Nuclear Engineering and Technology

  • 제56권1호
  • /
  • Pages.207-215
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  • 2024
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  • 1738-5733(pISSN)
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  • 2234-358X(eISSN)
한국원자력학회 (Korean Nuclear Society)
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Radionuclide concentrations in agricultural soil and lifetime cancer risk due to gamma radioactivity in district Swabi, KPK, Pakistan

  • Umair Azeem (Department of Physics, COMSATS University Islamabad) ;
  • Hannan Younis (Department of Physics, COMSATS University Islamabad) ;
  • Niamat ullah (Department of Physics, COMSATS University Islamabad) ;
  • Khurram Mehboob (Department of Nuclear Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University) ;
  • Muhammad Ajaz (Department of Physics, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan) ;
  • Mushtaq Ali (Department of Physics, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education) ;
  • Abdullah Hidayat (Department of Physics, Florida Atlantic University) ;
  • Wazir Muhammad (Department of Physics, Florida Atlantic University)
  • 투고 : 2023.05.13
  • 심사 : 2023.09.18
  • 발행 : 2024.01.25
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초록

This study focuses on measuring the levels of naturally occurring radioactivity in the soil of Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, as well as the associated health hazard. Thirty (30) soil samples were collected from various locations and analyzed for 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K radioactivity levels using a High Purity Germanium detector (HPGe) gamma-ray spectrometer with a photo-peak efficiency of approximately 52.3%. The average values obtained for these radionuclides are 35.6 ± 5.7 Bqkg-1, 47 ± 12.5 Bqkg-1, and 877 ± 153 Bqkg-1, respectively. The level of 232Th is slightly higher and 40K is 2.2 times higher than the internationally recommended limit of 30 Bqkg-1 and 400 Bqkg-1, respectively. Various parameters were calculated based on the results obtained, including Radium Equivalent (Raeq), External Hazard (Hex), Absorbed Dose Rate (D), Annual Gonadal Equivalent Dose (AGDE), Annual Effective Dose Rate, and Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR), which are 170.3 ± 24 Bqkg-1, 0.46 ± 0.06 Bqkg-1, 81.4 ± 2.04 nGy h-1, 582 ± 78.08 µSvy-1, 99.8 ± 13.5 µSv Gy-1, and 0.349 ± 0.04, respectively. These values are below the limits recommended by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) in 2002. This study highlights the potential radiation threats associated with natural radioactivity levels in the soil of Swabi and provides valuable information for public health and safety.

키워드

과제정보

This research work was funded by Institutional Fund Projects Under grant no. (IFPIP: 34-135-1443). The authors gratefully acknowledge the technical and financial support provided by the Ministry of Education and King Abdulaziz University, DSR, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

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