Lebanese Report 2010 Project Code: RAS7018 Project Title: Upgrading Regional Capability to Assess Marine Contaminants in the ARASIA Member States Counterparts Institute(s): Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission - National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS); Lebanon Counterpart Personnel: El SAMAD Omar I - Country Profile: This project enhances the national capabilities to monitor and assess marine radioactivity as part of a national monitoring program. This will be very beneficial as, the monitoring processes and control of marine pollution is a very strategic important objective of the governments, while many national decrees recently issued includes environmental protection and rehabilitation of the marine environment. A- Potential sources and marine monitoring infrastructure : In Lebanon, the Potential sources of pollutants at the Lebanese coast at the Mediterranean Sea are sewage water, Cheka Cement Industry, Selaata Fertilizer Industry, Zouk and Jieh Electric Power plants, and oil spills are considered also one of the pollution sources. Marine monitoring infrastructure at the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS), Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission (LAEC) consists of radioactivity measurement of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides using nuclear techniques, while the monitoring infrastructure of the National Center for Marine Sciences consists of the determination of physic-chemical parameters (temperature, salinity, PH, O2 dissolved, sulfates, phosphates, nitrates, nitrites), bacteriology, Chlorophylls and phytoplankton and heavy metals. The government plan to extend the studies done on the marine environment in order to cover in addition to the radioactive measurements, the organic pollutants PAH and other Page 1 of 9 pollutants in order to determine their effects on the environment and especially on the fisheries. The Laboratory of Pesticides and Organic Pollutants (LAPPO) at the LAEC is involved in the analysis of different organic pollutants (PAH, pesticides residues, alphatic hydrocarbons …) in different sample matrices. The lab is equipped with Chromatographs in sparkling phase with MS, ECD, NPD and FID detectors, and an HPLC. LAEC plan to strengthen the capabilities of the (LAPPO), through the staff training on the analysis of organic pollutants in the marine environment, and the procurement of needed accessories, standards and reference materials. B- Quality Assurance : In radioactivity measurements, for alpha spectrometer a standard source is used for energy calibration, pulser test is carried out and a quality control procedure is applied through the preparation and measurement of a reference material. For beta counting, a normalization procedure is carried out, quenching curves were established and a quality control procedure is applied. While for gamma spectroscopy, a quality management system was implemented , energy calibration is carried out using standard multigamma sources, reference materials are used for quality control and Eu-152 point source is used for performance test (FWHM and efficiency ) at low and high energy. Control charts for each variable studied were established. The Laboratory of Organic Pollutants implements new analytical technique to analyze organic contaminants in marine samples, currently a certified reference material of mixture of PAH with known concentrations is used to establish the calibration curve and to prepare spiked samples for quality control. Mixtures and standards of other organic pollutants are required. C- National Stakeholders: The data obtained from the marine environmental studies are presented to the public in a national publication issued by the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS). The data obtained from radioactivity measurements could be used to assess the annual effective dose of the Lebanese population from internal and external exposure. II- Environmental Marine Studies: A- Marine National Program: The Environmental Radiation Control Department at the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission has established a national environmental radiation monitoring program. The main objective of this program is the determination of levels of radioactive contamination resulting from anthropogenic and natural sources in the various compartments of the environment (air, water, soil and sediment, marine environment) and in the Lebanese diet, in order to set national radioactivity baseline levels and to establish a radioactive carte for the Lebanese soil. Page 2 of 9 The marine monitoring program at LAEC consists of radioactivity measurements in beach sand, sediment, seawater and biota samples at 3 stations (Tripoli, Beirut and Saida). The stations are those proposed by the project coordinator in the