Guarapariis a coastal town ofEspírito Santo,Brazil,a popular tourist destination. Its beach is famous for the high natural radioactivity level of its sand.
Guarapari | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Guarapari | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: "Barra" | |
 Location of Guarapari in theState of Espírito Santo | |
| Coordinates:20°39′S40°30′W/ 20.650°S 40.500°W | |
| Country |  Brazil |
| Region | Southeast |
| State |  Espírito Santo |
| Founded | 1679 |
| Government | |
| •Mayor | Edson Magalhães (PSD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 591.815 km2(228.501 sq mi) |
| [1] | |
| Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Population (2020 est.[2]) | |
• Total | 126,701 |
| • Density | 210/km2(550/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−3(BRT) |
| HDI(2010) | 0.731 –high[3] |
Geography
editLocation
editGuarapari is a part of Greater Vitoria, 47 km south of the state capitalVitória.Its population is 126,701 (2020) and its area is 592 km2. It is a well-known tourist destination, known for its curving white sand beaches backed by commercial development, which extend southward to Nova Guarapari andMeaípe.With its heavily built-up coastline likeVila Velhaand Vitória, it caters heavily to seasonal tourists, and consequently has quite a dramatic seasonal population fluctuation.
The municipality contains the 953 hectares (2,350 acres)Concha d'Ostra Sustainable Development Reserve,established in 2003 to protect the mangroves of the Bay of Guarapari.[4]It also contains the 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres)Paulo César Vinha State Park,which protects an area of dunes, lagoons and marshes along the Atlantic shore.[5]Formerly called the Setiba nature reserve, it is a pristine example of a coastal ecosystem and important for local turtle and bird populations.
History
editThe municipality has had European presence since 1585 whenJesuitmissionaries built a small chapel and dug a well.
Transportation
editThe city is served byGuarapari Airport.
Radioactivity
editAlong a roughly 500-mile (800 km) portion of Brazil's Atlantic coast that runs from north ofRio de Janeiroup to the region south ofBahia,the sands of old beaches are naturally radioactive. Sea waves pound coastal mountains rich inmonazite,a phosphate of rare earth metals containing uranium and thorium.[6][7]Thebackground radiationlevel on some spots on the Guarapari beach read 175mSvper year (20μSv/h);[8]Some other spots can reach dosages of up to 55 μSv/h.[9]The average exposure level across the United States is 0.34 μSv/h[10]while achest x-rayis a one time exposure of 0.1 mSv, and an abdominal and pelvic CT scan with and without contrast is 20-30 mSv.[11]
In the Guarapari city, radiation levels are far lower: a study among 320 inhabitants showed an average received dose of 0.6 μSv/h, corresponding to 5.2 mSv per year.[12]
References
edit- ^"Guarapari Código: 3202405".Cidades e Estados(in Portuguese).IBGE.Retrieved2019-03-09.
- ^IBGE 2020
- ^"Archived copy"(PDF).United Nations Development Programme(UNDP). Archived fromthe original(PDF)on July 8, 2014.RetrievedAugust 1,2013.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^"RDS de Concha D'Ostra"(in Portuguese). IEMA: Instituto Estadual de Meio Ambiente e Recursos Hídricos. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-10-28.Retrieved2016-10-27.
- ^"Parque Estadual Paulo César Vinha"(in Portuguese). IEMA: Instituto Estadual de Meio Ambiente e Recursos Hídricos. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-10-26.Retrieved2016-10-26.
- ^"Heavy Minerals".Industrias Nucleares do Brasil. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-11-27.Retrieved2012-08-06.
- ^"High natural background radiation areas – Guarapari, Brazil".Japan: Health Research Foundation.
- ^Pfeiffer, W. C.; Penna-Franca, E.; Ribeiro, C. C.; Nogueira, A. R.; Londres, H.; Oliveira, A. E. (December 1981). "Measurements of environmental radiation exposure dose rates at selected sites in Brazil".Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências.53(4): 683–691.ISSN0001-3765.PMID7345962.
- ^"Brazil 2012: sunbathing on radioactive beaches"(Video). at 50s.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-21 – via YouTube.
- ^"Relative Radioactivity Levels".Berkeley RadWatch.UC Berkeley.Retrieved18 October2018.
- ^"Radiation Sources and Doses".Radiation Protection.EPA.
- ^N. Fujinami; T. Koga; H. Morishima."External Exposure Rates from Terrestrial Radiation at Guarapari and Meaipe in Brazil"(PDF).International Radiation Protection Association.
External links
edit
Guaraparitravel guide from Wikivoyage- Guiacapixaba.net: Guarapari
- Webcitation.org: Guarapari Info—(in Portuguese)
- Guarapari.tiosam.org: Guarapari — history and travel tips—(in Portuguese)
- Agrogemeos.com: Google Map images of GuarapariArchived2008-01-03 at theWayback Machine
