in th e Caribbe an. Journal of th e Scie ntific Re se arch Council of Jam aica, 6, 3-13.

Applications, ne e ds, proble m s and prospe cts for pe ace ful use s of nucle ar e ne rgy are re vie w e d for five English - spe ak ing Caribbe an countrie s. In Be liz e and St Lucia th e only m e dical applications are th e norm al use of x- rays in diagnose s. Barbados, Trinidad and Jam aica h ave m uch m ore soph isticate d m e dical program m e s w h ich involve radiation source s, radiotrace rs, and oth e r nucle ar instrum e ntation. In oth e r fie lds only Trinidad and Jam aica pre se ntly h ave conside rable scope for grow th . Jam aica is uniq ue in th at it posse sse s a Ce ntre for Nucle ar Scie nce s w h ich is e xpe cte d to be an im portant source for th e de ve lopm e nt of applications of pe ace ful use s of th e atom .

3. Be rtolaccini, M ., Padovini, G., Cam in, D.V., M anfre di, P.F., Pre ston, J.A. and Re h n, L.A., 19 88. Pe rspe ctive s in th e D e sign of Transform e rle ss, Low -Noise Front End Ele ctronics for Large Capacitance D e te ctors and Calorim e te rs in Ele m e ntary Particle Ph ysics. Journal of Nucle ar Instrum e nts and M e th ods in Ph ysics Re se arch , A264, 39 9 -406.

Th e ach ie ve m e nt of ade q uate signal- to- noise ratios in th e m e asure m e nt of th e e ne rgy re le ase d by ioniz ing particle s in de te ctors of large capacitance such as, for instance , calorim e te r ce lls, fre q ue ntly re lie s upon transform e r coupling be tw e e n de te ctor and pre am plifie r. Such a solution, h ow e ve r, m ay not be fe asible if th e de te ctor is locate d in a strong m agne tic fie ld. Th is pape r


discusse s th e possibilitie s ope ne d up by a re ce ntly de ve lope d fie ld e ffe ct transistor of a large gate are a, w h ose de sign h as be e n tailore d to th e applications in front - e nd am plifie rs for calorim e te rs and oth e r large capacitance de te ctors of fre q ue nt use in e le m e ntary particle ph ysics.

4. Sim pson, P.R., Lalor, G.C., Roboth am , H ., H urdle y, J., M ilodow sk i, A.E., Plant J.A. and Sm ith , T.K., 19 88. Ne w Evide nce of Epith e rm al Gold Pote ntial in Ande sitic Volcanics of th e Ce ntral Inlie r, Jam aica. Journal of Transactions of th e Institution of M ining and M e tallurgy (Se ct.B: Applie d Earth Scie nce ), 9 7, B88-B9 1.

D e trital native gold of h igh fine ne ss is re porte d in drainage sam ple s from th e M ountain Rive r at Cudjoe H ill on th e south e ast m argin of th e Ce ntral Inlie r, St. Cath e rine Parish , Jam aica (Fig 1). Th e gold is associate d w ith volcano- se dim e ntary se q ue nce s of ande sitic affinitie s and w ith anom alous ge och e m ical h aloe s for As and Ag, w h ich are indicative of e pith e rm al gold m ine raliz ation. Th e volcanic pile h as be e n locally intrude d by Cre tace ous granodiorite at Ginge r Ridge , 2.5 k m south w e st of Juan de Bolas m ountain (Fig 1). Th e Caribbe an plate is a favourable are a for gold e xploration and, by analogy w ith th e prolific w e ste rn Pacific plate m argin, h as pote ntial for e pith e rm al de posits re late d to volcanic h ot springs at crustal plate boundarie s. Jam aica h as no re cord of gold m ining, th ough Saw k ins re cogniz e d th e gold pote ntial of m ine raliz ation in th e Stam ford H ill, Ch aring Cross and Gold M ine localitie s in north e ast Clare ndon to th e w e st of th e pre se nt study are a, w h ich h e classifie d as gold ore .

5. Lalor, G.C., M ille r, J.M ., Roboth am , H and Sim pson, P.R., 19 89 . Gam m a Radiom e tric Surve y of Jam aica. Journal of Transactions of th e Institution of M ining and M e tallurgy, 9 8, 34-37.

Th e re sults of a total gam m a radiom e tric surve y of Jam aica, carrie d out w ith car- borne instrum e ntation, are pre se nte d and th e data com pare d w ith th e conte nts of potassium , th orium and uranium in rock s and in surface (soil, stre am - se dim e nt, pan conce ntrate and w ate r) sam ple s obtaine d at six s ite s se le cte d to be re pre se ntative of th e principal rock type s and surface e nvironm e nts of Jam aica. Th e w ork form e d part of an orie ntation study for a re gional ge och e m ical surve y of th e CARICO M countrie s of th e Caribbe an. Th e initial re sults indicate th at e nh ance d gam m a activity is corre late d w ith e nrich m e nt in uranium and th orium , but not potassium , in te rra rossa soils and/or bauxite de posits in lim e stone . Else w h e re , gam m a le ve ls are incre ase d on th e Above Rock s Cre tace ous base m e nt Inlie r, w h e re th e y corre late ge ne rally w ith th e pre se nce of volcanoge nic se dim e nts and a granodiorite intrusion. Th e low e st radioactivity w as re corde d in th e vicinity of ultrabasic rock s in th e Blue M ountains Inlie r.

6. Bajue , S., Dasgupta, G., Lalor, G.C., Roboth am , H ., 19 89 . Acid D issociation and nick e l-com ple x form ation constants of som e nitrosonaph olsulph anoate ligands. Polyh e dron, 8(4), 473-477.

Th e acid dissociation constants of se ve ral 1- nitroso- and 2- nitrosonaph th osilph onate ligands, and th e form ation constants of th e ir Ni2+ m ono- com ple xe s are re porte d. Th e m e asure m e nts w e re pe rform e d in th e te m pe rature range 20.0 - 30.0oC and ionic stre ngth 0.1 m ol dm - 3.

7. Lalor, G.C., Rattray, R., Roboth am , H . and Th om pson, C., 19 9 0. Th e Slow pok e -2 Nucle ar Re actor at th e Unive rsity of th e W e st Indie s. Jam aica Journal of Scie nce and Te ch nology, 1(1), 65-77. Th e Unive rsity of th e W e st Indie s (U W I) ope rate s a sm all nucle ar re actor, th e SLO W PO KE- 2. Th is re actor is de signe d for isotope m anufacture and ne utron activation analysis. Th e m axim um ope rating flux is a use ful 1 x 1012 ne utrons cm - 2s- 1. Th e re actor is de signe d to be inh e re ntly safe


and e ve n th e w orst cre dible accide nt sh ould pre se nt no th re at to th e e nvironm e nt. Th e re actor is be ing use d m ainly for ne utron activation analysis. Th e m ajor program m e to w h ich th e re actor is applie d is to de ve lop a com pute r re adable re gional database w h ich w ill be of value in agriculture , anim al and h um an h e alth , land use planning, and th e asse ssm e nt of natural re source s. Th is pape r de scribe s th e ph ysical ch aracte ristics of th e re actor, its safe ty ph ilosoph y, and its application to ne utron activation analysis. Th e asse ssm e nt of th e q uality of th e re sults obtaine d as w e ll as th e autom ation of th e syste m are also pre se nte d and discusse d. 8. H e ffe s, T.P., Coate s-Be ck ford P.L., and Roboth am H ., 19 9 1. Effe cts of M e loidogyne incognita on grow th and nutrie nt conte nt of Am aranth us viridis and tw o cultivars of H ib iscus sabdariffa. Ne m atropica, 21 (1), 7-18. Pots w ith se e dlings of callaloo (Aram anth us viridis) and th e Re d' and W h ite ' cultivars of sorre l (H ibiscus sabdariffa) w e re inoculate d w ith 0, 100, 1,000 and 10,000 e ggs of M e loidogyne incognita race 1 and th e plants w e re grow n for 6 w e e k s in a gre e nh ouse . Ne m atode re production w as good on Re d sorre l, poor on callaloo and w as inh ibite d by W h ite sorre l. D ry w e igh ts of infe ste d callaloo roots w e re gre ate r th an w e igh ts of noninfe ste d roots. Sh oot h e igh ts, le af are as and dry sh oot and root w e igh ts of infe ste d plants of both sorre l cultivars w e re le ss th an th ose of noninfe ste d plants. Th e conce ntrations of th e nutrie nts varie d w ith th e h ost, plant organ and initial ne m atode de nsity. Th e s h oot/root ratios of th e e le m e nts w e re s im ilar at all inoculum le ve ls (Pi) e xce pt th ose of callaloo roots at Pi = 10,000 w h ich h ad significantly low e r and h igh e r rations of sodium and m angane se , re spe ctive ly, th an th ose of noninfe ste d plants.

9 . Sim pson, P.R., H urdle y, J., Lalor, G.C., Plant, J.A., Roboth am , H . and Th om pson, C. 19 9 1. Orie ntation Studie s in Jam aica for M ulti-purpose Ge och e m ical M apping of Caribbe an Re gion. Journal of Transactions of th e Institution of M ining and M e tallurgy, 100, B9 8-B110.

Th e application of rock , soil, stre am - se dim e nt and w ate r sam pling to de fine th e re gional ge och e m istry of Jam aica is de scribe d w ith particular re fe re nce to source s of e rror and th e m odification of trace e le m e nt patte rns in diffe re nt surface e nvironm e nts. Studie s of sam pling and sub sam ple pre paration m e th ods indicate th at soil sam ple s of particle siz e <150 µm (100 BSI m e sh ) provide th e optim um sam pling m e dium for a re gional ge och e m ical surve y of Jam aica. Th e y contain a h igh e r proportion of fine - fraction m ate rial th an stre am se dim e nts, particularly in th e m ountainous are as of th e Ce ntral and Blue M ountains Inlie rs; th e y also provide a be tte r and m ore consiste nt m e ans of diffe re ntiating rock type s and occurre nce s of m e tallife rous m ine raliz ation w h ile , unlik e stre am se dim e nts, sh ow ing m inim al variation of e le m e nt conce ntrations in re lation to particle siz e . Soil sam ple s th us provide a robust sam ple type , w ith trace e le m e nt le ve ls th at are unaffe cte d by variations in th e proportions of diffe re nt siz e fractions Studie s of th e dispe rsion of e le m e nts in six catch m e nt basins th at w e re se le cte d to re pre se nt th e m ain rock type s and e nvironm e nts of th e island sugge st th at a sam pling inte rval of one soil sam ple pe r 5 k m 2 is ade q uate to de fine anom alous m e tal conce ntrations and th at re gional variation can be re pre se nte d on th e sam e inte rval. O nly th e conte nt of h igh fie ld stre ngth e le m e nts, such as Z r, H f, Th and th e rare - e arth e le m e nts, can be use d to de duce be drock ch e m istry. A m ore com ple x dispe rsion m ode l is th us re q uire d for Jam aica th an th ose de ve lope d pre viously for tropically w e ath e re d te rrains.

