Natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in rocks and beach sands from Ezine region (Canakkale), Western Anatolia, Turkey.

Radionuclides which present in different beach sands are sources of external exposure that contribute to the total radiation exposure of human. In this work, superficial samples of beach sand were collected from the Red Sea coastline (Ras Gharib, Hurghada, Safaga, Qusier and Marsa Alam areas) and at 20 km on Qena-Safaga road. The distribution of natural radionuclides in sand beach samples was studied by gamma spectrometry. The activity concentrations of primordial and artificial radionuclides in samples that are collected from the coastal environment of the Red Sea were 19.2 +/- 3 Bq kg(-1) for (210)Pb, 21.1 +/- 1 Bq kg(-1) for (226)Ra, 22.7 +/- 2 Bq kg(-1) for (238)U, 1.0 +/- 0.1 Bq kg(-1) for (235)U, 11.6 +/- 1 Bq kg(-1) for (228)Ra, 13.0 +/- 1 Bq kg(-1) for (228)Th, 12.4 +/- 1 Bq kg(-1) for (232)Th, 930 +/- 32 Bq kg(-1) for (40)K and 1.2 +/- 0.3 Bq kg(-1) for (137)Cs. The mean external gamma-dose rate was 62.5 +/- 3.2 nSv h(-1), 54.4 +/- 2.8 nGy h(-1) Ra equivalent activity (Ra(eq)) was 107 +/- 5.8 Bq kg(-1), 0.86 +/- 0.04 Bq kg(-1) for representative level index (I(gamma)) and effective dose rate was 0.067 +/- 0.003 mSv y(-1) in beach sand red sea, in air due to naturally occurring radionuclides.

Natural radioactivity and external gamma radiation exposure at the coastal Red Sea in Egypt.

Indoor and outdoor gamma dose rates were evaluated around a prospective uranium mining region – Gogi, South India through (i) direct measurements using a GM based gamma dose survey meter, (ii) integrated measurement days using CaSO4:Dy based thermo luminescent dosimeters (TLDs), and (iii) analyses of 273 soil samples for 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K activity concentration using HPGe gamma spectrometry. The geometric mean values of indoor and outdoor gamma dose rates were 104 nGy h−1 and 97 nGy h−1, respectively with an indoor to outdoor dose ratio of 1.09. The gamma dose rates and activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K varied significantly within a small area due to the highly localized mineralization of the elements. Correlation study showed that the dose estimated from the soil radioactivity is better correlated with that measured directly using the portable survey meter, when compared to that obtained from TLDs. This study showed that in a region having localized mineralization in situ measurements using dose survey meter provide better representative values of gamma dose rates.

Assessment of ambient gamma dose rate around a prospective uranium mining area of South India – A comparative study of dose by direct methods and soil radioactivity measurements

Elevated concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides in heavy mineral-rich beach sands of Langkawi Island, Malaysia.

The activity concentrations and the gamma-absorbed dose rates of the primordial naturally occurring radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were determined for sand samples collected from the Baoji Weihe Sands Park, China, using γ-ray spectrometry. The natural radioactivity concentration of sand ranges from 10.2 to 38.3 Bq kg−1 for 226Ra, 27.0 to 48.8 Bq kg−1 for 232Th and 635.8 to 1,126.7 Bq kg−1 for 40K with mean values of 22.1, 39.0 and 859.1 Bq kg−1, respectively. The concentrations of these radionuclides are compared with the typical world values and the average activity of Chinese soil. The measured activity concentration of 226Ra and 232Th in sand is lower than the world average while that of 40K is higher. . To evaluate the radiological hazard of the natural radioactivity, the radium equivalent activity, the external hazard index, the absorbed dose rate, and the effective dose rate have been calculated and compared with internationally approved values. The radium equivalent activity values of all sand samples are lower than the limit of 370 Bq kg−1. The values of the external hazard index are less than unity. The mean outdoor air absorbed dose rate is 69.6 nGy h−1 and the corresponding outdoor effective dose rate is 0.085 mSv y−1.

Measurement of natural radioactivity in sand samples collected from the Baoji Weihe Sands Park, China

http://www.sr2.uerj.br/ceads/images/PDF/artigos/Arquivo%20Artigo_6.pdf

A.C. Freitas

Papers

Reference levels of natural radioactivity for the beach sands in a Brazilian southeastern coastal region