CHARACTERIZATION OF SAND SAMPLES FROM KARACHI BEACHES USING GAMMA SPECTROMETRY AND XRD

2020 ◽  
Vol 189 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jahan Zeb ◽  
Mohammad Wasim ◽  
Sardar A Shah ◽  
Safia Khanam ◽  
Hajira Tahir ◽  
...  

Abstract Chemical phase and distribution of natural radionuclides (226Ra, 232Th and 40K) were determined for sand samples collected from ten different beaches of Karachi. All samples, except one, were identified with major and minor phases as SiO2 and CaCO3, respectively. The average activity concentrations were 24.9, 25.0 and 239 Bq kg−1 for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K, respectively. Including all samples, the average radium equivalent activity was 79.1 Bq kg−1. The external and internal radiation hazard indices and representative level index were all found below unity. The average air absorbed dose rate at 1 m above the sand due to the natural radionuclides was 18.3 nGy h−1, which was less than the world average for soil. The corresponding annual effective dose rate was 22.4 μSv y−1. It was found that Raeq had positive significant correlation with the amount of quartz present at the beaches.

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nevenka Antovic ◽  
Danilo Boskovic ◽  
Nikola Svrkota ◽  
Ivanka Antovic

Soil samples from Mojkovac, Montenegro, were analyzed by standard gamma-spectrometry for radioactivity due to 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs. Average activity concentrations have been found to be 28.6, 43.1, 620.8, and 55 Bq/kg, respectively. In order to evaluate the radiation hazard, radium equivalent activity, absorbed dose rate, annual effective dose, external and internal hazard indexes, and the annual gonadal dose equivalent were determined and found to be at an average of 133.79 Bq/kg, 65.18 nGy/h, 79.93 mSv/y, 0.37, 0.45, and 0.46 mSv/y, respectively. With life expectancy taken to be 70 years, a mean lifetime outdoor gamma radiation was calculated as 5.6 mSv, yielding a lifetime cancer risk of 2.8?10-4.


2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Branislava Mitrovic ◽  
Dragana Todorovic ◽  
Jelena Ajtic ◽  
Borjana Vranjes

This review paper discusses the content of natural (40K, 238U, 226Ra, and 232Th) and artificial (137Cs) radionuclides in the soil of the mountains of Maljen, Tara and Kopaonik in the Republic of Serbia over 2002-2015. In addition, the paper gives radiation hazard parameters, i.e., radium equivalent activity, absorbed dose rate, annual effective dose equivalent, external hazard index, annual gonadal dose equivalent, and excess lifetime cancer risk outdoors that we calculated from the obtained content of the natural radionuclides in the soil samples. We compared the parameters to previously published results for different parts of the country and looked into the radioecological status of the investigated areas.


1970 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
KA Kabir ◽  
SMA Islam ◽  
MM Rahman

This paper presents the first reports on the natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in soil and sediment of Jessore, a south-western district of Bangladesh. Surface soil and freshwater sediment were collected from in and around some major water-bodies of this district. To assess the radiological hazard of the natural radioactivity, the radium equivalent activity, the absorbed dose rate, and the external and internal hazard indices were calculated. In the soil and sediment in general, the activity concentration of 232Th was found to be higher than that of  226Ra, while that of 40K markedly exceeds the values of both 226Ra and 232Th. The average activities of 226Ra and 232Th in this area were found to be higher than the world average. There was no activity due to fallout (137Cs) in this area. The radium equivalent activity and the absorbed dose rate due to the natural radionuclides were found to be respectively lower and higher than the world average. The external and internal hazard indices were found to be well below the hazard limit of unity. Our results compare fairly well with other published results.  Key words: Soil, Sediment, Natural lake, Radioactivity, Dose rate DOI: 10.3329/jbas.v33i1.2956 Journal of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Vol. 33, No. 1, 117-130, 2009


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaaban Harb ◽  
Noor Ahmed ◽  
Wael Badawy ◽  
Nagwa Saad

The activity concentrations of natural radionuclides (226Ra, 232Th, and 40K) for a set of 31 agricultural soil samples from the Nile River banks in the area of El-Sebaiya city, Aswan Governorate, Egypt were measured by gamma-spectrometry. The study revealed that the average activity concentrations of natural radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K were 23.2 ? 2.8Bq/kg, 21.1 ? 2.8 Bq/kg, and 218.6 ? 3.7 Bq/kg, respectively. The obtained results of the activity concentrations are within the range of values reported for neighbouring areas in Egypt. The values obtained for the hazard indices and the representative level index in all sampling sites were lower than unity, showing that there is no significant risk arising from the exposure to the soil in the studied area. The absorbed dose rate and annual effective dose in air outdoors and indoors were calculated from 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in soil, the average values being 32.64 nGy/h, 40.06 ?Sv, and 160.25 ?Sv, respectively. The absorbed dose rate at the eastof El-Sebaiya city is higher than that obtained for the west because of higher concentrations of tri-calcium phosphate in the soil. The studied area is not significantly affected by the industrial activities, except for a few isolated spots.


2019 ◽  
Vol 100 ◽  
pp. 00052
Author(s):  
Aneta Łukaszek-Chmielewska ◽  
Martin Girard ◽  
Olga Stawarz ◽  
Barbara Piotrowska ◽  
Karol Wojtkowski ◽  
...  