10. Sim pson, P.R., H urdle y, J., Plant, J., Lalor, G.C. and Roboth am , H . 19 9 1. Ge och e m ical Te ch niq ue s for Agrom ine ral and Re late d Studie s in Jam aica. Th e Ge oscie nce s in Inte rnational D e ve lopm e nt (Stow ‚ D. A. V. and Lam m ing. D. J. C. , e ds.), No. 14, 255-267.

Ge och e m ical orie ntation studie s w e re pe rform e d to ide ntify standardiz e d and re producible sam ple suite s island- w ide . Six w ide ly dispe rse d sam ple site s re pre se nting th e m ain ge ological and clim atic


re gions of th e island. At e ach sam ple s of soil, stre am - se dim e nt, bulk rock , and h e avy- m ine ral conce ntrate s w e re tak e n and analyse d. Th e soil fraction <150 µm w as sh ow n to be th e optim al sam pling m e dium . Th e variation w ith particle siz e is m inim al alth ough arse nic, barium and ch rom ium w e re h igh e r in th e fine r fractions at com e site s. Good pe ak - back ground le ve ls w e re found, re late d to lith ological variation or th e pre se nce of m ine ralisation.

11. Sim pson, P.R., Roboth am , H . and H all, G.E.M ., 19 9 1. Re gional Ge och e m ical Orie ntation Studie s and th e Platinum Pote ntial of Jam aica. Transactions of th e Institution of M ining and M e tallurgy, Se ction B: Applie d Earth Scie nce s, 9 9 , 183-187.

Ge och e m ical orie ntation studie s for pre cious m e tals h ave be e n carrie d out at a site in th e Blue M ountains in south - e aste rn Jam aica w h e re oph iolitic se rpe ntinite s occur. Th is are a m ay be a candidate for th e source of platinum re fe rre d to in Jam aican h istorical re cords.

12. H arty, E.M ., Lalor G.C. and Roboth am H ., 19 9 1. Ele m e ntal Conce ntrations in Jam aican Pe at, Environm e ntal Ge och e m istry and H e alth , 13(4), 19 7-202. Th e pe at of th e Ne gril M orass in W e ste rn Jam aica w as sam ple d at de pth s dow n to 7m in dire ctions paralle l and pe rpe ndicular to th e se ash ore , and th e sam ple s w e re analyse d for Al, As, B, Br, Ca, Ce , Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, D y, Eu, Fe , H f, I, La, M g, M n, Na, Sb, Sc, Sm , Sr, Ti, U and V by instrum e ntal ne utron activation analysis and by spe ctroph otom e try. Th e pe at is h igh in ash conte nt, but th e conce ntrations of m ost e le m e nts are be low crustal abundance s and th e re fore provide no e vide nce of ne arby m ine ralisation. Th e e le m e ntal conce ntrations indicate th at no particular e nvironm e ntal h az ards are to be e xpe cte d from th e use of th is pe at in e le ctricity ge ne ration.

13. H e ffe s, T.P., Coate s-Be ck ford P.L., and Roboth am H ., 19 9 2. Effe cts of M e loidogyne incognita and Rotyle nch ulus re niform is on grow th and nutrie nt conte nt of Vigna unguiculata and Z e a m ays. Ne m atropica, 22(2), 139 -148.

In a gre e nh ouse e xpe rim e nt, se e dlings of cow pe a (Vigna unguiculata cv. Yvon Clay) and corn (Z e a m ays cv. X306B) w e re grow n for 6 w e e k s in pots re ce iving initial inoculum (Pi) of 0, 100, 1,000 or 10,000 e ggs of M e loidogyne ingonita race 1 or im m ature , ve rm iform Rotyle nch ulus re niform is race A. Final ne m atode populations, plant grow th and conce ntrations of 11 plant nutrie nts w ith in sh oots and roots w e re m e asure d. Each ne m atode re produce d on both h osts but final populations w e re large r on cow pe a th an on corn, both ne m atode s stunte d th e grow th of e ach h ost. Le ave s of corn plants inoculate d w ith 1000 M . incognita e ggs or w ith 10,000 ve rm iform R. re niform is s h ow e d sym ptom s of nutrie nt de ficie ncy. For e ach h ost- parasite com bination, th e re w e re m ore diffe re nce s in nutrie nt conce ntrations in roots th an in sh oots, w h e n infe cte d and noninfe cte d plants w e re com pare d. Spe cific e ffe cts of ne m atode parasitism on h ost conce ntrations diffe re d w ith th e h ost and th e parasite . H ow e ve r, w h e n affe cte d, conce ntrations of potassium w e re alw ays low e r and th ose of alum inium and vanadium w e re alw ays h igh e r in ne m atode - infe cte d th an in noninfe cte d plants. In m ost case s, ne m atode infe ction re sulte d in a de cre ase in th e conce ntration of iron in roots and sh oots.

14. Roboth am , H ., Lalor, G.C., Rattray, R., Th om pson, C., Th om as, J., H urdle y, J., Plant J.A. and Sim pson, P.R., 19 9 3. Orie ntation Studie s for Re gional Ge och e m ical Surve ys in Jam aica. Journal of th e Ge ological Socie ty of Jam aica, 29 (1), 17-26.

Aspe cts of an orie ntation study carrie d out to de te rm ine th e optim um m e th ods of sam pling and analysis for a re gional ge och e m ical surve y of Jam aica are de scribe d. Th e surve y is inte nde d to provide a m ulti- e le m e nt ge och e m ical database suitable for agriculture , land- use planning and


e nvironm e ntal studie s as w e ll as to ide ntify are as w ith pote ntial for th e discove ry of e conom ic m ine ral de posits. D e taile d studie s of e le m e nt path w ays h ave be e n carrie d out base d on th e analyse s of rock , soil, stre am se dim e nt and w ate r sam ple s at six s ite s se le cte d to re pre se nt th e m ain rock type s and e nvironm e nts of th e island. Th is pape r de scribe s th ose aspe cts of th e study w h ich are conce rne d w ith e valuating, w ith particular re fe re nce to th e se le ction of appropriate subsam pling m e th ods. Siz e fraction analysis of soils and stre am se dim e nts from th e orie ntation site s s h ow s th at soils contain a h igh e r proportion of fine fraction m ate rial th an stre am se dim e nts, w ith th e pe rce ntage of th e - 100 m e sh fraction, for e xam ple , ranging from 24.1 to 85 pe r ce nt w ith a m e dian of 59 .2 pe r ce nt, com pare d to a range of 5.5 to 65.5 pe r ce nt w ith a m e dian of 12.6 pe r ce nt in stre am se dim e nts. Th e fine fraction of stre am se dim e nt is particularly sparse at site s w h e re stre am s drain Cre tace ous base m e nt e xpose d in th e h igh e r m ountainous are as of th e Ce ntral and Blue M ountain inlie rs. Th e re lationsh ip be tw e e n th e le ve ls of ch e m ical e le m e nts and particle siz e is discusse d w ith particular re fe re nce to Ba, Cr and As, w h ich s h ow contrasting type s of be h aviour in th e surface e nvironm e nt. Soils are s h ow n to provide be tte r diffe re ntiation be tw e e n th e diffe re nt lith ologie s sam ple d and also to provide im prove d and m ore consiste nt pe ak - to- back ground ratios th an stre am se dim e nts ove r occurre nce s of m e tallife rous m ine raliz ation. Th e se factors, toge th e r w ith th e poor surface drainage de ve lope d ove r th e gre ate r part of th e island, w h ich is cove re d by lim e stone , sugge st th at m ultipurpose re gional ge och e m ical m apping in Jam aica and probably e lse w h e re in th e Caribbe an sh ould be base d on soil sam pling, supple m e nte d as ne ce ssary by oth e r sam ple type s.

15. M atth e w s, K.D., Fairm an, R.A., Joh nson, A., Spe nce , K.V.N., Kah w a, I., M cPh e rson, G.L., and Roboth am , H ., 19 9 3. Th e Pre paration and Lum ine sce nce D e cay D ynam ics of Couple d H e te rolanth anide (III) Cations in D inucle ar Sch iff-base Com ple xe s. Journal Ch e m ical Socie ty Dalton Transactions, 1719 -1723.

M ole cular re cognition e ve nts in w h ich lanth anide (111) (Ln3+ ) cation pairs are form e d h ave be e n studie d using th e te m plate conde nsation crystalline products (Ln1- 2Eu2)2L(NO 3)4·H 2O and (Ln1-2Tb2)2L- NO 3)4+ H 2O w h e re H 2L is th e [2 + 2] m acrocyclic Sch iff base obtaine d from 2.6 - diform yl-p- cre sol and 3.6- dioxaoctane - 1.8- daim ine ). Th e obse rve d re lationsh ip be tw e e n th e conce ntrations of Eu3+ (or Tb3+ ) in th e re action m ixture XEu or XTb (from ne utron activation analyse s) w ith corre sponding conce ntrations in th e crystalline products (x) sugge sts th at form ation of LnEuL(NO 3)4·H 2O h e te rom ole cule s is m ore favourable th an th at of LnTbL(NO 3)4H 2O. In both case s, th e cation discrim ination inde x, com pute d as th e ration of probabilitie s of Ln3+ incorporation into th e crystalline h e te rolanth anide com pounds, is in favour of th e large r Ln3+ ion. H ow e ve r, indiscrim inate com ple xation of Nd3+ and Eu3+ in th e (Nd1- x- Eux)2L(NO 3)4·H 2O syste m is unusual and re fle cts th e im portance of coope rative h e te ropair e ffe cts.

16. Lalor, G.C. and Roboth am , H . 19 9 4. M ulti-D isciplinary Facilitie s at th e Ce ntre For Nucle ar Scie nce , U .W .I. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nucle ar Ch e m istry, 180(2), 319 -323.

Th e Ce ntre for Nucle ar Scie nce s w as e stablish e d in 19 84 w ith th e m andate to introduce Caribbe an scie ntists to th e application of nucle ar te ch nology in m ultidisciplinary studie s, and to carry out re se arch in are as of national and re gional im portance . Th is pape r de scribe s th e pre se nt facilitie s and th e m ajor program m e s be ing carrie d out at th e Ce ntre .


17. Roboth am , H ., W ong, M ., Th om pson, C. and Golde n, M ., 19 9 4. Th e Ide ntification of Ge ograph ia by Ne utron Activation Analysis. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nucle ar Ch e m istry, 179 (2), 341-347.

