Radiation Elements and Isotopes
GREI is an interdisciplinary group with expertise on nuclear related analytical techniques and ionizing radiation dedicated to R&D on Environmental Processes, Cultural Materials & Materials Processing. The group operates an Ionizing Radiation Facility with gamma and e-beam sources, laboratory facilities and equipment to perform: elemental, isotopic, trace element and tritium determinations and radiocarbon dating; microbiological and chemical analysis of radiation effects in products; and MeV ion microbeam analytical techniques.
Objectives
- Research on Environmental Processes focus on the ionizing radiation effects on the degradation and extractability of industrial wastes’ pollutants, to develop strategies to remediate their environmental impact or promote its reuse.
- Studied of the inactivation mechanisms of water and food-borne virus and bacteria by ionizing radiation to improve effective disinfection processes.
- Water resources management studies to evaluate the impact of groundwater over exploitation in coastal areas in Portugal and semi-arid and arid coastal regions in Africa.
- Investigation of the anthropogenic impacts, pollutant sources of materials on diverse environments (aerosols, sediments, soils, plants and waters) and climatic patterns based on elemental and isotopic compositions and radiocarbon dating.
- Research on Cultural Materials aiming at assessing sources, production technologies and circulation of ancient raw materials and artefacts (metals, glazes and glasses) from Prehistory to Early Modern Period from all over the Portuguese territory.
- Characterization of collections by elemental, isotopic and structural microanalytical techniques to establish raw materials origin, the chronological evolution of different matrixes and the operations applied in the manufacture of artefacts of distinct types.
- Research on Materials Processing on macromolecular materials using ionizing radiation for processing or modification, to obtain new properties optimized for biomedical applications (e.g. skin scaffolds) and conservation of cultural artefacts (roman mosaics).
Group Leader

- Fernanda Margaça