Soil radioactivity levels, radiological maps and risk assessment for the state of Kuwait

Alazemi, N.; Bajoga, A.D.; Bradley, D.A.; Regan, P.H.; Shams, H.M.

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.03.057

“…Radium equivalent activity (Ra eq ) is the widely used parameter to assess the gamma ray hazards 38 , which is estimated on the assumption that 370 Bq/kg 226 Ra or 260 Bq/kg 232 Th or 4810 Bq/kg 40 K yield the same gamma dose rate. The Ra eq of the sample in (Bq/kg) can be achieved utilizing the Eq.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These show the external exposure to gamma radiation from the studied sand and sediment samples, and internal hazard index due to internal exposure to gamma radiation from ingestion food or inhalation. Both must be less than unity and are given by Eqs (5 and 6) 38 :where A Ra , A Th , and A K are the activity concentrations of 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K in Bq/kg of the soil sample, respectively.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vertical distribution and radiological risk assessment of 137Cs and natural radionuclides in soil samples

Ahmad

¹

,

Al-Ghouti

²

,

AlSadig

³

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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The aims of this study were to investigate the vertical distributions of natural radionuclides 232 Th, 226 Ra and 40 K as well as anthropogenic radionuclide 137 Cs in soil samples and to analyze the correlation among the radioactivity of these radionuclides and the physiochemical characteristics of soil samples namely pH, grain size, carbonate content and organic matter. Risk assessment of the radiological hazard has also been estimated. Forty-four soil samples were collected from eleven locations in Qatar at four depth levels from 0 to 16 cm. The average concentrations of 232 Th, 226 Ra, 40 K and 137 Cs in the soil depth of 16 cm were 10, 17, 201 and 4 Bq/kg, respectively, which were within the reported world mean. The external absorbed gamma dose rate, the annual effective dose, the mean radium equivalent activity, the external hazard index and the lifetime cancer risk were 22 nGy/h, 0.027 mSv/y, 47 Bq/kg, 0.125 and 0.096 × 10 −3 , respectively. These values were far below the minimum recommended international values. The level of radioactivity concentrations in the soil was affected by the physiochemical characteristics of the soil. The positive correlation with highest R 2 value was found among the radioactivity concentrations of 232 Th and 40 K and the soil clay content. Total organic carbon was also positively correlated for 226 Ra and 137 Cs activity concentrations, whereas, carbonate content was negatively correlated with the radioactivity concentrations of 232 Th and 40 K. As far as soil moisture content is concerned, the positive correlation with highest R 2 value was obtained for 226 Ra activity concentrations.

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“…The village of Gourgnel is particularly rich in 40 K and this could reflect the soil fertility of this locality. A comparison of the results with values reported worldwide from various sample collection depths, presented in Table 3, shows that 238 U activities concentration in the study area is higher than those reported by [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] and lower than that of Kerala in India [17]. The 232 Th activity concentration is just below the value reported at Kerala and Karnataka and higher than those of the other localities.…”

Section: Spatial Distributionmentioning

confidence: 50%

Assessment of radiological hazards from soil samples in the Northeastern area of Burkina Faso

Beogo

¹

,

Cissé

²

,

Zougmoré

³

2022

SN Appl. Sci.