Ch e m ical m ark e rs for use as indicators of ge oph agia in Jam aica is re porte d. Five volunte e rs e ach inge ste d 10g or e ach of th re e com m on soils of Jam aica to w h ich carm ine (an ine rt gastrointe stinal dye ) h ad be e n adde d. A pre - inge stion fae cal sam ple and all post- inge stion fae cal sam ple s w e re colle cte d until no m ore carm ine w as se e n. Th e fae cal and soil sam ple s w e re analyse d by instrum e ntal ne utron activation analysis. O f th e 14 e le m e nts q uantifie d, D y, Ey, Ce , H f and Th w e re consiste ntly de te cte d in th e post- inge stion but not in th e pre - inge ston fae cals. Th e se e le m e nts sh ould, th e re fore , be e xce lle nt m ark e rs of ge oph agia as th e y are pre se nt in insignificant le ve ls in food com pare d to soils. Be cause of h igh se nsitivity and sh ort th rough put tim e s, D y and Eu appe ar to be th e m ost prom ising e le m e nts for th e de te ction of th e occurre nce of ge oph agia.

18. Anglin-Brow n, B., Arm our-Brow n A. and Lalor, G.C. 19 9 5. H e avy M e tal Pollution in Jam aica 1: Surve y of Cadm ium , Le ad and Z inc Conce ntrations in th e K intyre and H ope Flat D istricts. Environm e ntal Ge och e m istry and H e alth , 17, 51-56.

D e spite its be ing h igh ly m ine ralise d, th e H ope M ine are a h as be com e a re side ntial district. Com posite soil sam ple s tak e n from 9 1 allotm e nts sh ow value s for cadm ium : <2- 220 m g k g- 1, le ad: 6- 38,000 m g k g- 1,and z inc: 66- 40,000 m g k g- 1. W ate r sam ple s from adits contain 52- 86 µg k g- 1 of le ad and <1- 2 µg k g- 1 of cadm ium . Th e soil conte nts of cadm ium and le ad in at le ast tw o are as sugge st th at re m e dial actions sh ould be conside re d. Blood le ad le ve ls for 33 ch ildre n age d be tw e e n te n m onth s and se ve n ye ars are in th e range 5.7- 57 µg dl- 1; h ae m oglobin le ve ls vary be tw e e n 9 .7 and 12.7 m g dl- 1. Th e re is no obvious re lationsh ip be tw e e n Pb and h ae m oglobin le ve ls. Furth e r ge och e m ical w ork to de fine fully th e spatial e xte nt of th e pollute d re gion and e pide m iological studie s including inte llige nce te sting to de fine furth e r th e e ffe cts of le ad on ch ildre n in th is e nvironm e nt w ould be valuable .

19 . Anglin-Brow n, B., Arm our-Brow n, A., Lalor, G.C., Pre ston, J.A. and Vutch k ov, M .K., 19 9 6. Le ad in a Re side ntial Environm e nt in Jam aica. Environm e ntal Ge och e m istry and H e alth , 18, 129 -133.

Th e back ground le ve ls of le ad in Jam aican soils and se dim e nts, e stim ate d at 37 m g k g- 1, are re lative ly h igh . Se ve ral are as h ave value s in e xce ss of th is due to m ine ralisation and pollution. O ne such is th e re side ntial H ope /Flats/Kintyre are a in w h ich value s of le ad up to 2.5% are found in th e soil and up to 8m g k g- 1. Th e blood le ad le ve ls of a sam ple of ch ildre n w e re in th e range 5.7- 57 µg dl- 1. Th e h igh blood le ad le ve ls sugge st a pote ntial h e alth ris k , particularly for th e ch ildre n. Th is can be m inim ise d by program m e s w h ich include com m unity e ducation, case m anage m e nt and abate m e nt to re duce th e le ad e xposure .

20. Enge l, B., Lalor, G.C. and Vutch k ov, M .K., 19 9 6. Spatial Patte rn of Arse nic and Le ad D istributions in Jam aican Soils. Environm e ntal Ge och e m istry and H e alth , 18, 105-111.

Th e spatial patte rns of arse nic and le ad distribution in Jam aican soils w e re studie d using th e Ge ograph ical Re source s Analysis Support Syste m (GRASS) and data from an island w ide soil surve y. Arse nic and le ad w e re analyse d by instrum e ntal ne utron activation analysis (INAA) and e ne rgy-dispe rsive X- ray fluore sce nce (ED XRF) te ch niq ue s. Th e fre q ue ncy distribution of e ach e le m e nt is discusse d in re lation to m ajor lith ological groups. Th e As- Pb back ground le ve ls for diffe re nt are as in Jam aica w e re e stim ate d.


21. Joh nson, A., Lalor, G.C., Pre ston, J. and Vutch k ov, M .K., 19 9 6. H e avy M e tal Pollution in Jam aica 2: Back ground Le ve ls of Le ad in Jam aican Soils. Jam aican Journal of Scie nce and Te ch nology, 7 & 8, (1-12).

Th e island- w ide distribution of le ad (Pb) in Jam aican soils is pre se nte d and discusse d. Th e le ad conte nt in Jam aican rock s is close to th e crustal ave rage of 13 m g k g- 1 but som e soils are e nrich e d in le ad w ith re spe ct to th e be d- rock by a factor of up to 9 . Exce pt for contam inate d and m ine ralise d are as (and w h ich h ave som e ve ry h igh value s), th e range obse rve d in th is study is 6 - 89 7 m g k g- 1, w ith th e h igh e st conce ntrations in th e soils ove rlying th e w h ite lim e stone form ations. Th e fre q ue ncy distribution of th e soil le ad conce ntrations w ith re spe ct to th e unde rlying ge ology and th e ge och e m ical m apping for soil le ad are discusse d. Th e m e an le ad conce ntration of th e soils is 45 m g k g- 1 w h ich is h igh re lative to th e crustal ave rage of 13 m g k g- 1, but is not atypical of tropical late ritic soils such as Jam aican bauxite s. Th e data pre se nte d on th e blood le ad le ve ls of ch ildre n in th e Kintyre are a sugge st th at, at th is tim e , le ad is th e prim ary h e avy m e tal h az ard in Jam aica.

22. Lalor, G.C. 19 9 6. Ge och e m ical M apping of Soils in Jam aica. Environm e ntal Ge och e m istry and H e alth , 18, 89 - 9 7.

A h igh - pre cision re gional ge och e m ical database of Jam aica is be ing de ve lope d as a basis for a w ide varie ty of e conom ic and e nvironm e ntal applications. Th e se include pollution studie s, re source ide ntification and m anage m e nt, agriculture , land use , and th e re lationsh ip be tw e e n ge och e m istry and th e h e alth of crops, anim als, and m an. Th e acq uisition of analytical data is m ainly by instrum e ntal ne utron activation analysis using a SLO W PO KE re actor and by e ne rgy dispe rsive X-ray fluore sce nce . Conce ntration range s and m e ans in soil are pre se nte d for 31 e le m e nts and m aps illustrating th e distributions of Al, Br, Co, and th e gam m a- ray inte nsitie s are pre se nte d as e xam ple s. Com pare d w ith w orld ave rage s th e le ve ls of m any h e avy m e tals in Jam aican soils are found to be re lative ly h igh and in th e m ain strongly corre late d w ith bauxite occurre nce s. Th e h igh conte nt of brom ine in th e soils appe ars to re fle ct th e im pact of se a- spray.

23. Pre ston, J., Enge l, B., Lalor, G.C., and Vutch k ov, M ., 19 9 6. Th e Application of Ge ograph ic Inform ation Syste m s to Ge och e m ical Studie s in Jam aica. Environm e ntal Ge och e m istry and H e alth , 18, 9 9 -104.

Th e Ce ntre for Nucle ar Scie nce s (CNS) use s a raste r base d ge ograph ic inform ation syste m (GIS), inte grate d w ith a re lational database to store inform ation on point sam ple d data, including conce ntrations of ove r 50 e le m e nts and/or ions in a varie ty of sam ple m ate rials. Th e se data are filte re d in th e GIS to cre ate surface laye rs and are assigne d colours according to pe rce ntile range s allow ing visual inspe ction to be use d to ide ntify significant fe ature s and tre nds. Th e database curre ntly contains raste r m ap laye rs for soils and ge ologic fe ature s, point site data for w ate r and air and ve ctor data for roads, rive rs and stre am s. W h ile data are still be ing adde d to th e database inte re sting re sults are alre ady be ing obtaine d and a fe w instance s w h e re th e GIS w as use d to assist in th e data inte rpre tation are re porte d.

24. Joh nson, A., Lalor, G.C., Roboth am H . and Vutch k ov, M .K., 19 9 6. Analysis of Jam aican Soils and Se dim e nts by Ene rgy-D ispe rsive X-Ray Fluore sce nce Spe ctrom e try. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nucle ar Ch e m istry, 209 (1), 105 -111.

Th e calibration of a tube e xcite d Ene rgy- D ispe rsive X- Ray Fluore sce nce spe ctrom e te r for routine ge och e m ical analyse s of Ca, Ti, V, Cr, M n, Fe , Cu, Z n, Rb, Sr and Pb in Jam aican soils and se dim e nts is de scribe d. Sim ple line ar and parabolic re gre ssion m ode ls using scatte re d radiation and an e le m e nt as inte rnal standards w e re applie d. Th e analysis of ove r 200 sam ple s from a re gional soil


surve y h as be e n use d to contribute to a database on th e ge och e m istry of Jam aican soils and se dim e nts. An application e xam ple of th e Z n distribution m ap in Jam aican soils is pre se nte d.

25. Joh nson, A., Lalor, G.C., Pre ston, J., Roboth am , H ., Th om pson, C. and Vutch k ov, M .K. 19 9 6. H e avy M e tals in Jam aican Surface Soils. Environm e ntal Ge och e m istry and H e alth , 18, 113-121.

A re gional surve y of Jam aican surface soils h as be e n conducte d in w h ich m ore th an 200 sam ple s w e re colle cte d at a sam ple de nsity of 1 pe r 64 k m 2 across th e island and analyse d for total conce ntrations of 31 e le m e nts by instrum e ntal ne utron activation analysis (INAA), e ne rgy dispe rsive X- ray fluore sce nce (ED XRF) analysis and atom ic absorption spe ctroph otom e try (AAS). Th e aim of th e surve y w as to be gin th e construction of a h igh - pre cision ge och e m ical database to provide inform ation on e le m e ntal le ve ls in soils for application to e nvironm e ntal studie s, agriculture , and h um an and anim al h e alth . Re sults on th e re gional scale are pre se nte d for As, Cd, Cu, H g and Pb. Alth ough Jam aican surface soils are e nrich e d in se ve ral h e avy m e tals com pare d w ith w orld soil m e ans and crustal abundance s, le ad is of particular im portance at th is stage be cause of its occurre nce in re side ntial are as. Exce pt for Cu, th e distribution m aps of th e se e le m e nts are h igh ly corre late d w ith bauxite w h ich in Jam aica is associate d w ith w h ite lim e stone ge ology and re sidual te rra rossa soils.

