Concentration of radioactive elements (U, Th and K) derived from phosphatic fertilizers in cultivated soils

Abstract

Gamma spectrometric measurements were obtained for the agricultural soils aiming at characterizing the spatial distribution of radionuclide concentrations (K, eU and eTh), as well for the samples of phosphatic fertilizers and agricultural gypsum. In the study areas, three types of soils occured: Eutrophic Red Nitosol (Alfisoil), Eutroferric Red Latosol of clayey texture (Oxisoil) and Dystrophic Red Latosol of medium texture (Oxisoil

Investigation the natural radioactivity in local and imported chemical fertilizers

“…The counting efficiency of the system was measured by using standard sources ( 22 Na, 57 Co, 60 Co, 109 Cd, 133 Ba and 137 Cs), where was 3.5% for 1.332 MeV of 60 Co. Uranium-238 was detected by the 1.76 MeV energy that corresponded to the absorption of 214 Bi of 238 U series and used to identify and quantify the natural uranium. Natural thorium-232 was identified by the 208 Tl peak which corresponded to the 2.62 MeV absorption energy (Becegato, 2008). Potassium-40 was identified and quantified by means of the absorption of the 1.46 MeV energy which corresponded to a sole natural isotope 40 K. In order to subtract the background from each measurement, an empty marinelli beaker (with the same geometry) was measured.…”

Comparison of Natural Radioactivity of Commonly Used Fertilizer Materials in Egypt and Japan

“…The values of alpha index for Egyptian fertilizers were more than unity while, for Japanese samples, it was less than unity except a sample of JF5. All these radiological indexes were actually initially developed and established for construction materials but they were used during this study and other previous studies in literature [11][12][13][14] to show how much the workers and public could receive radiation dose from fertilizer materials. Table 7 shows a comparison of the estimated radiological indexes values during this work and their values in previous studies in literature.…”

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.…”