The aim of this study was to determine the activity concentrations of naturally occurring radioisotopes 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in 14 soil samples collected in the Skopje city surrounding, and to calculate the corresponding absorbed gamma dose rates. The radionuclides were measured applying a high purity Ge detector gamma-ray spectrometer with relative efficiency of 30 % at 1.33 MeV. The activity concentrations found in 14 soil samples varied in the range 24.1-41.9 Bq kg-1for 226Ra, 38.5-52.2 Bq kg-1 for 232Th, and 502-707 Bq kg-1 for40K. The mean radium equivalent (Raeq), for the area under investigation, was 143±16 Bq kg-1, while the outdoor radiation hazard index (Hex) was 0.39. The total absorbed dose rate due to three primordial radionuclides investigated lay in the range 55.3 - 79.0 nGy h-1 with mean value of 68.1±7.7 nGy h-1, yielding a total annual effective dose of (83.5±9.5) µSv y-1. The assessed radiological factors were lower than the recommended values, indicating low radiological health risk for the population living and working in the investigated area. The activity concentrations of radionuclides in soil samples were compared to the international values reported by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation and previous studies on geographically close areas and some worldwide regions.
The aim of this research is characterization of the calcite raw material from two microlocalities: Sušički Most and Gorna Banjica near Gostivar. The properties of the calcite raw materials were defined applying complex examinations. XRD analysis determined the presence of calcite and dolomite as basic mineral phases, which was confirmed by optical transmission microscopy. The dominant content of CaCO3 was defined by chemical analysis. ICP-AES analysis confirmed a high degree of purity of the raw materials. DTA/TGA correlate with other analyses. Some basic physical properties of the raw materials were also determined. Additionally, the parameters of the mechanical preparation have been optimized. According to the presented results, the calcite materials which have very similar composition and approximately the same properties have a wide spectrum of application possibilities.
Contamination of soil by air sediment emitted from coal based thermal power plants is one of the basic ecological issue. The aim of this research is to define the impact of production of REK Bitola on the soils from defined microlocality in Pelagonia basin. Chemical, mineralogical and granulometric analyses were performed upon the soil samples. Also basic physical properties of the soil are determined. The chemical composition of the air sediment was also determined. According to the measured values and statistical data of REK Bitola, an average cumulative deposited quantity of air sediment is calculated, as well as the cumulative deposited quantity of trace elements in soil. The deposited air sediment has a negative impact on some of the basic physical and chemical properties of soil, but has no significant effect on the change in porosity and soil properties resulting from it.
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