26. Davis, M ., Grant, C., H o-Yorck -Krui, G., Joh nson, A., Lalor, G.C., Roboth am , H . and Vutch k ov, M ., 19 9 7. Suspe nde d Particulate s in th e Jam aican Atm osph e re . Environm e ntal Ge och e m istry and H e alth , 19 (1), 23-28.

Th e re sults of a surve y of air particulate s at 23 site s across Jam aica for total suspe nde d particulate s (TSP), Al, Br, Cl, Na, Pb, and V, by instrum e ntal ne utron activation analysis (INAA) and X- ray fluore sce nce analysis (XRF) are re porte d. Th e ge om e tric m e an of TSP value s, 35µg m - 3, is w e ll w ith in th e W orld H e alth O rganisation's standard of 60µg m - 3 for TSP, but in are as of h igh ve h icular traffic de nsity th e TSP value s e xce e de d th is lim it. Th e corre lation coe fficie nt be tw e e n Br and Pb conce ntrations in th e particulate s w as 0.9 2 and th e Br/Pb ratio of 0.38 com pare s w e ll w ith a ratio of 0.39 found in com m e rcial pe trol indicating th at th e e xh aust from ve h icular traffic is th e m ajor source of Pb in atm osph e ric particulate m atte r in Jam aica.

27. Knigh t, C., Kaise r, J., Lalor, G.C., Roboth am , H . and W itte r, J.V., 19 9 7. H e avy M e tals in Surface W ate r and Stre am Se dim e nts in Jam aica. Environm e ntal Ge och e m istry and H e alth , 119 (2), 63-67.

Th e le ve ls of h e avy m e tals in w ate r and stre am se dim e nts in Jam aica are pre se nte d and com pare d to le ve ls in soils and e nvironm e ntal standards. H e avy m e tals (cadm ium , ch rom ium , coppe r, m e rcury, nick e l, le ad and z inc) appe ar to be le ss of a proble m to Jam aica's fre sh w ate r e nvironm e nt th an m igh t be e xpe cte d give n th e conce ntrations in soils. Th is can be e xplaine d by tak ing into account th e dynam ics of th e Jam aican w ate r e nvironm e nt and th e re lative abse nce of anth ropoge nic source s. Th e dynam ics of th e fre sh w ate r syste m on th e oth e r h and, could pass any e nvironm e ntal th re at to th e coastal e nvironm e nt. Be cause th e stre am se dim e nts are re lative ly coarse and contain little organic m ate rial th e b ioavailability of m icropollutants such as h e avy m e tals from th e se dim e nts can be e xpe cte d to be re lative ly h igh .

28. Davis, M ., Lalor, G.C., Rattray, R. and Lode r, T., 19 9 8. Nutrie nt status of th e Black R ive r syste m , St. Elizabe th , Jam aica. Jam aica Journal of Scie nce and Te ch nology, 9 , 45-62.

Th e nutrie nt status of w ate r sam ple s from th e Black Rive r w ate rsh e d w ith re spe ct to nitrate + nitrite , orth oph osph ate , s ilicate and am m onia is re porte d. Nitrate + nitrite conce ntrations in th e Black


Rive r are h igh e st in th e uppe r se ction of th e rive r and de cline dow nstre am . Fe rtiliz e r runoff is a lik e ly source of th is dissolve d inorganic nitroge n. Th e Elim Rive r, w h ich is pollute d by am m onia and orth oph osph ate in w aste w ate r e fflue nt from th e ne arby sugar factory and am m onia from an aq uaculture ope ration, is a m ajor contributor to th e nutrie nt load e nte ring th e Uppe r M orass. Be low Lacovia, all nutrie nt le ve ls in th e Black Rive r de cre ase . Th is m ay be partially due to th e pre se nce of large q uantitie s of w ate r h yacinth , pointing to th e im portance of pre se rving th is ve ge tation. O n th e Broad Rive r th e se asonal saline w e dge w as e vide nt 6.3 k m upstre am , producing low silicate and inorganic nitroge n in sam ple s colle cte d ne ar th e bottom of th e rive r. A re lative ly h igh am m onia conce ntration w as obse rve d in sam ple s colle cte d ne ar th e bottom of a se ction of th is rive r. Nutrie nts in th e plum e of th e Black Rive r are conse rvative ly dilute d at le ast 1.2 k m into th e saline w ate r of th e bay.

29 . Fow le s. R.G., Pascoe K.O. and Rattray R., 19 9 8. Ch aracte rization of Exosk e le ton Com position of Jam aican Crustace ans for Ch itin Isolation. Jam aican Journal of Scie nce and Te ch nology, 9 , 3- 9 .

Ne utron Activation Analysis of th e s h e lls of th e Jam aican m arine spiny lobste r, land crab, m arine blue crab and th e giant M alaysian fre sh w ate r praw n sh ow s th at th e y contain 42% , 70, 65% and 47% calcium re spe ctive ly, e xpre sse d as calcium carbonate . Th e dige stion e fficie ncy for e xtraction of calcium varie s s ignificantly; not only w ith spe cie s, but also w ith th e stre ngth of th e acid use d and dige stion tim e . Standard acid h ydrolysis is not e ffe ctive in re m oving all calcium com pounds from th e s h e lls of som e spe cie s of crustace ans. Th e inorganic com position of th e s h e lls h as be e n partially ch aracte riz e d by Ne utron Activation Analysis.

30. Gardne r J.M ., W alk e r, S.P., Ch ang, S.M ., Vutch k ov, M . and Lalor, G.C., 19 9 8. Unde rnutrition and Ele vate d Blood Le ad Le ve ls: Effe cts on Psych om otor D e ve lopm e nt am ong Jam aican Ch ildre n. Public H e alth Nutrition, 1(3), 177-179 .

Anth ropom e try, de ve lopm e ntal q uotie nts (D Qs), blood le ad le ve ls and h ae m oglobin w e re m e asure d in le ad- e xpose d and une xpose d ch ildre n from tw o suburban are as in Kingston, Jam aica, w ith diffe re nt le ve ls of nutritional status. Social back ground and m ate rnal h e igh t and ve rbal inte llige nce w e re also m e asure d. Th e e xpose d ch ildre n h ad significantly h igh e r blood le ad le ve ls and low e r D Qs, and th e ir h om e s h ad poore r facilitie s th an th e une xpose d ch ildre n. Th e de ficit in D Q w as gre ate r (10.6 points) am ong ch ildre n w ith w e igh t for h e igh t le ss th an - 1 SD (National Ce nte r for H e alth Statistics re fe re nce s) th an am ong be tte r nourish e d ch ildre n (2 points). It appe ars th at unde rnourish e d ch ildre n suffe r m ore se rious de ve lopm e ntal de ficits th an be tte r nourish e d ch ildre n.

31. Grant, C., Lalor, G.C., Pre ston, J., Rattray, R. and Vutch k ov, M .K., 19 9 8. Ne utron Activation Analysis w ith th e Slow pok e Re actor in Jam aica. Jam aican Journal of Scie nce and Te ch nology, 9 , 63-77.

Th e Inte rnational Ce ntre for Environm e ntal and Nucle ar Scie nce s (ICENS) ope rate s a sm all nucle ar re actor, th e Canadian- m ade SLO W PO KE 2, w ith a m axim um ope rating flux of 1x1012 ne utrons cm - 2 s - 1. Th e flux is re m ark ably stable . Th e re actor is be ing use d m ainly for Ne utron Activation Analysis (NAA) and th e syste m now h as th e capability of de te rm ining 55 e le m e nts w ith use ful de te ction lim its. Th e data are be ing applie d as part of a program m e to de ve lop com pute r re adable ge och e m ical database s for applications w h ich include : agriculture , anim al and h um an h e alth , land use planning, and th e asse ssm e nt of natural re source s. Th e m e th odology is de scribe d and th e distributions of alum inium , ch rom ium , iodine and z inc in Jam aican soils are pre se nte d as e xam ple s of typical re sults.


32. Grant, C.N., Lalor, G.C. and Vutch k ov, M .K., 19 9 8. Ne utron Activation Analysis of Cadm ium in Jam aican Soils. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nucle ar Ch e m istry, 237(1-2), 109 -112.

A proce dure for th e instrum e ntal ne utron activation analysis of Cd in soils w ith re lative ly h igh Cd conte nt and possible inte rfe re nce s is re porte d. Cadm ium conce ntrations in Jam aican soils above 4 m g k g- 1 can now be re liably de te rm ine d by m ulti- e le m e ntal instrum e ntal activation analysis w ith an accuracy ± 10% and th e re asonably h igh th rough put of 30 sam ple s pe r day. O ve r 600 ge och e m ical surve y sam ple s w e re analyse d for Cd along w ith som e 20 oth e r long- live d e le m e nts.

33. Lalor, G.C., Rattray, R., Sim pson P. and Vutch k ov, M ., 19 9 8. H e avy M e tals In Jam aica. Part 3: Th e D istribution of Cadm ium In Jam aican Soils. Re vista Inte rnacional de Contam inacion Am bie ntal, 14(1), 7-12.

Th e distribution of cadm ium in soils across Jam aica is re porte d. Th e island- w ide ave rage is 20 m g k g- 1 and conce ntrations as h igh as 409 m g k g- 1 h ave be e n obse rve d in som e of th e te rra rossa soils ove rlying Te rtiary Lim e stone s in ce ntral Jam aica and in a sm alle r re gion in a re side ntial district ne ar to a disuse d m ine . In ce rtain are as th e e nrich m e nt is up to th re e orde rs of m agnitude w ith re spe ct to be drock . Th e cadm ium and z inc conce ntrations are h igh ly corre late d. D e spite th e h igh conce ntrations of cadm ium found in ce rtain localitie s, no case s of cadm ium poisoning h ave be e n re cogniz e d in Jam aica, probably be cause th e ne utral and sligh tly alk aline soils and th e unde rlying lim e stone h e lp to fix th e cadm ium and th us m aintain low conce ntrations in th e unde rground and surface w ate rs. H ow e ve r, ch ange s in land use or oth e r conditions m ay incre ase th e ris k .

34. Lalor, G., Rattray, R., Sim pson, P. and Vutch k ov, M .K., 19 9 9 . Ge och e m istry of an Arse nic Anom aly in St. Elizabe th , Jam aica. Environm e ntal Ge och e m istry and H e alth , 21(1), 3-11.

A soil arse nic anom aly w ith conce ntrations up to 400 µg As g- 1 w as discove re d ne ar M aggotty, St. Eliz abe th , during an island- w ide ge och e m ical surve y of Jam aica. D e taile d sam pling and ch e m ical analysis of soil sam ple s confirm e d th e arse nic le ve ls and le d to a be tte r de finition of th e s iz e of th e anom aly. Th e are a e xce e ding th e 9 5th pe rce ntile (> 65 µg As g- 1) of th e island- w ide conce ntrations h as be e n de te rm ine d to be at le ast 10 k m 2. Th e anom alous value s m ay be th e re sult of an ancie nt h ot spring arse nopyrite in th e lim e stone be drock , w h ich w e re subse q ue ntly oxidise d and w e ath e re d to yie ld th e arse nic rich soils. Th e se soils w e re also e nh ance d in e le m e nts such as Sb, Fe and Co. D e spite th e h igh soil arse nic conte nt, th e arse nic conce ntration in th e surface w ate r is low and th e re se e m s to be no im m e diate h e alth ris k to th e re side nts. Th e are a, h ow e ve r, doe s pre se nt a pote ntial h az ard w ith ch anging land use .

