Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Distribution of natural radioactivity in soil and date palm-pits using high purity germanium radiation detectors and LB-alpha/beta gas-flow counter in Saudi Arabia

  • Received : 2018.02.25
  • Accepted : 2019.12.10
  • Published : 2020.06.25
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Abstract

In the first study, the Radon emanation and radiological hazards associated with radionuclides in soil samples, collected from 9 various date palm farms located in 3 different districts in Saudi Arabia were determined through a high purity Germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray spectrometer. The estimated average values of Radon emanation coefficient and Radon mass exhalation rate for soil samples were 0.535 ± 0.016 and 50.063 ± 7.901 mBqkg-1h-1, respectively. The annual effective dose of radionuclides in all sampling locations was found to be lower than UNSCEAR's recommended level of 0.07 mSvy-1 for soil in an outdoor environment. In the secondary study, gross α and gross β activities in soil and date palm pits samples were measured by a low background α/β counting system. Average values of gross α and gross β activities in soil and date palm pits samples were 5.761 ± 0.360 Bqkg-1, 38.219 ± 8.619 Bqkg-1 and 0.556 ± 0.142 Bqkg-1, 24.266 ± 1.711 Bqkg-1, respectively.

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References

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