Dr. C. Rita Yvelice Sibello Hernandez explained to Prensa Latina that, ‘since the foundation of CEAC, different projects and scientific and technical services have been carried out, taking advantage of the benefits of nuclear techniques in environmental studies’.

One of the first techniques implemented and validated at CEAC was the use of Cesium-137 to assess soil loss due to erosion.

This made it possible for our researchers to participate in working groups for the implementation of this technique in different sites of interest in the national territory.

The satisfactory results of the quantification of soil losses using the caesium technique demonstrated its applicability in our geographical conditions, said the CEAC Senior Researcher.

In Cienfuegos, about 250 kilometres from Havana, this technique made it possible to determine the extent of erosion in important basins such as the Yaguanabo and Arimao rivers.

These results have been published in agricultural and nuclear scientific journals and have been excellently defended in master’s and doctoral theses.

More recently, CEAC was designated as Cuba’s counterpart in the regional project ‘Improving water use efficiency associated with climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies in agriculture’ of the International Atomic Energy Agency for Latin America and Caribbean region (ARCAL).

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