35. Lalor, G.C., Pre ston, J., Rattray R., and Vutch k ov M ., 19 9 9 . H e avy M e tals in Jam aican Soils Part 4: Som e Pote ntially H azardous Ele m e nts. Jam aican Journal of Scie nce and Te ch nology,10, 1-5.

Soil is th e basis of te rre strial life and contains a ve ry large num be r of e le m e nts w h ich are b iologically active . Som e of th e se e le m e nts are e sse ntial to life w h ile oth e rs, for e xam ple , arse nic and th e h e avy m e tals, are h az ardous e ve n at q uite low conce ntrations. M any Jam aican soils contain re lative ly h igh conce ntrations of pote ntially h az ardous e le m e nts associate d to a large e xte nt w ith th e te rra rossa and bauxitic soils th at ove rlie th e W h ite Lim e stone Group. Am ong th e se e le m e nts are antim ony, arse nic, cadm ium , le ad and m e rcury, th e island- w ide conce ntration distributions of w h ich are re porte d and discusse d. Antim ony and arse nic are not conside re d to be e nvironm e ntal proble m s unde r th e pre se nt conditions of land use . W h ile th e conce ntrations of cadm ium in som e soils are e xtraordinarily h igh , th e re is no e vide nce th at th e re are m e dical proble m s cause d by cadm ium inge stion. Toxicity from naturally occurring le ad is unlik e ly to be of


conce rn e xce pt in th e H ope Rive r Valle y, w h e re ve ry h igh conce ntrations are associate d w ith gale na in m ine w aste and ore re sidue s from th e old H ope M ine . Th e se conce ntrations are also re fle cte d in th e blood le ad le ve ls of sch ool ch ildre n and th e le ve ls w e re h igh e nough so th at m itigation w as carrie d out. Th e te rra rossa and th e m orass soils are e nh ance d in m e rcury and m ore de taile d w ork on th e distribution and bioavailability of th e e le m e nt is re com m e nde d.

36. W itte r, J.V., Robinson, D.E., M ansingh , A. and Dalip, K.M ., 19 9 9 . Inse cticide Contam ination of Jam aican Environm e nt V. Island-W ide Rapid Surve y of Re sidue s in Surface and Ground W ate r. Environm e ntal M onitoring and Asse ssm e nt, 56, 256-267.

Re sidue s of organoch lorine s and organoph osph ate s w e re de te rm ine d by gas ch rom atograph y in w ate r and se dim e nt from 26 locations in 17 m ajor rive rs, 7 natural springs and 13 w e lls across Jam aica. Sam ple s w e re colle cte d on only one occasion be tw e e n M ay and July, 19 9 4. Re sidue s of e ndosulfan w e re de te cte d in all but th re e rive rs; α - e ndosulfan in 15 sam ple s of se dim e nt (0.9 - 108.1, m e an = 28.9 3, S.E. = 7.19 8 µg k g- 1) and 13 of w ate r (0.01- 0.35, m e an = 0.11, S.E. = 0.035 µgL- 1), β -e ndosulfan in 5 se dim e nt (15.29 - 49 .35, m e an = 30.56, S.E. = 7.132 µg k g- 1) and 12 w ate r (0.05- 0.31, m e an = 0.14, S.E. = 0.031 µgL- 1) sam ple s, and e ndosulfan sulph ate in w ate rs of th re e rive rs (0.003-0.244 µgL- 1). Ch lorpyrifos w as pre se nt in 9 se dim e nt (0.423- 135.2, m e an = 18.38, S.E. = 10.69 9 µg k g- 1) and tw o w ate r (0.001- 0.022 µgL- 1) sam ple s, diaz inon and e th oproph os in th e se dim e nt of one rive r e ach . M e an le ve ls µgL- 1) of α and β isom e rs and sulph ate of e ndosulfan w e re 0.16 (S.E. = 0.057), 0.12 (S.E. = 0.036) and 0.15 (S.E. = 0.089 ), re spe ctive ly, in four of th e se ve n springs and 0.23 (S. E. = 0.052), 0.11 (S.E. = 0.029 ) and 0.26 (S.E. = 0.088), re spe ctive ly, in se ve n of th e th irte e n w e lls m onitore d.

37. Cam pbe ll, V., Lalor, G.C. and Rattray, R., 2000. Esse ntial Ele m e nts in Jam aican Soils Part 1: Ph osph orus. Jam aican Journal of Scie nce and Te ch nology, Vol. 11, 13-22.

Th e spatial distributions of total and available ph osph orus are re porte d as th e first portion of an ongoing e xam ination of th e occurre nce of e sse ntial e le m e nts in Jam aican soils. Th e range of th e total ph osph orous conce ntrations in surface sam ple s (0- 30 cm ) w as 46- 9 181 m g k g- 1, w ith th e m e an of 1059 m g k g- 1 and a m e dian of 678 m g k g- 1. Com pare d w ith oth e r tropical soils, only about 4% of th e sam ple s analyse s fall into th e "low " cate gory (<200 m g k g- 1 (50th pe rce ntile ) are associate d w ith alluvial de posits, sh ale s, conglom e rate s, tuffs and th e Cre tace ous Ce ntral Inlie r. Value s above th e 50th pe rce ntile occur m ainly in soils w ith pH e xce e ding 7 unde rlain by th e lim e stone groups.

O n ave rage , only about 1% of th e total ph osph orus is e xtractable w ith 0.002M sulph uric and so is pre sum ably available to plants. Ne arly tw o th irds of th e sam ple s e xh ib it "ve ry low " (<20 m g k g- 1) conce ntrations of available ph osph orus and th e se are m ainly from lim e stone s, s h ale s and oth e r se dim e ntary de rive d soils. Th e soils in ce ntral Jam aica, w ith h igh total ph osph orus and pH gre ate r th an 7, also contain som e of th e low e st available ph osph orus le ve ls. Th is sugge sts th at in th e se soils calcium is th e m ajor im m obiliz ing age nt rath e r th an th e m ore abundant alum inium and iron.

Th e h igh e r value s of available ph osph orus (24% > 40 m g k g- 1) are obse rve d in locations use d for farm ing. Th e se re sults confirm th e continuing ne e d for application of ph osph ate fe rtiliz e r and sugge st th at e fforts to de te rm ine th e nature of th e spe cie s causing im m obiliz ation, th e dynam ics of th e proce sse s unde rlying th is, and th e pote ntial for re le ase of bound ph osph orus, in Jam aican soils are w orth w h ile .


38. Lalor, G.C. and Vutch k ov, M ., 2000. H e avy M e tals in Jam aica Part 5: Re duction of Blood Le ad Le ve ls of Ch ildre n in a M ine -W aste Contam inate d Are a. Jam aican Journal of Scie nce and Te ch nology, Vol. 11, 23-35.

Blood le ad le ve ls in ch ildre n in th e age group 27 - 81 m onth s w h o h ave be e n e xpose d to le ad in a m ine - w aste contam inate d are a h ave be e n e xam ine d. Th e original le ve ls of 15 - > 60 g dL- 1 (m e an > 37) w e re re duce d to 7 - 27 g dL- 1 (m e an 15) te n m onth s afte r th e isolation of th e m ine - w aste and le ad contam inate d soil in th e sch ool yard, im prove d sanitation, e ducation of te ach e rs, pare nts and th e ch ildre n, supporte d by a fe e ding program m e . Th e low e r le ad value s are s im ilar to le ve ls obse rve d am ong ch ildre n of sim ilar age s in a rural district in Jam aica. Th is w ork h as confirm e d th e e ffe ctive ne ss of th e inte rve ntions: th e pre se nt coh ort of sch oolch ildre n th at h ave ne ve r be e n so e xpose d to le ad, h ave blood le ad le ve ls th at ave rage a gre atly im prove d 8.3 g dL- 1and 82% of th e m are be low th e de fine d le ve l of 10g dL- 1 for le ad poisoning. Th e h igh e st value obse rve d in th e se ch ildre n w as 20 g dL- 1 for 2 of th e coh ort. Th e m ain source of le ad w as th e m ine w aste ; ne ith e r food nor w ate r appe ar to be im portant contributors to th e le ad e xposure but during th is study le ad h as be e n obse rve d in paint on olde r h ouse s. Th is introduce s a ne w dim e nsion th at m igh t w e ll be of conce rn islandw ide .

39 . Ke nne dy, G., St. Pie rre , K., W ang, Y., Z h ang, J. Pre ston, J., Grant, C. and Vutch k ov, M ., 2000. Activation Constants for Slow pok e and M NS Re actors Calculate d from th e Ne utron Spe ctrum and k 0 and Q0 Value s. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nucle ar Ch e m istry, 245(1), 167-172.

Th e re lative th e rm al, e pith e rm al and fast ne utron fluxe s w e re m e asure d in th e inne r and oute r irradiation site s of th re e SLO W PO KE re actors and one M iniature Ne utron Source re actor by th e bare triple m onitor m e th od. Using th e m e asure d ne utron spe ctrum param e te rs and a com pilation of publish e d k 0 and Q0 value s, activation constants w e re calculate d for th e m ost inte nse gam m a-rays of all nuclide s com m only use d in NAA. Th e re sulting table of constants can be use d to standardiz e NAA m e asure m e nts for all e le m e nts w h e n com bine d w ith re lative e fficie ncy m e asure m e nts and th e m e asure m e nt of th e th e rm al ne utron flux w ith one standard. Th e obse rve d constancy of th e ne utron spe ctra sugge sts th at th e se activation constants are valid for all SLO W PO KE and M NS re actors.

40. Lalor, G.C., Vutch k ov, M .K., Grant, C., Pre ston, J. Favaro, D.I.T., and Figue ire do, A.M .G., 2000. INAA of Trace Ele m e nts in biological m ate rials using th e SLOW POKE-2 re actor in Jam aica. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nucle ar Ch e m istry, 244(2), 263-266.

Th e biological standard re fe re nce m ate rials O rch ard Le ave s SRM 1571 and O yste r Tissue SRM 1566a w e re analyse d by instrum e ntal ne utron activation analysis (INAA) at th e Inte rnational Ce ntre for Environm e ntal and Nucle ar Scie nce s, Jam aica at (ICENS) and at th e Instituto de Pe sq uisas Ene rge ticas e Nucle are s (IPEN- CNEN/SP), Braz il. Th e com parison of th e re sults w ith th ose obtaine d w ith th e m ore pow e rful re actor is use d to e valuate th e possibilitie s of INAA for th e analysis of biological sam ple s at ICENS. Th e de te ction lim its, pre cision and accuracy of th e re sults obtaine d in both laboratorie s are com pare d. Th e advantage s and disadvantage s of th e diffe re nt irradiation facilitie s are discusse d. Som e re sults obtaine d for Jam aican biological sam ple s are also pre se nte d.

