The Environmental Assessments Laboratory (EAL) performs researches for environmental pollution focusing on heavy metals pollution and radioactivity, natural and artificial. EAL has implemented environmental monitoring projects in cooperation with the Nuclear Physics Laboratory and other Departments of the University of Ioannina (for more details see here). These projects concerned water quality assessments in large water bodies (rivers, lakes, shallows and river estuaries) in wide areas of Central Greece, covering the prefectures of Epirus, Macedonia and Thessalia.
Part of the results of these projects are published in international scientific journals (see Publications) and websites (ECODOnet).
Recently EAL was equipped with an integrated system of gamma spectroscopy with capability of high resolution and low backround measurements. EAL also performs radon measurements in houses and generally public buildings. For this purpose, an integrated system for radon analysis, using plastic films (CR39) is used. More information about the method is giving elsewhere (Radon Group). Another application of radon measurements is the research for active seismic faults and possible connection of radon emanation and a future earthquake.
Radon can also be measured in water using liquid scintillation techniques. These measurements can be used for determining the possible paths of underground water that comes out from springs on earth or under sea. EAL can perform radon measurements in sea water aiming to estimate possible fractures on the sea bottom that maybe related to seismic faults.
Radon measurements in association to tritium measurements can be used for hydro-geological surveys.