Evaluation of radiological risks due to natural radioactivity around Lynas Advanced Material Plant environment, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia

Abstract

Understanding the public awareness concerning the Lynas Advanced Material Plant (LAMP), an Australian rare earths processing plant located in Malaysia, a radiological study in soil and water samples collected at random surrounding the LAMP environment was undertaken using HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry. The mean soil activities for (226)Ra, (232)Th, and (40)K were found to be 6.56 ± 0.20, 10.62 ± 0.42, and 41.02 ± 0.67 Bq/kg, respectively, while for water samples were 0.33 ± 0.05, 0.18 ± 0.04, and 4.72 ± 0.29 Bq/l, respectively. The studied areas show typical local level of radioactivity from natural background radiation. The mean gamma absorbed dose rate in soils at 1 m above the ground was found to be 11.16 nGy/h. Assuming a 20 % outdoor occupancy factor, the corresponding annual effective dose showed a mean value of 0.014 mSv year(-1), significantly lower than the worldwide average value of 0.07 mSv year(-1) for the annual outdoor effective dose as reported by UNSCEAR (2000). Some other representative radiation indices such as activity utilization index (AUI), H ex, H in, excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR), and annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE) were derived and also compared with the world average values. Statistical analysis performed on the obtained data showed a strong positive correlation between the radiological variables and (226)Ra and (232)Th.

Distribution and Multivariate Pollution Risks Assessment of Heavy Metals and Natural Radionuclides Around Abandoned Iron-Ore Mines in North Central Nigeria

“…The average excess lifetime cancer risks due to the levels of radionuclides in rock and soil samples are 1.98 × 10 −4 and 1.12 × 10 −4 , respectively. The values are lower than the world average figure of 0.29 × 10 −3 for soil and 0.05 for low-level radiation exposures as recommended by UNSCEAR and ICRP (Kolo et al 2015). …”

Measurement of natural radioactivity and radiological hazard evaluation in the soil samples collected from Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria

“…A comparison of the average values of the activity concentrations in this study (that is, 1190.10 BqKg −1 for 40 K, 64.64 BqKg −1 for 226 Ra, and 110.18 Bqkg −1 for 232 Th) with the corresponding average values from the results reported in Nigeria, Egypt, Malaysia, India, Turkey, and Iraq (Ajayi, 2009;Ademola, Bello, & Adejumobi, 2014;El-Gamal, Farid, Abdel Mageed, Hasabelnaby, & Hassanien, 2013;Issa, 2013;Kolo et al, 2015;Mohammed & Ahmed, 2017;Srilatha et al, 2015;Tabar et al, 2017;Zaim & Atlas, 2016) indicates that the values measured in this study are relatively higher. Meanwhile, the reported values in this study are less than the values reported in Cyprus and Turkey (Merdanoǧlu & Altinsoy, 2006;Tzortzis, Svoukis, & Tsertos, 2004).…”

“…The chance of developing cancer over a lifetime due to human exposure to ionizing radiation can be calculated using ELCR according to Equations 15, 16, and 17 (Darwish et al, 2015;Issa, 2013;Kaliprasad, Vinutha, & Narayana, 2017;Kolo, Aziz, Khandaker, Asaduzzaman, & Amin, 2015):…”

Investigation of Natural Radioactivity Levels and Evaluation of Radiation Hazards in Residential-Area Soil Near a Ras Tanura Refinery, Saudi Arbia

“…The activity concentration measured in this study was compared with those from local and other countries (Table 3) [7,26,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45]. The values of 226 Ra activity concentration in our study are lower than the values in similar studies in Yemen, Hungary, Yunnan, China, Turkey, Thailand, Algeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, and Jordan, while it is little higher than that of Sudan, Nigeria, and Malaysia, and within the range of India.…”