The Cienfuegos Centre for Environmental Studies (CEAC) received a mission of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 16 to 20 May to provide training and advice on water monitoring for petroleum hydrocarbons, using a portable fluorometer.
The expert, Marc Tedetti, is a research fellow at the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MiO),
The aim of the mission was to train specialists from CEAC's environmental testing laboratory in the use of the "portable fluorimetric probe (TRIOS)" - including sample preparation, measurements and equipment maintenance - as well as in the analysis and interpretation of data on petroleum hydrocarbons, said Yusmila Helguera Pedraza, research associate at CEAC.
This equipment, she explains, was acquired with the support of the CUB7009 project "Capacity building in isotope hydrology for sustainable management of water resources", funded by the IAEA and the national programme "Nuclear, laser, optical and ultrasonic application technologies to produce and generalise goods and services", run by the Nuclear Energy and Advanced Technologies Agency (AENTA).
With the installation and commissioning of this modern equipment, the CEAC is making progress in setting up a scientific-technical service for monitoring water pollution by petroleum hydrocarbons in Cuba's coastal marine areas, added the researcher.
This installed capacity is particularly important for the rapid monitoring and subsequent follow-up of accidental oil spills," she said.
The CUB7009 project is also in synergy with the "Consolidation and improvement of national capacities to carry out climate change adaptation and mitigation assessments and actions in Cuba (Task Vida), using isotope and nuclear techniques (ISOVIDA)" project.
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