Soil mineral analysis and environmental radioactivity in Ghizer, Eastern Hindukush, Pakistan
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Mohammad Wasim
,
Sardar Ali Shah
Abstract
Distribution of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides (226Ra, 232Th, 137Cs and 40K) was determined in 32 samples from Ghizer, an Eastern Hindukush district at an altitude of 2286 m in Pakistan using high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry. Mineralogical analysis by X-ray diffractometry identified quartz, calcite, albite and anorthite as major phases whereas actinolite, chlorite serpentine and kaolinite as minor phases. The activity concentrations for 226Ra, 232Th, 137Cs and 40K varied from 25.2 ± 1.7 to 145.3 ± 10.1 Bq kg−1, 24.9 ± 1.1 to 197 ± 9 Bq kg−1, 2.03 ± 0.21 to 16.7 ± 1.1 and 252 ± 6 to 1433 ± 35 Bq kg−1, respectively. The samples yielded average radium equivalent activity as 178.4 ± 23.3 Bq kg−1. The majority of the samples revealed external hazard index and representative level index less than one. The average air absorbed dose rate was 91.2 ± 13.6 nGy h−1 corresponding to the annual effective dose rate 111.8 ± 17.4 μSv y−1. These values were higher than the world averages for air absorbed dose rate and outdoor annual effective dose rate. Principal component analysis was applied to obtain distribution pattern within the samples and among the radionuclides.
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Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
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Research funding: None declared.
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Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.
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© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Original Papers
- Effect of adding dodecanol as modifier to N,N,N′,N′-tetra-n-hexyl-3,6-dithiaoctane-1,8-diamide silica-based adsorbent on the adsorption behaviors of platinum-group metals and other metals from simulated high-level liquid waste
- A new way to ensure selective zirconium ion adsorption
- Determination of radioprotective and genotoxic properties of sulfamide derivatives
- Synthesis of 111In-p-SCN-Bn-DTPA-nimotuzumab and its preclinical evaluation in EGFR positive NSCLC animal model
- Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of zinc concentrations in scalp hair and fingernails samples of Algerian females with breast cancer
- Soil mineral analysis and environmental radioactivity in Ghizer, Eastern Hindukush, Pakistan
- Natural and anthropogenic radioactivity in some vegetables and fruits commonly consumed in the Western Black Sea region of Turkey
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Original Papers
- Effect of adding dodecanol as modifier to N,N,N′,N′-tetra-n-hexyl-3,6-dithiaoctane-1,8-diamide silica-based adsorbent on the adsorption behaviors of platinum-group metals and other metals from simulated high-level liquid waste
- A new way to ensure selective zirconium ion adsorption
- Determination of radioprotective and genotoxic properties of sulfamide derivatives
- Synthesis of 111In-p-SCN-Bn-DTPA-nimotuzumab and its preclinical evaluation in EGFR positive NSCLC animal model
- Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of zinc concentrations in scalp hair and fingernails samples of Algerian females with breast cancer
- Soil mineral analysis and environmental radioactivity in Ghizer, Eastern Hindukush, Pakistan
- Natural and anthropogenic radioactivity in some vegetables and fruits commonly consumed in the Western Black Sea region of Turkey
