Radioactivity Levels and Soil-to-Plant Transfer Factor of Natural Radionuclides from Protectorate Area in Aswan, Egypt
01 Jan 2014-World Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology (Scientific Research Publishing)-Vol. 2014, Iss: 1, pp 7-15
TL;DR: In this article, the transfer factor soil-to-plant and the concentration level of natural and artificial radionuclide (238U, 226Ra, 228Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs) in samples from Saluga and Ghazal Protectorate area in Aswan, Egypt, by using High Pure Germanium detector (HPGe) Environmental Radioactivity Measurements Labrotary in faculty of science Qena.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to determine the transfer factor soil-to-plant and to assess the concentration level of natural and artificial radionuclide (238U, 226Ra, 228Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs) in samples from Saluga and Ghazal Protectorate area in Aswan, Egypt, by using High Pure Germanium detector (HPGe) Environmental Radioactivity Measurements Labrotary in faculty of science Qena. Reported values for natural radionuclides ranged from 8.81 ± 0.64 to 28.88 ± 2.10, from 6.98 ± 0.51 to 26.01 ± 1.89, from 12.29 ± 0.89 to 33.32 ± 2.43, from 12.53 ± 0.91 to 32.81 ± 2.39 and from 383.90 ± 27.95 to 711.98 ± 51.83 Bq.kg-1 for 238U, 226Ra, 228Ra, 232Th and 40K, respectively. 137Cs activity concentration was found to be in the range from 0.36 ± 0.03 to 9.73 ± 0.71 Bq.kg-1 and was calculated through transfer factor TF reported in this article.
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TL;DR: Quantification of naturally occurring radionuclides in common edible vegetables and their associated soils using HPGe γ-ray spectrometry shows that the prevalent activities and mobilities pose no significant threat to human health, the edible vegetables being safe for consumption.
57 citations
TL;DR: The average annual committed effective dose (AACED) due to the ingestion of radionuclides from medicinal plants were also estimated in this paper, which indicated that there is no radiological health risk in using these plants for medicinal purposes.
36 citations
01 Nov 2020
TL;DR: In this article, the gamma-ray spectrometry method was employed in the sample analysis to assess radioactivity levels in rock, soil and sediment samples as well as the radiological hazards of the artisanal mining in Anka.
Abstract: Artisanal mining of precious metals has become a lucrative venture in Anka, Zamfara State, North-West Nigeria. The use of crude methods of mining and mineral processing and the apparent ignorance of the hazards involved have been linked to some health and environmental consequences. Hence, this study focuses on the assessment of radioactivity levels in rock, soil and sediment samples as well as the radiological hazards of the artisanal mining in Anka. The gamma-ray spectrometry method was employed in the sample analysis. The results show that the estimated mean activity concentrations of 226Ra, 238U, 232Th and 40K in soil were 37.94 ± 6.01 Bqkg−1, 41.60 ± 11.06 Bqkg−1,151.15 ± 21.09 Bqkg−1 and 380.34 ± 116.41 Bqkg−1, respectively. The activity concentrations in rocks and sediments were also analyzed. The radioactivity levels were highest in rock samples. ; For rock samples, mean radium equivalent was 499.18 Bqkg−1, gamma dose rate was 221 ± 35 nGyh−1, internal and external hazard indices were 1.35 and 1.53, respectively and the radioactivity level index was 3.24. The outdoor and indoor annual effective dose equivalents were 271.03 µSvy−1 and 985.39 µSvy−1, respectively. The mean indoor and outdoor excess lifetime cancer risk for soil were 0.55 × 10−3 and 2.18 × 10−3. The evaluation of radiological health risks shows that the values obtained in this study were generally higher than admissible recommended limits and the world averages. The results obtained in this study show that the risk of exposure to ionizing radiation is linked to the artisanal mining and mineral processing in Anka.
27 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the transfer factors of radionuclides (226Ra, 238U, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs) from soil to plant and grass collected from the north-west of West Bank environment in Palestine were measured.
Abstract: The transfer factors of radionuclides (226Ra, 238U, 232Th, 40K and fallout radionuclides 137Cs) from soil to plant and grass collected from the north-west of West Bank environment – Palestine were measured. For soil to plant, the average transfer factor (TF) values were found to be 0.60, 0.50, 0.31, and 1.70 for 226Ra, 238U, 232Th and 40K respectively. For soil to grass the TF values were found to be 1.26, 1.12, 1.15 and 1.20 for 226Ra, 238U, 232Th and 40K respectively. For soil to plant, the average transfer factor values were found to be 0.27 for fallout radionuclides 137Cs. The TF showed wide variation in different species, while a few species of plants indicated preferential uptake of these radionuclides. TF average values from soil to grass were found to be higher than from soil to plant. Results showed that part of the total 226Ra in agricultural soils were from phosphate fertilizers. Because the species of plants were directly involved in the human food chain, information on the concentration level and transfer of radionuclides from soil to plants will provide important data for the environmental risk assessment in such zones. These results have been compared with those of different countries of the world.
