Mining, mineral processing and industrial activities have long been linked to increased levels of radioanuclides in soil in their vicinity. In this work, concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides in soil samples collected around a rock phosphate storage facility in Richards Bay in South Africa were determined. A total of 90 soil samples were collected and analyzed for 238 U and 232 Th using neutron activation analysis and 226 Ra and 4 K using a HPGe detector. The results revealed the average radioactivity concentrations of 238 U, 232 Th, 226 Ra and 4 K in soil samples collected around the rock phosphate storage area
This study assessed the radiological health hazards to various body organs of workers working within Transnet Precinct in Richards Bay in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa due to radionuclide content of mineral ores often stored within the facility. Thirty samples were collected from five mineral ores (rock phosphate, rutile, zircon, coal and hematite) and analyzed for 238U, 234U, 226Ra, 210Pb, 235U, 232Th, 228Ra, 228Th and 40K using delayed neutron activation analysis and low energy gamma spectroscopy. Rutile was found to be the most radioactive mineral ore within the facility with 210Pb concentration of 759.00 ± 106.00 Bq·kg−1. Effective annual dose rate in (mSv·y−1) delivered to different organs of the body: testes, bone marrow, whole body, lungs and ovaries from mineral ores were such that dose from mineral ores decreased in the order coal > rutile > rock phosphate > hematite > zircon. The organs with the highest received dose rate were the testes and this received dose was from coal. However, all of the calculated absorbed dose rates to organs of the body were below the maximum permissible safety limits.
South Africa is pronounced a dry country. Though KwaZulu-Natal has a higher rain fall than most part of the country, it has recorded cases of austere droughts. The present study was aimed at examining the quality of water within Richards Bay precinct in relation to South African target water quality range (TWQR). Fifty water samples were collected from five water sources (effluent, stream, Mzingazi River, Indian Ocean and Esikawini drinking tap water) and analyzed using ICP-MS technique to determine the concentrations of some traced metals i.e., Fe, Cu, Tl, Zn, Pb, Cr, and Ni. The main impurities were found to be Cd, Mn and As with concentrations of 2.21 10 .
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