meeting 2008, except Saida instead of Tyr, noting that both cities are at south Lebanon. In Lebanon most industries are located at the seaside for cooling processes, or in the vicinity of the ports for transportation facilities (import of row materials and export of products); one of the Biggest Lebanese industries is a phosphate fertilizers plant located at Batroun. Most of the plant's by products (phosphogysun , phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid ) are thrown directly into the sea, a preliminary study for radioactive and non radioactive pollutants was carried out in the surrounding area to assess the effect of this industry on the environment, and the results are presented in this report. As well as, many previews studies have been done and they are presented here. B- Radioactivity Measurements The Methodological Guidelines May 2008, it is stated that sampling should be done once a year for beach sand and sediment, and twice a year for seawater and fish. In Lebanon, these guidelines were applied for beach sand and sediment samples, while seawater and fish samples were collected only once a year. Gamma emitters were analyzed in all samples, Po-210 and Pb-210 in biota and Uranium isotopes in seawater. The sampling locations are defined by GPS, the sediment samples were collected at a distance 2-3m from beach edge. The collected benthic (Mwasta) and pelagic (Ojaj, Bourry , sarghous and Jarbidi ) fish samples were the mostly consumed by the majority of the Lebanese population. The locations of the catch were verified by the fisherman. Case Study: Within the frame work of the marine radiation monitoring program, a radiological study around a fertilizer industry located at Batroun coastal city was carried out. Seawater, sediment, beach sand and biota samples were collected at different distances from the outlets. Soil samples were collected from the surrounding area at different distances from the facility. Gamma emitters were determined in all samples, Uranium isotopes were analyzed in seawater samples, Po-210 and Pb-210 were determined in biota samples. C- Non-radioactivity The laboratories of National Center for Marine Sciences are involved in the determination of physico-chemical parameters (temperature, salinity, PH, O2 dissolved, sulfates, phosphates, nitrates, and nitrites), bacteriology, Chlorophylls and phytoplankton and heavy metals. They are applying routine sampling and analysis procedure along the Lebanese coast. Case study: Many studies have been carried out around a fertilizer industry located at a coastal city, Physico-chemical parameters of seawater and sediment samples were determined, heavy metals were analyzed and other chemical properties were determined. Page 3 of 9 Recently, the marine monitoring program at LAEC was extended to cover organic pollutants (PHA and others) that will be carried out at the Laboratory of Pesticides and Organic Pollutants (LAPPO). Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH): 15 PAH were studied (PAHs), at 5 sites in north, 3 sites Beirut and 7 sites located in south. The total concentration (the sum of all the 15 PAHs) values in the surface seawater were found in the range of 25-50 ng/L at the most polluted sites, and in the range of 3-15 ng/L at the other sites. The recent studies are listed below: • Activity Concentrations of Polonium-210 and Lead-210 in Lebanese Fish (El Samad et all 2010) Lebanese Science Journal, Vol 11 (2) 1-2 (2010). • Impact of phosphogypsun and other factory effluent on Meiofauna communities of Batroun coastal region. Lebanese science journal vol. 10 No 1.2009 (Mouawad et all 2009) • The use of sediments to assess the impact of Selaata phosphate plant on Batroun coastal area. Lebanese science journal vol 9 No 1.2008 (Fakhri et all 2008) • The mineral Industry of Lebanon U.S. Geologica survey Minerals year book (Yager 2005) • Impact of natural and artificial chemical inputs on the marine ecosystem of Batroun region. Leb. Sci.J. 6(1): 13-27 ( fakhri et all 2005) III- Methodology For radioactivity measurements, the sampling procedure for fish, sand and water is carried out as described in the guidelines, while for sediment the samples were collected at distance of 2-3 m far from edge. Uranium isotopes and Po-210 are determined by alpha spectroscopy. For uranium, chemical separation was carried out by precipitation, extraction by resin, and finally electrodeposition on a disk stain less. While for Po-210 in biota samples digestion was carried out, followed by dissolution and electro-less deposition on a silver disk. Pb-210 was determined directly by gamma spectrometer with low level extended range HPGe detector. For Cs-137 in seawater, the guidelines were not applied in 2009, and Cs-137 was measured by gamma spectrometry after evaporation, the values were below MDA (MDA= 0.2 Bq/kg). In