17 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the transfer factors of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th from soil to vegetables were determined using NaI(Tl) technique, and the average values of TFs of the above radioactive isotopes were found to be 0.60, 0.41,0.59 and 0.05, respectively.
Abstract: This work aims to determine the transfer factors (TFs) of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th from soil to vegetables, because there are few surveys of them in Iraq. The samples were taken from three important agricultural areas supplying the vegetable products needed by the Iraqi population. Using NaI(Tl) technique, the average values of TFs of the above radioactive isotopes were found to be 0.60, 0.41, 0.59 and 0.05, 0.03, 0.05 from soil to dry and fresh samples, respectively. The radiation hazard indices and the total annual dose were found to be within the range of the world values.
15 citations
Cites methods from "Radioactivity Levels and Soil-to-Pl..."
...The TF was calculated for each radionuclide using the following formula [7, 14, 20]:...
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References
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TL;DR: In this article, the effects of gamma and electron irradiation on virgin and recycled polyethylene were compared and their mechanical, thermal and chemical properties were analyzed, showing that VPE samples showed higher crosslinking percentages than RPE samples in all range of doses studied, unirradiated RPE sample had higher values on their tensile properties than VPE.
1,536 citations
TL;DR: Most of the safety, performance, or radiological impact assessments concerning either actual or potential releases, when they comprise biosphere calculations, use parameters such as transfer or accumulation factors requiring their associated values.
Abstract: Most of the safety, performance, or radiological impact assessments concerning either actual or potential releases, when they comprise biosphere calculations, use parameters such as transfer or accumulation factors requiring their associated values. One international example is the IAEA SRS No. 19 (2001) on the assessment of routine releases. If future assessment purposes are currently considered, such as those linked to overall environmental impact assessments (Hunter, 2001), most of the current biosphere models still need such parameters and associated values.
177 citations
TL;DR: The results showed that the transfer factors for both the natural radionuclides and the stable elements are independent of the two substrate types involved and also of theTwo areas considered in the study.
153 citations
"Radioactivity Levels and Soil-to-Pl..." refers background in this paper
...) because the information can be used as a natural analogue for the long-term behaviour of materials and processses in developing and testing models, and in obtaining the associated parameter values appropriate for radiological performance assessments [1]....
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TL;DR: Natural radioactivity in drinking water from 328 drilled wells was studied in correlation to source parameters and poor correlation to both aquifer geology and bedrock radioactivity was observed.
Abstract: Natural radioactivity in drinking water from 328 drilled wells was studied in correlation to source parameters. Poor correlation to both aquifer geology and bedrock radioactivity was observed. Concentrations of 238U, 226Ra, 228Ra, 222Rn and 210Po in groundwater samples was in the ranges <0.027-5.3, <0.016-4.9, <0.014-1.24, 5-8105 and <0.05-0.947 Bq.l(-1) respectively. In about 80% of the sites the radon concentration exceeds the Nordic recommended exemption level for radon in drinking water and 15% of the sites exceed the action limit. The effective doses from ingestion were calculated and presented in association with geology. Doses due to ingestion ranged between 0.05 and 20.4 mSv.y(-1), where the average contribution from 222Rn amounted to 75%. In comparison, the effective doses from inhalation of indoor 222Rn ranged between 0.2 and 20 mSv.y(-1). The average contribution from inhalation of 222Rn in air to the total effective dose (ingestion+inhalation) was 58 +/- 22%, 73 +/- 18% and 77 +/- 16% (1 SD) for the age categories 1 y, 10 y and adults respectively.
96 citations
"Radioactivity Levels and Soil-to-Pl..." refers methods in this paper
...5 cm) and after property tightening the threatened lid, the containers were sealed with adhesive tape and left for at least 4 weeks before counting by gamma spectrometry in order to ensure that the daughter products of (226)Ra up to (210)Pb and of (232)Th up to (208)Pb in secular equilibrium with their respective parent radionuclides and then the gamma ray spectrum was accumulated to up to 900 min [14] ....
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TL;DR: The results of the study reveals that, for all sand samples, the mean activity concentration of 40K (618+/-122-548+/-82 Bq kg(-1)) are much higher than that of both 226Ra and 232Th, which means the radiation dose to which workers are subjected is not negligible, although depending on the inhalation of dust.
75 citations
"Radioactivity Levels and Soil-to-Pl..." refers background in this paper
...The main topic of these studies is determined natural radioactivity concentrations in soil, rocks, building materials, crops and water as well as exposure of the Egyptian population to terrestrial gamma radiation [5, 8-13]....
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