The Investigation of Radionuclide Concentrations in Soil and Lifetime Cancer Risk Due to Gamma Radioactivity in Zonguldak, Turkey
A. Koraya, G. Akkayab, A. Kahramanb, G. Kaynakb and R. Baldıkc
aEreğli Education Faculty, Bülent Ecevit University, Kdz. Ereğli, Zonguldak, Turkey
bPhysics Department, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey
cPhysics Department, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Bülent Ecevit University, Zonguldak, Turkey
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The distributions of 226Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs activity concentrations were determined using a high-purity germanium detector in uncultivated surface soil samples collected from Zonguldak. The range of 226Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs activity concentrations varied from 10.5 ± 2.0 to 98.0 ± 4.3 Bq kg-1 (mean value 28.8± 4 Bq kg-1), from 12.9 ± 3.4 to 53.2 ± 5.1 Bq kg-1 (mean value 29.6± 3 Bq kg-1), from 190 ± 22 to 808 ± 43 Bq kg-1 (mean value 395± 31 Bq kg-1) and from <0.5 to 47.1± 3.8 Bq kg-1 (mean value 12.5± 2 Bq kg-1), respectively. In addition, the mean outdoor absorbed dose rates in air (terrestrial, terrestrial+cosmic), annual effective dose equivalent, radium equivalent activity and external hazard index were found to be 48 nGy h-1 (terrestrial), 56 nGy h-1 (terrestrial+cosmic), 58 μSv y-1, 101 Bq kg-1 and 0.27, respectively. The evaluated excess lifetime cancer risks (ELCRs) varied from 0.13× 10-3 to 0.36× 10-3 with a mean value of 0.20× 10-3.

DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.132.1122
PACS numbers: 07.88.+y, 89.60.-k