9 0 20TH ANNIVERSARY REPO RT

41. Vutch k ov, M ., Grant, C., Lalor, G.C., and Pre ston, J., 2000. Standardization of th e SLOW POKE-2 Re actor in Jam aica for Routine NAA. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nucle ar Ch e m istry, 244(2), 355-359 .

Th e Inte rnational Ce ntre for Environm e ntal and Nucle ar Scie nce s (ICENS) h as be e n involve d in conducting m ultipurpose ge och e m ical surve ys, th e re sults of w h ich w e re publish e d in "A Ge och e m ical Atlas of Jam aican soils". Th e prim ary analytical tool for th e se studie s w as ne utron activation analysis (NAA) using th e SLO W PO KE- 2 re actor at th e Ce ntre . Th e ne utron flux of th e SLO W PO KE- 2 re actor is e xtre m e ly stable , th us allow ing a se m i- absolute m e th od for q uantitative NAA. Th is h as se ve ral advantage s, but re q uire s pre paration and m e asure m e nt of th e s ingle or m ulti-e le m e nt standards for e ach gam m a- spe ctroscopy syste m (GSS). Th e NAA laboratory at ICENS ope rate s th re e GSSs. Th e prim ary ("m aste r") GSS w as standardiz e d using single e le m e nt standards for ove r 50 e le m e nts, naturally occurring in m ost ge ological and biological m ate rials. Th e standardiz ation of th e se condary GSS w as ach ie ve d by transfe rring th e e le m e ntal se nsitivitie s of th e m aste r GSS using an instrum e ntation- fre e standardiz ation approach . Th e pape r de scribe s th e im ple m e ntation of th is m e th odology and its utiliz ation in th e routine analytical w ork .

42. Lalor, G. C. and Z h ang, C., 2001. M ultivariate Outlie r D e te ction and Re m e diation in Ge och e m ical Database s. Th e Scie nce of th e Total Environm e nt, 281, 9 9 -109 .

In th is study, outlie rs are classifie d into th re e type s: (1) range outlie rs; (2) spatial outlie rs; and (3) re lationsh ip outlie rs, de fine d as obse rvations th at fall outside of th e value s e xpe cte d from corre lation w ith in th e datase t. Th e m ultivariate m e th ods of principal com pone nt analysis (PCA), m ultiple re gre ssion analysis (M RA) and an autoassociation ne ural ne tw ork (AutoNN) m e th od are applie d to a datase t com prising 203 sam ple s of rare e arth e le m e nt (REE) conce ntrations in soils of Jam aica w h ich s h ow s th e e xpe cte d good corre lations be tw e e n th e e le m e nts. PCA is s h ow n to be e ffe ctive in de te ction of h igh value range outlie rs, w h ile AutoNN and M RA are e ffe ctive in de te ction of re lationsh ip outlie rs. A back propagation ne ural ne tw ork w as use d to pre dict th e e xpe cte d value s' of th e outlie rs. Four obvious re lationsh ip outlie rs w ith une xpe cte d low Sm conce ntrations w e re se le cte d as an e xam ple for re m e diation. Th e pre dicte d Sm value s w e re confirm e d on re m e asure m e nt. Ne ural ne tw ork m e th ods, w ith th e advantage s of be ing m ode l- fre e and e ffe ctive in solving non- line ar re lationsh ip proble m s, appe ar to provide an autom ate d and e ffe ctive w ay for th e q uality control of e nvironm e ntal database s.

43. Lalor, G., Rattray, R., Vutch k ov, M ., Cam pbe ll, B. and Le w is-Be ll, K., 2001. Blood Le ad Le ve ls in Jam aican Sch ool Ch ildre n. Th e Scie nce of th e Total Environm e nt, 269 , 171-181.

Blood le ad le ve ls are re porte d for a total of 421 sch oolch ildre n in 13 sch ools in rural and urban e nvironm e nts in Jam aica, including one h igh ly contam inate d com m unity. In th e rural are as blood le ad le ve ls range d from 3 to 28.5 m icrog dl- 1, w ith a m e dian of 9 .2 m icrog dl- 1; th e range and m e dian in th e urban sch ools w e re 4- 34.7 and 16.6 m icrog dl- 1, re spe ctive ly. Forty- tw o pe rce nt of th e rural and 71% of th e urban blood le ad le ve ls e xce e de d th e U S Ce nte r for D ise ase Control and Pre ve ntion inte rve ntion le ve l of 10 m icrog dl- 1. Exce pt in th e contam inate d are a, th e re lationsh ip be tw e e n soil le ad le ve ls, w h ich in Jam aica are in ge ne ral typical of tropical late ritic soils, and blood le ad le ve ls is not cle ar- cut. Ve ry h igh blood le ad le ve ls of 18 to > 60 m icrog dl- 1 w ith a m e dian of 35 m icrog dl- 1 w e re obse rve d am ong ch ildre n in th e contam inate d are a, th e s ite of a form e r le ad ore proce ssing plant. Th e se h igh blood le ad le ve ls w e re s ignificantly re duce d, by th e im ple m e ntation of re lative ly sim ple m itigation strate gie s w h ich involve d isolation of th e le ad, e ducation, and a food supple m e ntation program m e , to le ve ls sim ilar to th ose obse rve d in th e urban sch ools. Th e se value s, h ow e ve r, re m ain h igh e r th an are de sirable and unfortunate ly, all th e source s of le ad are not ye t ide ntifie d. Th e re ce nt discontinuation of th e use of le ade d pe trol is e xpe cte d to re sult in

9 1INTERNATIO NAL CENTRE FO R ENVIRO NM ENTAL AND NUCLEAR SCIENCES

significant re ductions in e xposure to le ad.

44. Grant, C.N., Lalor, G.C., Vutch k ov, M . and Balcazar, M ., 2001. Radon M apping of Soils in St. Elizabe th , Jam aica. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nucle ar Ch e m istry, 250(2), 29 5-302.

Soil gas m e asure m e nts of radon w e re m ade in St. Eliz abe th , Jam aica using nucle ar track e tch de te ctors. Th e re sults w e re com pare d to gam m a- ray spe ctroscopy m e asure m e nts m ade in th e laboratory on soil sam ple s colle cte d at th e radon m e asure m e nt site s. An asse ssm e nt of th e de gre e of dise q uilibrium of uranium and th orium w as also m ade by com parison w ith ne utron activation analysis, de laye d ne utron counting and e q uivale nt uranium and th orium m e asure m e nts. Th e re sults to date for e q uivale nt uranium and th orium sh ow a strong corre lation and indicate th e possibility of soil radon m apping in Jam aica using gam m a- ray spe ctroscopy. Th re e anom alous site s h ave be e n ide ntifie d.

45. Lalor, G.C. and Vutch k ov, M .K., 2002. Esse ntial Ele m e nts in Jam aican Soils Part 2: Cobalt, Jam aican Journal of Scie nce and Te ch nology, 2001 & 2002, Vols. 12 & 13, 35-47.

Th e distribution of cobalt in Jam aican soils island- w ide at a sam ple de nsity of 1 in 64 k m 2, sh ow s a range of 4.7- 105 m g k g- 1, and a m e an of 28 m g k g- 1. Th e h igh e r value s are found m ainly in ce ntral Jam aica, and are s ignificantly gre ate r th an th ose re porte d for uncontam inate d soils w orldw ide . In th e abse nce of anth ropoge nic source s th e se are pre sum e d to be a conse q ue nce of th e natural ge och e m istry of th e country. Th e soil cobalt conce ntrations island- w ide are corre late d w ith As, Al, Fe , M n and Th , but not w ith Cu w h ich fre q ue ntly occurs in cobalt ore s. At th e m ore inte nsive sam pling de nsity of 1 sam ple in 4 k m 2 in th e parish e s of St. Eliz abe th and M anch e ste r th e range w as a sim ilar 1- 112 m g k g- 1 and a m e an of 34 m g k g- 1. Th e se soils ge ne rally contain ade q uate am ounts of th is e sse ntial e le m e nt for prope r anim al nutrition, and cobalt de ficie ncy in farm anim als ough t not to be a proble m but in som e are as th e h igh cobalt conce ntrations could contribute to de ficie ncie s in oth e r m e tals. Ge och e m ical m aps base d on th e se data allow pre diction of cobalt conce ntrations at any arbitrary point w ith in th e tw o parish e s, w ith an accuracy of about 50% . Such m aps sh ould be use ful in land use planning for agriculture . Th e cobalt conce ntrations in fifty- four sam ple s of a range of foods (condim e nts, fruits, root crops and ve ge table s), grow n in St. Eliz abe th and M anch e ste r, appe ar h igh e r th an sim ilar value s re porte d in th e Unite d Kingdom , but insufficie nt data are now available to q uantitative ly e xam ine th e food/soil re lationsh ips for th is e le m e nt.

46. Grant, C., Lalor, G.C. and Th om as, J.E., 2003. Th e rm olum ine sce nce D osim e try in th e Caribbe an. W e st Indian M e dical Journal, 52, 118-122.

Th e re sults of five ye ars of radiation m onitoring of 59 0 radiation w ork e rs in Jam aica and an additional 88 in Barbados and Turk s Islands sh ow th at th e annual dose absorbe d by Caribbe an radiation w ork e rs is, w ith a single e xce ption, w e ll w ith in th e inte rnationally acce pte d lim its of 20 m Sv pe r ye ar. Th e re h ave be e n fe w case s of re lative ly h igh e xposure s. Th e dose e q uivale nt of th e radiation w ork e rs by cate gory agre e w ith inte rnational tre nds; w ork e rs in nucle ar m e dicine re ce ive th e h igh e st dose s and de ntal radiologists th e low e st. Th e colle ctive Effe ctive D ose Eq uivale nt h as be e n calculate d for e ach of th e m onitore d populations and ce rtain tre nds ide ntifie d. Th e ris k for de ve lopm e nt of fatal cance rs from th e occupational dose s re porte d w as ve ry low . Consiste nt m onitoring w ill ide ntify abe rrant conditions q uick ly and h e lp m aintain th at re cord.


47. Lalor, G.C., Onianw a, P.C., and Vutch k ov, M .K., 2003. Dry-Ash ing Pre conce ntration in M icro-Re actor Base d Ne utron Activation Analysis of Food and Plant Sam ple s. Inte rnational Journal of Environm e ntal Analytical Ch e m istry, 83, 367-374.

