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The level of natural radioactivity in some soil and rock samples collected from different locations of Aurangabad, Maharashtra-India were measured. Concentrations of radionuclides in soil and rock samples were determined by gamma-ray spectrometer using HPGe detector (High Purity Germanium) detector based, low background gamma-ray counting system wi...
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... high purity germanium detector can be produced from either n-type or p-type (Germanium) semiconductor material. The block diagram of HPGe gamma ray spectrometer system is shown in fig (2).The spectrum was analysed using a 16 K multichannel analyzer connected to computer using GENIE-2000 software. The sealed sample was placed in the protection unit of gamma ray spectrometry for the counting time of eight hours. ...
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The natural primordial radionuclide activity concentrations in different types of rock samples in and around Hassan district were measured using gamma spectrometry-based high-purity Germanium detector. The average activity concentration of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K radionuclides in rock samples varies from 29.4 ± 1.2 to 83.7 ± 1.7, 37.9 ± 1.2 to 198.4...
Citations
... The principal sources of extraterrestrial radiation are high-intensity cosmic rays produced from the earth's outer atmosphere (Prasad et al., 2020). Terrestrial radiation is caused by radioactive nuclides found in varying levels in rocks, construction materials, soils, water, and the atmosphere (Al-khawlany, 2017). Primordial radionuclides such as the 232 Th series, 238 U series, and 40 K are found in the earth's crust, which is the main root of background radiation in the environment (Haydar et al., 2021). ...
The estimation of exposures to humans from the various sources of radiation is important. Radiation hazard indices are computed using procedures described in the literature for evaluating the combined effects of the activity concentrations of primordial radionuclides, namely, ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰ K. The computed indices are then compared to the allowed limits defined by International Radiation Protection Organizations to determine any radiation hazard associated with the geological materials. In this paper, four distinct radial basis function artificial neural network (RBF-ANN) models were developed to predict radiation hazard indices, namely, external gamma dose rates, annual effective dose, radium equivalent activity, and external hazard index. To make RBF-ANN models, 348 different geological materials’ gamma spectrometry data were acquired from the literature. Radiation hazards indices predicted from each RBF-ANN model were compared to the radiation hazards calculated using gamma spectrum analysis. The predicted hazard indices values of each RBF-ANN model were found to precisely align with the calculated values. To validate the accuracy and the adaptability of each RBF-ANN model, statistical tests (determination coefficient (R²), relative absolute error (RAE), root mean square error (RMSE), Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE)), and significance tests (F-test and Student’s t-test) were performed to analyze the relationship between calculated and predicted hazard indices. Low RAE and RMSE values as well as high R², NSE, and p-values greater than 0.95, 0.71, and 0.05, respectively, were found for RBF-ANN models. The statistical tests’ results show that all RBF-ANN models created exhibit precise performance, indicating their applicability and efficiency in forecasting the radiation hazard indices of geological materials. All the RBF-ANN models can be used to predict radiation hazard indices of geological materials quite efficiently, according to the performance level attained.
... Radionuclides are produced artificially by different industrial activities which include "nuclear reactors, mining, nuclear power plant accidents, laboratory investigations, particle accelerators, power weapon tests, radionuclide generators, nuclear energy activities, etc." [3][4][5]. These contaminants get deposited on the ground based on their weight, and later heavy rains can bring the radioactive particle to the ground [6,7]. Intensive surveys and investigations on natural radiations have received considerable attention in many countries (UNSCEAR, 2000) [1]. ...
Inspection of the radioactivity level in the soil is very important for human health and environmental protection. This study aims at evaluating the radiological hazards and pollution risks related to natural radionuclides and elements in the selected soil samples. Ten samples of soil were collected from different sites of Aurangabad-India and the level of radioactivity was measured using gamma-ray spectrometry with NaI (Tl) detector. Furthermore, the Physico-chemical properties such as pH, organic matter, electrical conductivity, moisture, soil texture, etc., and elemental composition of soils have been decided on using various standard techniques. The mean concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K were 8.178, 17.408, and 96.496 Bq/kg, respectively, which are lower than the global average values of 35, 30, and 400 Bq/kg, respectively (UNSCEAR,2000). The radiological hazard indices such as radium equivalent, absorbed dose,
annual effective dose, internal index, external index, gamma index, excess lifetime cancer risk, etc., were calculated to assess the radiation hazards and compared with internationally recommended values which found to be lower than the permissibility limits. The Pearson correlation was applied to determine the existing relationship between radionuclides and radiological health hazard parameters, as well as with the physicochemical properties of the soil samples. The major and trace elements presented in soils were measured and their mean concentration was ranked in the formed order (Mg>Na>Ca>K>N>Mn>Fe>P>Zn>Cu). The pollution risk parameters (Geo-accumulation index, contamination factor, degree of contamination, pollution load index, and potential ecological risk index) related to the elements in the samples were assessed and results shown that the soils under study are unpolluted with the measured elements. Generally, the radioactivity levels and pollution risks indices in the soils of the study area are within the permissible safety limits and do not cause any significant health threat to humans. Thus, the presented data provide a general background of the detectable radionuclides for the study area and can be helpful in the future as a reference for more extensive studies in the same field.