7

0

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The activity concentrations of main naturally occurring radionuclides were determined with the aim of assessing the radiation hazards in the Northeastern part of Burkina Faso. Soil samples were taken and analyzed by the gamma-ray spectrometry method. The ranges of specific activity of 238U, 232Th and40K are $$15.25 \pm 2.59 \, \text{Bq} \cdot {\text{kg}^{-1}}$$ 15.25 ± 2.59 Bq · kg - 1 to $$109.57 \pm 3.21 \, \text{Bq} \cdot {\text{kg}^{-1}}$$ 109.57 ± 3.21 Bq · kg - 1 , $$19.56 \pm 1.65 \, \text{Bq} \cdot {\text{kg}^{-1}}$$ 19.56 ± 1.65 Bq · kg - 1 to $$44.88 \pm 2.49 \text{Bq} \cdot {\text{kg}^{-1}}$$ 44.88 ± 2.49 Bq · kg - 1 and $$125.74 \pm 4.40 \, \text{Bq} \cdot {\text{kg}^{-1}}$$ 125.74 ± 4.40 Bq · kg - 1 to $$705.85 \pm 10.79 \, \text{Bq} \cdot {\text{kg}^{-1}}$$ 705.85 ± 10.79 Bq · kg - 1 respectively. Three high background radioactivity areas have been identified for Uranium, Thorium and Potassium on different places in the study area. The radiological hazards indices vary from $$62.87 \, \text{Bq} \cdot {\text{kg}^{-1}}$$ 62.87 Bq · kg - 1 to $$189.47 \, \text{Bq} \cdot {\text{kg}^{-1}}$$ 189.47 Bq · kg - 1 for the Radium equivalent activity ($$Ra_{eq}$$ R a eq ), $$29.5 \, \eta \text{Gy} \cdot {\text{h}^{-1}}$$ 29.5 η Gy · h - 1 to $$86.65 \, \eta \text{Gy} \cdot {\text{h}^{-1}}$$ 86.65 η Gy · h - 1 for the absorbed dose rate ($$D_R$$ D R ), $$0.18 \, \text{mSv} \cdot {\text{y}^{-1}}$$ 0.18 mSv · y - 1 to $$0.53 \, \text{mSv} \cdot {\text{y}^{-1}}$$ 0.53 mSv · y - 1 for the annual effective dose rate (AEDE), 0.21 to 0.81 for the internal hazard index ($$H_{in}$$ H in ), 0.17 to 0.51 for the external hazard index ($$H_{ex}$$ H ex ), $$1.27 \times 10^{-4}$$ 1.27 × 10 - 4 to $$3.73 \times 10^{-4}$$ 3.73 × 10 - 4 for the Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) and $$209.01{\mkern 1mu} \mu \, 0.18{\mkern 1mu} Sv \cdot y^{{ - 1}}$$ 209.01 μ 0.18 S v · y - 1 to $$594.21 \, \mu \text{Sv} \cdot {\text{y}^{-1}}$$ 594.21 μ Sv · y - 1 for the annual gonadal dose equivalent. The average values of indices are well below their permissible limit. However, at Niapsi the obtained values for absorbed dose rate, annual effective dose rate and excess lifetime cancer risk are little above their permissible limit.

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“…Although, there is no place on the earth that is totally free from radioactivity, soil that contains naturally occurring radionuclides that are above the maximum permitted exposure limit can be very dangerous and can seriously affect the health of people living in that environment 5 – 8 . Therefore, it is important to estimate the amount of radiation people are exposed to from natural sources so as to estimate the associated health risk that is posed to people 6 . Radioactivity is a natural phenomenon.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of activity concentrations of radionuclides and their hazard indices in coastal plain sand region of Ogun state

Adewoyin

¹

,

Maxwell

²

,

Akinwumi

³

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Assessment of natural background radionuclides emanating from the subsurface geological features was carried out with the use of gamma-ray spectrometry at various locations at one of the secondary school in Canaan land, Ota, Ogun State. The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were revealed to be 12.66 ± 0.76–42.33 ± 1.37, 44.96 ± 1.41–128.70 ± 1.56, 31.30 ± 1.18–453.85 ± 2.43 Bq kg−1 respectively. The mean value of 232Th reported higher than the world reference standard of 50 Bq kg−1. Moreover, the stations closest to the school’s laboratory were noticed to be prone to more gamma radiations than the other buildings in the school. Similarly, the results of the radiological parameters estimated varied between 86.04–243.7 Bq kg−1, 40.02–115.4 nGy h−1, 0.049–0.142 mSv y−1 and 0.232–0.658 for Raeq, D(out), AEDE and Hex, respectively. Although, the results of the radiological parameters did not exceed the world safe limits, higher values of these parameters were reported at some stations closer to the school laboratory. It can be concluded that the school laboratory is prone to more gamma radiation than the class rooms and the administrative block. Therefore, the laboratory instructors and staff, who spend longer time in the laboratory, are more liable to the health risk that could result from years of exposure to gamma radiation in the laboratory.

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Soil radioactivity levels, radiological maps and risk assessment for the state of Kuwait

Cited by 38 publications

References 21 publications

Vertical distribution and radiological risk assessment of 137Cs and natural radionuclides in soil samples

Vertical distribution and radiological risk assessment of 137Cs and natural radionuclides in soil samples

Assessment of radiological hazards from soil samples in the Northeastern area of Burkina Faso

Estimation of activity concentrations of radionuclides and their hazard indices in coastal plain sand region of Ogun state

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