In this article are presented the results of measurements of natural radioactivity in twelve soil samples from the Kampinoski National Park by using high purity germanium detector (HPGe). The average values of the natural radionuclides 40K, 226Ra and 228Ac concentrations in the soil samples are 8.54, 6.65 and 206 Bq/kg respectively. Additionally radiation hazard indices were calculated to evaluate the radiological risk for the public and environment. The results show that the mean values of radium equivalent activity (Raeq) and gamma absorbed dose rate (D) in the air, outdoor annual effective dose equivalent (Eout), and representative level index (Iγ) for analyzed samples were lower than the limit recommended by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effect of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). This study is the first to evaluate the radiological impacts in the investigation area.


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 392-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Rahman ◽  
Muhammad Rafique

Radioactivity levels in building materials, collected from the Islamabad capital territory have been determined by using a gamma spectrometric technique. Measured specific activities of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in material samples ranged from 8 ? 1 to 116 ? 6 Bq/kg, 9 ? 1 to 152 ? ? 5 Bq/kg, and 29 ? 6 to 974 ? 23 Bq/kg, respectively. The radium equivalent activity, absorbed dose rate, annual effective dose, and gamma index were evaluated from the measured amounts of radioactivity to assess the radiation hazard associated with the studied building materials. The mean radium equivalent activity, the absorbed dose rate and annual effective dose estimated ranged from 81 ? 6 to 221 ? 11 Bq/kg, 38 ? 3 to 104 ? 5 nGy/h, and 0.23 ? 0.02 to 0.64 ? 0.03 mSv, respectively. The ranges of the calculated Raeq were found to be lower than the values recommended for construction materials (370 Bq/kg). The mean values of the internal and external hazard indices were found in the range of 0.30 ? 0.02 to 0.78 ? 0.05 and 0.22 ? 0.02 to 0.60 ? 0.03, respectively. The results of the materials examined indicate no significant radiological hazards arise from using such material in building construction.


2018 ◽  
Vol 184 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-11
Author(s):  
C M Alonso-Hernández ◽  
A L Toledo-Sibello ◽  
A Guillén-Arruebarrena ◽  
R Sibello-Hernández ◽  
Y Morera-Gómez ◽  
...  

Abstract The natural radioactivity and the associated radiation hazards of soils from the Cumanayagua Granitoide-Granitic massif in the central south of Cuba have been studied. Mass activities of the natural radionuclides 238U, 232Th and 40K varied in the ranges 10.4–33, 4.6–21.7 and 381–1201 Bq kg−1, respectively. The radium equivalent activity (91.4 ± 22.1 Bq kg−1), absorbed dose rate (45.6 ± 11.1 nGy h−1), annual effective dose rate (56.1 ± 13.7 μSv y−1) and the external hazard index (0.25 ± 0.06) have been calculated and compared with the internationally approved values. According to these results, the area can be regarded as an area with normal natural background radiation and may not pose radiological risks to the inhabitants owing to harmful effects of ionizing radiation from the natural radionuclides in soils. This study provides background radioactivity concentrations in Cumanayagua Granitoide area and generate a baseline data for radiological mapping of Cuba in the future.


Clay Minerals ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muazzez Çelik Karakaya ◽  
Mahmut Doğru ◽  
Necati Karakaya ◽  
Hasibe Cingilli Vural ◽  
Fatih Kuluöztürk ◽  
...  

AbstractThe activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in peloids were studied to assess the radiologic hazard from 18 Turkish spas. The peloids are mainly used for therapeutic treatments, rheumatic diseases and aesthetic purposes. The concentrations of the natural radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs were determined with a gamma ray spectrometer using a HPGe detector. The average activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs in the peloids studied were 110.69, 71.52, 576.48 and 0.447 Bq/kg, respectively. The radium equivalent activities in the peloid samples ranged from 63.3 to 766.77 Bq/kg. The absorbed dose rate (Dout) varied between 37.52 and 330.67 nGy/h and most of the observed spa doses are greater than the worldwide recommended values. The annual effective dose values range from 0.26 to 2.78 μSv/y. The annual gonadal dose equivalents of the samples vary from 224.07 to 2283.55 with a mean of 821.99 μSv/y.


2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 123-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marija Jankovic ◽  
Milica Rajacic ◽  
Tamara Rakic ◽  
Dragana Todorovic

Ceramic tiles are one of the commonly used decorative building materials. Body of ceramic tiles is a mixture of different raw materials including clays, quartz materials and feldspat, and may be glazed or left unglazed. Due to the presence of zircon in the glaze, ceramic tiles can show natural radioactivity concentration significantly higher than the average values for building materials. This study presents a summary of results obtained by a survey which was consisted of measurements of activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in imported ceramic tile samples used in Serbia using a gamma spectrometer with HPGe detector. Based on the obtained concentrations, gamma index, radium equivalent activity, the indoor absorbed dose rate and the corresponding annual effective dose were evaluated to assess the potential radiological hazard associated with these building materials.


2019 ◽  
Vol 188 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-108
Author(s):  
F O Wanjala ◽  
N O Hashim ◽  
D Otwoma ◽  
C Nyambura ◽  
J Kebwaro ◽  
...  

Abstract The activity concentration of radionuclides 238U, 232Th and 40K in soil and the absorbed dose rate (ADRA) at 1 m above the ground in Ortum was determined. The activity concentration in soils ranged from 33 to 85, 20 to 67 and 148–1019 Bq kg–1, respectively with an average of 40 ± 1.43, 56 ± 1.46 and 425 ± 19.24 Bq kg–1, respectively. The activity concentration of 232Th and 238U was found to reduce with increasing depth while that of 40K increased with increasing depth. The average activity concentration in soil was higher than the world average values. The average ADRA in air at 1 m above the ground was found to be 112 ± 29.6 nGy h–1. The soil and rocks in Ortum are recommended for use because the activity concentration of the terrestrial radionuclides is lower than the recommended threshold values.


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