Assessment of Radioactivity Contents and Associated Risks in Some Soil Used for Agriculture and Building Materials in Cameroon

Abstract

A survey of radioactivity content and associated radiological risks was carried out in various soils used for agriculture and building materials in Cameroon by means of a well-calibrated high-purity germanium detector. Soil samples were collected directly from the agricultural farms and the brick's factories, air-dried at room temperature to a constant mass, crushed, sieved and sealed for at least one month before analysis. The specific activity of 238 U ranged from 5.36 ± 0.39 to 51.28 ± 9. ; The mean result obtained for the Representative levels index (I  ), the radium equivalent (Ra eq ), the total absorbed dose rate (ADR), the external hazard index (H ex ), the internal hazard index (H in ) and the Ceasium intervention levels were 0.52, 72.75 Bq·kg , 0.29 Bq·kg −1 and 0.0028 Bq·cm 2 respectively. The discrepan-cies of our data can be attributed to several factors such as past nuclear disasters, geological formation, transport process, etc. Although our results are just some fractions of the international standard limit, but still within the same ranges when compared with those obtained elsewhere. This results also will serve as a baseline data for future inves-tigations.

Prediction of Soil Fractions (Sand, Silt and Clay) in Surface Layer Based on Natural Radionuclides Concentration in the Soil Using Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System

“…However, Vukasinovic et al [30] also found the soil profile with the highest average radionuclide activity concentration contained the lowest sand percentage. This finding was also observed by Al-Sulaiti [31] who indicated that the finest soil grain size had the highest activity concentration of 40 K. Also, the variability of 40 K among regions could be due to the differences in land management, for example, fertilization, plowing practices, geology and geography [32].…”

Natural radioactivity levels in the soils and human risk assessment in Tiruchirappalli district (Tamil Nadu, India)

“…The radioactivity in soil has been studied in many regions of the world [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. In India the work on the radioactivity in soil is scattered.…”