Correlation between Soil Gas Radon Concentrations and Terrestrial Radioactivity (U-238 and Th-232) in Afyonkarahisar

Abstract

Humans are exposed both to natural radiation from the radioactive elements that have existed in the earth's crust since the formation of the earth and to artificial radiation from medical applications and sparrows after nuclear tests. The most important part in natural radiation affecting human beings is radon derived from terrestrial radioactive elements of Uranium and Thorium. Terrestrial radiation level is strictly related to the contents of Thorium (²³²Th), Uranium (²³⁸U) and Potassium (⁴⁰K) in rocks which is the origin of the soil in an area, and to the geological composition of the area.

The determination of natural background radiation levels is of great importance for all living things. In order to determine whether the living zone is healthy in terms of natural radiation, the concentrations of the radionuclides in the surrounding environment and the effects of radiation on all the living things must be known. In this study, it was aimed to determine the terrestrial background radiation level on the soil surface, and to evaluate the correlation between the Uranium and Thorium concentrations and the soil gas radon activity values in Afyonkarahisar city center.

 

Keywords

• Terrestrial radioactivity,Uranium,Thorium,Radon,Soil,Afyonkarahisar

References

1. [1] UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiations), Sources, Effects and Risks of Ionizing Radiation. Report to the General Assembly with Annex A: Exposures from Natural Sources of Radiation, United Nations, New York (1993).
2. [2] UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiations). Sources, effects and risks of ionizing radiation, United Nations, New York (2000).
3. [3] B.U. Chang, S.M. Koh, Y.J. Kim, J.S. Seo, Y.Y. Yoon, J.W. Row, D.M. Lee, Nationwide survey on the natural radionuclides in industrial raw minerals in South Korea. J. Environ. Radioactiv 99 (3), 455-460, (2008).
4. [4] İ. Akkurt, B. Mavi, H. Akyıldırım, K. Günoğlu, Natural radioactivity of coals and its risk assessment. Int. J. Phys. Sci. 4 (7), 403-406, (2009).
5. [5] B. Mavi, İ. Akkurt, Natural radioactivity and radiation hazards in some building materials used in Isparta, Turkey. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 79, 933-937, (2010).
6. [6] S. Turhan, U.N. Baykan, K. Sen, Measurement of the natural radioactivity in building materials used in Ankara and assessment of external doses. J. Radiol. Prot. 28 (1), 83-91, (2008).
7. [7] N.A. Uyanık, O. Uyanık, İ. Akkurt, Microzoning of the natural radioactivity levels and seismic velocities of potential residential areas in volcanic fields: The case of Isparta (Turkey). J. Appl. Geophys. 98, 191-204 (2013).
8. [8] J. Michel, Relationship of Radium and Radon with geological formations, Radon, Radium and Uranium in Drinking Water. Lewis Publishers, Inc., Chelsea, Mich, USA, pp. 83–95, (1990).

9. [9] S.A. Harris, E.R. Billmeyer and M.A. Robinson, Evaluation of repeated measurements of radon-222 concentrations in well water sampled from bedrock aquifers of the Piedmont near Richmond, Virginia, USA: effects of lithology and well characteristics. Environ. Res. 101, 323– 333 (2006).
10. [10] A.I.A. El-Mageed, A.H. El-Kamel, A. Abbady, S. Harb, A.M.M. Youssef, I.I. Saleh, Assessment of natural and anthropogenic radioactivity levels in rocks and soils in the environments of Juban town in Yemen. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 80 (6), 710-715 (2011).
11. [11] D. Iskandar et al., Appl. Radiat. Isot. 63, 401–408 (2005). D. Iskandar, T. Lida, H. Yamazawa, J. Moruzumi, J. Koarashi, K. Yamasoto, K. Yamasaki, M. Shimo, T. Tsujimoto, S. Ishiawa, M. Fukuda, and H. Kojima, The transport mechanisms of 222Rnin soil at Tateishi as an anomaly spot in Japan, Appl. Radiat. Isot., 63, 401- 408 (2005).
12. [12] C. R. Cothern, W. L. Lappenbusch and J. Michel, Dirinking water contribution to natural background radiation. Health Phys. 50, 33–47 (1986).
13. [13] A. Koray, G. Akkaya, A. Kahraman, Correlation of Radon and Thoron Concentrations with Natural Radioactivity of Soil in Zonguldak, Turkey. AIP Conf. Proc. 1815, 060015, 1-4 (2017).
14. [14] IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), Construction and Use of Calibration Facilities for Radiometric Field Equipment, Technical Report No. 309, Vienna, Austria, (1989).
15. [15] IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), Guidelines for radioelement mapping using gamma ray spectrometry data, Technical Reports Series No. 1363, Vienna, Austria, (2003).
16. [16] Alharbi, W. R., and Abbady, A.G.E., 2013. Measurement of radon concentrations in soil and the extent of their impact on the environment from Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia. Natural Science 5, 93-98, (2013).
17. [17] GENTIRON, 1998. AlphaGUARD portable radon monitors user manual.
18. [18] Vaupotic, J., Gregoric, A., Kobal, I., Zvab, P., Kozak, K., Mazur, J., Kochowska, E., and Grzadziel, D., Radon concentration in soil gas and radon exhalation rate at the Ravne Fault in NW Slovenia. Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 10, 895–899, (2010).