Environmental-Impact Assessment of Natural Radioactivity Around a Traditional Mining Area in Al-Ibedia, Sudan
Autor: | Abdulaziz S. Alaamer, M. Y. Abdelgali, Hajo Idriss, Almuaiz Saleh, Isam Salih |
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Rok vydání: | 2016 |
Předmět: |
Radionuclide
Equivalent dose Health Toxicology and Mutagenesis Radiation dose General Medicine Environment 010501 environmental sciences Contamination 010502 geochemistry & geophysics Toxicology 01 natural sciences Pollution Mining Sudan Soil Radiation Monitoring Surveys and Questionnaires Activity concentration Soil Pollutants Radioactive Environmental science Natural radioactivity 0105 earth and related environmental sciences |
Zdroj: | Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 70:783-792 |
ISSN: | 1432-0703 0090-4341 |
Popis: | Recently, in the Sudan, traditional gold mining has been growing rapidly and has become a very attractive and popular economic activity. Mining activity is recognized as one of the sources of radioactivity contamination. Hence, the radioactivity concentration and radiological hazard due to exposure of radionuclides (226)Ra, (232)Th, and (40)K were evaluated. The measurements were performed using gamma-ray spectrometry with an NaI (Tl) detector. The results show that (226)Ra, (232)Th, and (40)K activity concentration ranged from 2.66 to 18.47, 9.20 to 51.87, and 0.17 to 419.77 Bq/kg with average values of 7.54 ± 4.91, 20.74 ± 11.29, and 111.87 ± 136.84 Bq/kg, respectively. In contrast, (222)Rn in soil, (222)Rn in air, and (226)Ra in vegetables along with radiation dose were computed and compared with the international recommended levels. Potential radiological effects to miners and the public due to (226)Ra, (232)Th, (40)K, and (222)Rn are insignificant. (226)Ra transferred to vegetables appears to be negligible compared with the allowable limit 1.0 mSv/year set by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The average value of the annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE) is lower than the global average of 300 µSv/year (UNSCEAR 2000). However, some locations exhibit values >300 µSv/year. To the best of our knowledge, so far there seems to be no data regarding radioactivity monitoring in traditional mining areas in the Sudan. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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