Workplace monitoring and occupational health studies in the Sostanj Thermal Power Plant, Slovenia

Up to now, only a few investigations have been performed in the Sostanj Thermal Power Plant (TPP) involving comprehensive studies of trace elements, toxic elements, heavy metals and radionuclides in the workplaces. The aim of the project is development and application of nuclear and nuclear-related analytical techniques for workplace pollution and occupational health studies, leading to formation of a database concerning the trace element air pollution inside the Sostanj Thermal Power Plant. In this report, the emphasis is on the methodology and analytical development (neutron activation analysis, X-ray spectrometry, total-reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectroscopy and proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE)), and to a lesser extent on the results obtained up to now. Analytical results for several certified reference materials of similar matrix as the real samples investigated were obtained. Results obtained by the k0-standardization method and XRF technique for aerosols (coarse and fine fractions) ore also presented and discussed. (author)