The Activity Concentrations and Radium Equivalent Activity in Soil Samples Collected from the Eastern Part of Basrah Governorate in Southern Iraq

Abstract

Clay soil samples (0, 30, and 60 cm depths) were collected from two districts (Abu Al Khasib and Ad Dayr) in Basrah governorate in southern Iraq for gamma-ray spectroscopy. The activity concentrations for natural existing radionuclides in 18 soil samples were measured using high-purity germanium detector HPGe. From the obtained results of γ-ray spectroscopy, the 238U activity concentrations were found to be ranging from 2.4 to 5.6 ppm with an average of 3.5 ppm in Abu Al Khasib and ranging from 2.1 to 4.5 ppm with an average of 2.9 ppm in Ad Dayr. 232Th concentrations were ranging from 3.6 to 7.5 ppm with an average of 4.7 ppm in Abu Al Khasib and ranging from 3.7 to 7.9 ppm with an average of 5.0 ppm in Ad Dayr. 40K concentration was ranging from 0.1% to 2.0% with an average of 1.2% in Abu Al Khasib and ranging from 0.9% to 1.8% with an average of 1.3% in Ad Dayr. High 238U and 226Ra concentration levels were recorded in both study regions. The concentrations of 232Th are within the normal limits in both regions. High levels of 40K were recorded in some locations. Generally, in most locations, 40K activity was within normal ranges. The radium equivalent activity, the external hazard index, the internal hazard index, and the radioactivity level index were calculated to estimate the radiation hazard in Basrah. The estimated radiation hazard indices were within normal limits, except the radioactivity level index, which shows elevated values. The obtained results were compared with other countries and with the worldwide median certified values.

Preliminary Screening of Soils Natural Radioactivity and Metal(loid) Content in a Decommissioned Rare Earth Elements Processing Plant, Guangdong, China

“…The calculated radiation exposure values of R activity , I r , and D aedr are shown in Table 4 . The results showed that both the R activity and I r of most sampling sites significantly exceeded the recommended limit values ( R activity limit value was 370 Bq·kg −1 while I r was 1 [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]). Specifically, both the R activity and I r of S1, S2, S4, S5, and S7 were approximately 1.9, 22, 50, 75, and 3.3 times the limit value, respectively.…”

Assessment of Dose Rate Using Gamma Ray Observations in the Mining Waste Samples of Simberi Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea

“…where m is the mass of the isotope in the given sample of mass M with activity of B ( B in Bq/kg and m and M in kg), A = mass number, N 0 = Avogadro number and  is the Decay constant (= 0.693/ T 1/2 ) (Rasha et al, 2018).…”

Water Quality and Radionuclides Content Assessment of AL-Najaf Sea: Case Study

“…On the other hand, a pH value of less than 6 occurs so often in nature that is considered as neutral. However, since the soil can alter the water pH and majority of crops have pH tolerance at a wide range of water pH [3], thus the pH of irrigation water is not a reliable parameter for water quality.…”

“…The excessive amounts of colloidally adsorbed Na break down the soil physical structure, leading to rigid and dense soil when it is dry and gradually becomes impenetrable to water infiltration. It is important to note that when sandy soils are irrigated with high SAR water, it is not easily depraved as compared to other type of soils [3].…”