An Analysis for Distribution of Natural Radionuclides in Soil, Sand and Sediment of Potenga Sea Beach Area of Chittagong, Bangladesh

Sabina Yasmin^1,2*, Bijoy Sonker Barua², Masud Kamal², Md. Abdur Rashid¹

¹Department of Physics, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
²Atomic Energy Centre, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, Chittagong, Bangladesh.

DOI: 10.4236/jep.2014.517147                

Abstract

A HPGe (High Purity Germanium) detector based, low background gamma-ray counting system was used for activity measurement in soil, sand and sediment samples collected from Potenga sea beach area of Chittagong, Bangladesh. The specific radioactivities of Radium (²²⁶Ra), Thorium (²³²Th) and Potassium (⁴⁰K) were measured in the above samples. The investigation reflects the lower deposition of minerals exist in the collected samples. From the measured specific radioactivities of the above three natural radionuclides, the radium equivalent activity (Ra_eq), the external hazard index (H_ex), the external gamma absorbed dose rate and the annual effective dose were calculated. The obtained mean values of gamma absorbed dose rate in soil and sand samples and annual effective dose in soil, sand and sediment samples were found higher than the worldwide average as reported by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR, 2000). The Ra_eq values were in the range of 47.86 to 293.76 Bq·kg^-1 and the H_ex varied from 0.13 - 0.81, which indicated that the study area was radiologically safe for human being.

Keywords

Natural Radioactivity, Specific Radioactivity, HPGe γ-Ray Detector, Radiation Hazard Index, Dose Rate, Potenga Sea Beach

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (2003) Guidelines for Radioelement Mapping Using Gamma Ray Spectrometry Data. IAEA Technical Report Series, No. 1363, Vienna.
[2]	Wilson, W.F. (1994) A Guide to Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM). Pennwell Publishing Company, USA.
[3]	United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) (1993) Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation, Report to General Assembly, with Scientific Annexes. New York.
[4]	Bernard, Z. (1995) Tracers in the Oil Field. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
[5]	National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) (2006) Ionizing Radiation Exposure of the Population of the United States. NCRP Report, No. 160, Maryland.
[6]	Amekudzie, A., Emi-Reynolds, G., Faanu, A., Darko, E.O., Awudu, A.R., Adukpo, O., Quaye, L.A.N., Kpordzro, R., Agyemang, B. and Ibrahim, A. (2011) Natural Radioactivity Concentrations and Dose Assessment in Shore Sediments along the Coast of Greater Accra, Ghana. World Applied Sciences Journal, 13, 2338-2343.
[7]	Debertin, K. and Helmer, R.G. (1980) Gamma and X-Ray Spectrometry with Semiconductor Detectors. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
[8]	Schotzig, U. and Debertin, K. (1983) Photon Emission Probabilities per Decay of 226Ra and 232Th in Equilibrium with Their Daughter Products. Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 34, 533-538. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0020-708X(83)90275-2
[9]	Knoll, G.F. (1989) Radiation Detection and Measurement. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.
[10]	International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (1987) Radiometric Reference Materials; RGU-1, RGTh-1 and RGK-1. IAEA Report No. RL/148. Vienna.
[11]	Beretka, J. and Mathew, P.J. (1985) Natural Radioactivity of Australian Building Materials, Industrial Wastes and By-Products. Health Physics, 48, 87-95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00004032-198501000-00007
[12]	United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) (2000) Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation. Report to General Assembly, with Scientific Annexes, New York, 91-125.
[13]	Ghose, S., Kamal, M., Chowdhury, M.I., Alam, M.N. and Islam, M.N. (2003) Gamma Radiation Dose from the Naturally Occurring Radionuclides in Soil of the Potenga Sea Beach of Bangladesh. Nuclear Science and Applications, 12, 31-36.
[14]	Nazrul Islam, K.M., Paul, D., Rahman Bhuiyan, M.M., Akter, A., Neher, B. and Azharul Islam, S.M. (2012) Study of Environmental Radiation on Sand and Soil Samples from Kuakata Sea Beach of Patuakhali. Journal of Environmental Protection, 3, 1078-1084. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jep.2012.39126
[15]	Ansary, M.M. (1997) Study of Radioactivity in Beach Sand Minerals and Soils for the Estimation of Radiation Dose. M.Sc. Thesis, Chittagong University, Bangladesh.
[16]	Mohanty, A.K., Sengupta, D., Das, S.K., Vijayan, V. and Saha, S.K. (2004) Natural Radioactivity in the Newly Discovered High Background Radiation Area on the Eastern Coast of Orissa, India. Radiation Measurements, 38, 153-165. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.radmeas.2003.08.003
[17]	Ali, S., Tufail, M., Jamie, K., Ahmed, A. and Khan, H.A. (1996) Gamma-Ray Activity and Dose Rate of Brick Samples from Some Area of North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Pakistan. Science of Total Environment, 187, 247-252. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0048-9697(96)05109-1
[18]	Benjakul, S. (2007) Natural Radionuclide Distribution in Soil from Muang District in Songkhla Province. M.Sc. Thesis, Thaksin University, Songkhla.
[19]	Kessaratikoon, P. and Awackechi, S. (2008) Natural Radioactivity Measurement in Soil Samples Collected from Municipal Area of Hat Yai District in Songkhla Province, Thailand. KMITL Science Technology Journal, 8, 52-58.
[20]	Abdi, M.R., Kamali, M. and Vaezifar, S. (2008) Distribution of Radioactive Pollution of 238U, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs in Northwestern Coasts of Persian Gulf, Iran. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 56, 751-757. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2007.12.010
[21]	El-Arabi, A.M. (2005) Natural Radioactivity in Sand Used in Thermal Therapy at the Red Sea Coast. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 81, 11-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2004.11.002
[22]	Lu, X. and Zhang, X. (2008) Measurement of Natural Radioactivity in Beach Sands from Rizhao Bathing Beach, China. Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 130, 385-388. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/rpd/ncn053
[23]	Veiga, R., Sanches, N., Anjos, R.M., Macario, K., Bastos, J. and Iguatemy, M. (2006) Measurement of Natural Radioactivity in Brazilian Beach Sands. Health Physics, 41, 189-196.
[24]	Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Group (1979) Exposure to Radiation from Natural Radioactivity in Building Materials. OECD, Rue Andre-Pascal, Paris.