... The earth is exposed to ionizing radiation and as a result, radioactive materials can be found in our foods, soil, air, water, and building materials. [6,7] The human body contains radionuclides such as 40 K and 14 C. Radiation is ubiquitous and thus exposure to gamma-ray-emitting radionuclides cannot be completely avoided. [8] Every day, we are exposed to radiation of different kinds originating from different sources. ...
... The prominent radionuclides produced due to cosmic ray interaction with the atmosphere are 3 H, 7 Be, 14 C, and 22 Na. Beryllium-7 is a commonly identified beryllium radioisotope present in our environment. ...
The environment around us is radioactive due to background radiation emitted from the sky, earth's crust, food, water, and building materials. The human body gets exposed to radiation doses of about 82%, which are out of control; they arise from background radiation sources such as terrestrial, cosmic, and exposure to internal radiation. The background dose from cosmic radiation depends on the altitude, and regions with high altitude have high radiation doses. Natural radioactivity is present in the earth and is present in the different environment geological formations in the rocks and soils. Gamma radiation emitted from naturally occurring radioisotopes, such as 40K and the radionuclides from the 232Th and 238U series and their decay products which exist as trace levels in all ground formations, represents the main external source of irradiation to the human body. Their concentrations in rocks, soils, and sands depend on the local geology of each region in the world. Naturally occurring radioactive materials have terrestrial-origin radionuclides since the creation of the earth. The dose rate of background radiation increases because of the existence of some quarries and springs in some regions which are called high-level background radiation regions. The type of construction materials used in houses can be affecting the dose rate of background radiations. Study of radioactivity in the environment is important to monitor the levels of radiation to which human is exposed directly or indirectly. Recently, several international studies have been done and different values were measured. In this article, a review and literature survey of background radiations such as terrestrial, cosmic, and food radiation was carried out.
Natural radioactivity and geochemical evaluation of pegmatite in some selected States in Nigeria has been determined. Five (5) representative rock samples were collected from six states to make a total of 30 samples. The activity concentrations of 40 K, 226 Ra and 232 Th were counted using a NaI(Tl) detector coupled to a digital-based multi-channel analyzer (MCA) and PerkinElmer AAnalyst 400 AA Spectrometer was used for the geochemical analysis of the samples. The mean gamma absorbed dose rates obtained were 104.1nGyh-1 (Oyo) 92.4nGyh-1 (Kogi), 81.8nGyh-1 (Nasarawa), 93.75nGyh-1 (Niger) and 58.9nGyh-1 (Osun) with the corresponding mean annual effective dose rates of 0.6, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7mSv, respectively. The geochemical analysis of major oxides showed that Niger State has SiO2 concentration of 74.97wt%. Pegmatite samples from Osun and Oyo States have the same SiO2 concentration of 72wt% while Kogi and Ekiti State also have the same value of 69wt%. Aluminum oxide (AI2O3) exhibited the second most abundant concentrations that ranged from 15.11-18.83wt%. Each of the Na2O and K2O present in the samples has a value of 2wt% while other major elements including Fe2O3, TiO2, CaO, P2O5, MnO and MgO have values of less than 1wt% each.The present study determined the activity concentrations of natural radionuclides and other associated elements in crushed rocks used in building constructions in Nigeria , the values of the radiological hazard indices and geochemical analysis indicated that the rocks pose no radiation hazards, it has provided useful baseline data. However Nigerian Government should encourage obligatory monitoring of the dwellings built with any rock(s) to prevent unnecessary high exposure of human to ionizing radiation.