Th e application of pre conce ntration by dry- ash ing to th e ne utron activation analysis of biological sam ple s using a low - pow e r re actor is re porte d. Sam ple s of se le cte d food crops (banana, callaloo, carrot, m ango and yam ) and bioindicator plants (lich e n, m oss, Tillandsia sp., and tre e bark ) w e re analyse d both as plant tissue , and as ash e d sam ple . Th e re sults are pre se nte d for tw e nty- one e le m e nts. Good agre e m e nt be tw e e n both proce dure s (<10% standard e rror) w as obtaine d for th irte e n e le m e nts: Al, Ca, Cd, Cr, Fe , K, La, M g, M n, Na, Sm , Ti, and V; for D y, Rb and Z n th e agre e m e nts w as 10- 15% . Re lative ly poore r agre e m e nt (> 15- 30% ) w as obtaine d for As, Br, Cl, and Sb. D ry ash ing produce d im prove d analytical re sults for th ose sam ple s th at w e re low ash conte nt. H ow e ve r, th e incre ase d back ground counts obse rve d in ash e d sam ple s can som e tim e s ne gate th e conce ntration gain particularly in plants w ith h igh m ine ral le ve ls and low e le m e ntal conte nts.

48. Davie s, B.E., Vaugh an, J., Lalor, G.C. & Vutch k ov, M ., 2003. Cadm ium and z inc adsorption m axim a of ge och e m ically anom alous soils (Oxisols) in Jam aica. Ch e m ical Spe ciation and Bioavailability, 15, 59 -66.

Soil sam ple s w e re colle cte d from a M ioce ne lim e stone are a of Jam aica (M anch e ste r Parish ) w h e re unusual accum ulations of Cd and oth e r m e tals h ave be e n de scribe d pre viously. Th e source of th e m e tals is natural (ge ological). Th e soils are alum inous O xisols and, ge och e m ically, are close ly sim ilar to local k arst bauxite de posits. For com parison a k arst bauxite sam ple w as colle cte d from Alabam a (U SA) and an U ltisol sam ple from South Carolina (U SA). All th e Jam aican soils w e re in th e pH range ne utral to sligh tly alk aline and CaCO 3 conte nts range d from 1.3 to 23.1% . M e an total Cd = 102.5 m g/k g (range 13.6- 19 1.8 m g/k g) and m e an Z n = 362.6 (range 125.8- 683.3) m g/k g. Th e se value s are h igh e r th an w orld ave rage s. Th e m e an re adily e xch ange able Cd w as 0.05 (range 0.01-0.15) m m ol/k g and for Z n m e an = 0.02 (range 0.01- 0.02) m m ol/k g. Adsorption data w e re obtaine d e xpe rim e ntally and m ode lle d using th e Langm uir isoth e rm . For th e M anch e ste r soils th e m e an Cd adsorption m axim um w as 9 .15 (range 2.26- 32.0) m m ol/k g; th e value s w e re h igh e r th an th e k arst bauxite sam ple (0.08 m m ol/k g) or th e U ltisol (0.08 m m ol/k g). Re liable Z n isoth e rm s w e re not obtaine d for all soils; for th re e M anch e ste r soils th e m e an Z n sorption m axim um w as 2.9 9 m m ol/k g com pare d w ith 3.13 m m ol/k g for Cd in th e sam e th re e soils. M e an Al and Fe value s are 38.7% Al2O 3 and 17.7% Fe 2O 3 com pare d w ith th e U ltisol (14.5% Al2O 3, 11.3% Fe 2O 3) and th e bauxite (52.6% Al2O 3, 0.7% Fe 2O 3). Inte rpre tation of th e m ajor e le m e nt value s and th e k now n m ine ralogy of th e soils im plie s th at th e h igh adsorption m axim a of th e M anch e ste r soils can be st be e xplaine d by th e ir calcare ous nature . It is conclude d th at th e M anch e ste r soils h ave am ple adsorption capacity to trap any incom ing Cd or Z n solute s.

49 . Bryan, S., Lalor, G.C., and Vutch k ov, M ., 2004. Blood Le ad Le ve ls in Ch ildre n in Jam aican Basic Sch ools. W e st Indian M e dical Journal, 53 (2), 71-75.

Blood le ad le ve ls (BLL) for 285 ch ildre n, th re e to six ye ars old, from se ve n basic sch ools locate d in k now n are as of anth ropoge nic pollution, and in urban and rural are as are re porte d. Th e sam ple s w e re obtaine d by th e finge r- prick m e th od and analyse d for le ad by anodic stripping voltam m e try. Th e m ajority of th e ch ildre n h ave blood le ad le ve ls be low th e now acce pte d lim it of 10 µg dL- 1 and th e re are no indications of case s th at w ould re pre se nt m e dical e m e rge ncie s. Th e pre se nt re sults sh ow conside rable im prove m e nt in th e BLLs of ch ildre n associate d w ith contam inate d site s indicating th e e ffe ctive ne ss of th e pre vious re m e diation ste ps. Follow - up inte rve ntion w ork is in progre ss for case s of blood le ad le ve ls in e xce ss of th e re com m e nde d lim it.


50. Grant, C.N., Lalor, G.C., Vutch k ov, M .K., 2004. Trace Ele m e nts in Jam aican Tobacco. W e st Indian M e dical Journal, 53 (2), 66-70.

Th e conce ntrations of 28 e le m e nts, in h and- m ade cigars, "rope " tobacco and fre sh ly pick e d tobacco le ave s from th e parish of M anch e ste r in ce ntral Jam aica, w e re com pare d w ith locally pack age d and im porte d cigare tte s and cigars. Exce pt for ch rom ium and vanadium , w h ich are low e r in th e im porte d products, th e e le m e ntal conce ntrations of all th e brands sold in Jam aica are rath e r s im ilar. Th e m e ans for alum inium , cadm ium , cae sium , ce rium , ch rom ium , iron, th orium , uranium , vanadium and z inc for th e M anch e ste r m ate rial e xce e d th e m axim um value s of th e oth e r tobaccos. Th e s ignificant conce ntrations of h e avy m e tals, and e spe cially cadm ium , w h ich is about 50 tim e s th at of com m e rcial cigare tte s, re fle ct th e k now n h igh conce ntrations in th e soils in th e re gion. Th is tobacco is not filte re d and th e sm ok e contains 50% of th e cadm ium . Th is, and th e conce ntrations of radioactive e le m e nts, m ay indicate an additional h e alth ris k com pare d w ith com m e rcial cigare tte s. A study of 3 sam ple s of m arijuana indicate s a sim ilar le ve l of risk from h e avy m e tals.

51. Lalor, G.C., Rattray, R., W illiam s, N., W righ t, P., 2004. Cadm ium Le ve ls in K idne y and Live r of Jam aicans at Autopsy. W e st Indian M e dical Journal, 53 (2), 76-80.

Th e cadm ium conce ntrations in th e k idne ys and live rs of 39 autopsy case s in Jam aica, in th e age group > 40 ye ars of age are re nal corte x: range 6.7- 126 m g k g- 1, m e an 43.8 m g k g- 1; live r: range 0.3-24.3 m g k g- 1, m e an 5.3 m g k g- 1. Th e m e an le ve ls in th e re nal corte x are h igh e r for w om e n th an for m e n but not at th is stage significantly so, nor are th e diffe re nce s be tw e e n sm ok e rs and non-sm ok e rs cle ar. Th e obse rve d value s are conside re d h igh , se cond only to Japan w h e re cadm ium re late d h e alth im pairm e nts h ave occurre d, and ne arly tw ice as h igh as th e value s re porte d from Austria, Australia, th e Unite d Kingdom and Sw e de n. Th e Jam aican case s w e re from are as w ith re lative ly low soil- cadm ium conce ntrations, and th e corre sponding value s are lik e ly to be s ignificantly h igh e r in ce ntral Jam aica w h e re th e soils contain unusually h igh le ve ls of cadm ium . An e xam ination of possible contributions of cadm ium intak e to re nal proble m s in Jam aica now appe ars to be ne ce ssary.

52. Garre tt, Robe rt G. and Lalor, Ge rald C., 2004. Th e Fe /Na ratio, a fram e w ork for m ode lling trace e le m e nt distributions in Jam aican soils. Ge och e m istry: Exploration, Environm e nt, Analysis, Vol 4, 1-11.

Th e trace e le m e nt ge och e m istry of Jam aican soils (<150 µm ) is e xtre m e ly variable due to th e ir de ve lopm e nt on dive rse pare nt m ate rials, varying m aturity (age s range from re ce nt to > 5 m a) and th e varie ty of soil form ing proce sse s. It is de m onstrate d th at th e Fe /Na ratio of th e soils form s a use ful q uantitative fram e w ork for studying trace e le m e nt distributions. Th e ratio varie s 2.5 orde rs of m agnitude from <2 in ne w ly de ve lope d ince ptisols to > 500 in e ntisols and te rra rossa th at h ave be e n de ve loping for > 5 m a. Th e form of th e trace e le m e nt distributions w ith re spe ct to Fe /Na ratio m ay be inte rpre te d in th e conte xt of m ine ralogy of th e pare nt m ate rial, re m oval of labile trace e le m e nt fractions during soil de ve lopm e nt, se q ue stration in stable se condary form s, and ultim ate conce ntration of stable prim ary re sistate and se condary m ine rals by te rra rossa soil form ation proce sse s th at le ad to e le vate d Fe and Al le ve ls and th e de ple tion of silica and base cations, Ca2+ , M g2+ , Na+ and K+ . As e xam ple s, th e distribution of U and As are m ode lle d as functions of th e Fe /Na ratio. Use of robust re gre ssion proce dure s ide ntifie s individual soil sam ple s th at e xh ibit dive rge nt patte rns of trace e le m e nt conce ntration. Som e of th e se can be link e d to local be drock source s, w h ile oth e rs are m ore lik e ly re late d to e xotic volcanic ash - fall m ate rial from Ce ntral Am e rica de posite d on proto- Jam aica in th e late - M ioce ne .


53. Garre tt, Robe rt G., Lalor, Ge rald C., and Vutch k ov, M itk o K., 2004. Ge och e m ical e xploration for gold in Jam aica: a com parison of stre am se dim e nt and soil surve ys. Ge och e m istry: Exploration, Environm e nt, Analysis, 4, 161-170.

Th e ge ology of Jam aica is re vie w e d w ith re fe re nce to gold. Tw o ge och e m ical surve ys, one e m ploying stre am se dim e nts for m ine ral e xploration in se le cte d re gions of Jam aica conside re d a priori to h ave gre ate r m ine ral pote ntial, and th e oth e r an island- w ide low - de nsity soil surve y to m e e t agro- e nvironm e ntal obje ctive s, w e re unde rtak e n in 19 86 and 19 88, re spe ctive ly. Th e pape r pre se nts an inte rpre tation of th e pre viously unpublish e d soil data for gold, and unde rtak e s a com parison of th e tw o surve ys in te rm s of th e ir e ffe ctive ne ss for gold e xploration. Th e stre am se dim e nt surve y (1 site pe r 1 k m 2) le d to th e discove ry of th re e ne w gold occurre nce s, one of w h ich be cam e a producing m ine in 2001, and th e re cognition of tw o pre viously k now n aurife rous districts. Th e low - de nsity soil surve y (1 site pe r 64 k m 2) ide ntifie d th e h ost rock s of th re e of th e se aurife rous districts as h aving gold pote ntial, including th ose of th e producing m ine , de m onstrating its value as abroad- scale re gional m ine ral re connaissance tool. Ge och e m ical studie s of gold in Jam aica are com plicate d by th e pre se nce of transporte d palae o- anom alie s, re late d to M ioce ne ash -falls, in te rra rossa soils in k arst te rrain. Th e Fe /Na ratio is an inde x of soil m aturity and incre ase s ove r tw o- and- a- h alf orde rs of m agnitude w ith incre asing soil age and m ature . Th e plotting of Au ve rsus th e Fe /Na ratio in soils offe rs a sim ple proce dure for ide ntifying sam ple s m ost lik e ly to be re late d to gold occurre nce s in be drock , i.e . h igh Au and low Fe /Na ratio. It is conclude d th at in th e spe cific instance of Jam aica's h igh re lie f te rrain and th e appare nt lim itation of gold occurre nce s to th e Cre tace ous Inlie rs and Eoce ne W agw ate r Trough unde rlying th ose h igh re lie f are as, stre am se dim e nt sam pling is th e m ost e ffe ctive m ine ral e xploration tool.

54. H ow e , A., H oo Fung, L., Lalor, G., Rattray, R. and Vutch k ov, M ., 2004. Ele m e ntal com position of Jam aican foods 1: A surve y of five food crop cate gorie s. Environm e ntal Ge och e m istry and H e alth , (In Pre ss).

Th e conce ntrations of 27 e le m e nts in Jam aican food cate gorie s consisting of fruit, le gum e s, le afy and root ve ge table s and oth e r root crops are re porte d. Th e m ain analytical te ch niq ue s use d w e re ne utron activation analysis and flam e and graph ite furnace atom ic absorption spe ctroph otom e try. Th e re sults are com pare d, w h e re possible , w ith value s from D e nm ark , th e Unite d Kingdom , th e Unite d State s and Nige ria, and w ith som e re gulatory lim its. O ve r 75% of th e re sults for antim ony, arse nic, barium , ce rium , th orium and uranium w e re be low th e re spe ctive sam ple de te ction lim its but e ve n am ong th e se , som e of th e m axim um value s obse rve d indicate th at furth e r e xam ination m ay be use ful for th ose foods grow n in th e re gions of h igh e st uptak e and consum e d in large am ounts. Th e oth e r e le m e nts re porte d are brom ine , cadm ium , calcium , cae sium , ce rium , ch rom ium , coppe r, e uropium , h afnium , iron, lanth anum , le ad, m agne sium , m angane se , ph osph orus, potassium , rubidium , scandium , sam arium , sodium , strontium , th orium , uranium , and z inc. M any of th e se e le m e nts occur at conce ntration le ve ls above th ose re porte d from th e oth e r countrie s but it se e m s unlik e ly th at m ost of th e se w ill contribute s ignificantly to public h e alth ris k . H ow e ve r, at th is stage cadm ium cle arly appe ars to be th e e le m e nt of gre ate st conce rn in th e Jam aican food ch ain. Th e obse rve d range of cadm ium conce ntrations sugge sts th at factors such as land se le ction, couple d pe rh aps w h e re ne ce ssary, w ith suitably m odifie d agricultural practice s, is a fe asible w ay to re duce th e cadm ium conte nt of ce rtain local foods. C. Grant, G.C., Lalor, M .K. Vutch k ov,


55. Grant, C., Lalor, G.C., Vutch k ov, M ., Insitu Gam m a Spe ctroscopy M e asure m e nt of 41Ar during Ne utron Activation Analysis w ith th e SLOW POKE II Re actor in Jam aica, 2004, H e alth Ph ysics, Ope rational Radiation Safe ty, 87 (2).

In- situ- gam m a spe ctroscopy w as use d to m e asure 41Ar re le ase d into th e laboratory due to th e activation of air in th e irradiation tube s of SLO W PO KE re actor during routine Ne utron Activation Analysis. Th e data obtaine d w e re use d to pre dict th e 41Ar distribution in th e laboratory for various ope rating conditions of th e re actor. Th e dose re ce ive d by th e analyst from th e im m e rsion in 41Ar w as calculate d to be 2.36 µSv/ye ar, w h ich is approxim ate ly 1% of th e norm al back ground e xposure .


ICENS is de signe d to be a catalytic core for inte rdisciplinary program m e s aim e d prim arily at Jam aica's de ve lopm e nt. It posse sse s a truly form idable capability for th e m e asure m e nt of alm ost e ve ry naturally occurring e le m e nt and couple s th is w ith pow e rful com pute r syste m s and database s. Exte nsive datase ts are now available on soils, air particulate s, rock s, surface and ground w ate r, crops, food and anim als, and incre asingly on h um ans.

Alth ough urban air q uality is le ss th an fully satisfactory, noth ing unusual is appare nt. Th e h e avy m e tal conce ntrations in w ate r are ve ry m uch low e r th an m igh t be e xpe cte d on th e basis of th e h igh back ground le ve ls found in som e of th e surface soils, and it appe ars th at th e lim e stone base is a barrie r th at pre ve nts h e avy m e tal le ach ing into th e w ate r table .

Th e soils h ave so far produce d th e m ost strik ing re sults. D ata and distribution m aps are now available at a de nsity of 1 sam ple in 64 k m 2, and m ore de taile d data are be ing gath e re d. Th e se m aps are pow e rful de scriptive and diagnostic tools and alre ady allow re asonably accurate pre dictions of e le m e ntal conce ntrations at any arbitrary point, an ability th at is incre asingly use ful in our ow n w ork , and w ill h ave be ne fits for agriculture and land use planning.

Th e soils of ce ntral Jam aica, m ainly th e te rra rossas of w h ich bauxite is th e m ost im portant, contain a w ide range of e le m e ntal conce ntrations of a varie ty of h e avy m e tals, som e of w h ich are e sse ntial to life and oth e rs th at are pote ntially toxic. Arse nic, cadm ium , le ad, and m e rcury h ave be e n re ce iving th e m ost atte ntion, alth ough th e database s contain inform ation on doz e ns of oth e rs. Arse nic se e m s not to be a proble m w ith pre se nt land use . M any case s of le ad poisoning h ave be e n de te cte d and corre cte d, and in all instance s th e poisoning w as not due to th e naturally occurring le ad, but to h um an activitie s, e spe cially back yard le ad sm e lting. D ata are accum ulating on m e rcury in local foods, but th is doe s not appe ar to be a proble m .

Cadm ium is now th e e le m e nt of gre ate st conce rn. It h as an invidious re putation for toxicity and h as cause d se ve re illne sse s in oth e r countrie s. Its conce ntrations in som e Jam aican soils are

Conclusion


e xtraordinary; it is e nte ring th e food ch ain, and th e re is s ignificant h um an uptak e . A m ajor e ffort is now unde rw ay to de te rm ine w h e th e r any link s can be found in Jam aica be tw e e n th is e le m e nt and th e h igh incide nce of re nal dise ase , prostate cance r, and oth e r afflictions.

Th e data w ill h ave m any m ore applications and one fascinating aspe ct is th at it is th e sam e data com bine d w ith diffe re nt se ts of inform ation, th at h ave such a m ultiplicity of pote ntial use s. Th is e m ph asise s ye t again th e im portance of inte rdisciplinary collaborations.

ICENS, th e re fore , pre se nts a re m ark able opportunity for scie ntific grow th th rough th e de ve lopm e nt of ne tw ork s of pe rsons conce rne d w ith th e inte gration of inform ation for de ve lopm e nt. W ork in th e inte rface s of vital discipline s such as agriculture , e nvironm e ntal prote ction, h e alth and natural re source e stim ation and m anage m e nt, and socio- e conom ics can be ne fit from th e data and m e th odologie s, such as ge ograph ic inform ation syste m s be ing e m ploye d routine ly, and th e re are m any opportunitie s for fundam e ntal studie s.

Gre at ch alle nge s lie as alw ays in funding, but e ve n m ore so in attracting and re taining e xce lle nt staff and local collaborations, to e nsure th e e arly com ple tion of a num be r of im portant program m e s to allow fruitful application of th e data be ing obtaine d, and to build for th e future .


Ack now le dge m e nts

Th e construction of th e Ce ntre and th e provision of th e SLO W PO KE re actor w e re funde d by th e Europe an Econom ic Com m ission (EEC), w ith a significant contribution from th e Gove rnm e nt of Jam aica. Th e oth e r m ajor ite m s of e q uipm e nt and m ost of th e training of staff and collaborators w e re funde d m ainly by th e EEC and th e IAEA. Th e M ona Cam pus and th e Gove rnm e nt of Jam aica provide th e core funding m ainly for staff salarie s and m ost of th e re se arch proje cts are funde d from local and ove rse as grants, of w h ich th e Royal Bank Foundation in Jam aica provide d th e first.

Th e O rganisation of Am e rican State s, and th e O ve rse as D e ve lopm e nt Age ncy of th e Unite d Kingdom also provide d e arly grants. Th e island w ide ge och e m ical study w h ich re m ains th e basis of m ost of ICENS' inve stigations w as funde d by a grant of U S$1 m illion from th e Inte r- Am e rican D e ve lopm e nt Bank . M ore re ce ntly, th e Environm e ntal Foundation of Jam aica (EFJ) h as supporte d th e program m e s on le ad and ch ildre n and th e IAEA, PAH O, th e CD B, O AS, FAO and th e EFJ h ave be e n supporting th e im portant program m e s on soil/food re lationsh ips and h e alth .

M any individuals h ave re ce ive d spe cial ack now le dge m e nts in th e te xt of th e re port. H e re spe cial note is m ade of th e outstanding contributions of M r. Andre w Black m ore , form e rly D e sk O ffice r for Jam aica at th e EEC in Brusse ls; M r. Francis Fe lix w h o carrie d m uch of th e re sponsibility for proje ct de ve lopm e nt w ith th e EEC; th e tire le ss and outstanding contributions of M r. Joh n Pre ston ove r m any ye ars, including th e de sign and production of th is re port, w h ich w as proofe d and criticise d by M s. Ve rna Lum sde n and M rs. Judy Grant w h o assiste d w ith th e h istorical re se arch . Th e contributions of past and pre se nt staff of ICENS and our collaborators are also grate fully ack now le dge d.

Ye t, th e m ajor inde bte dne ss is to Unive rsity of th e W e st Indie s for its continuing e m ph asis on re se arch and se rvice , w h ich provide s th e e nvironm e nt w ith out w h ich ICENS w ould not h ave be e n possible .


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ICENS 20th Anniversary Report

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