Fractionation of environmental radioactivity in road dust from a megacity: external and internal health risks

Elevated levels of environmental radioactivity in fluvial sediment: origin and health risk assessment

“…One of the most signicant geo-environmental issues receiving more and more worldwide attention is the potential harm to humans from the ionizing radiation and affiliated risks posed by naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs: 226 Ra, 232 Th, 40 K). [1][2][3][4] Primordial natural radioactivity is still considerable and observed in various lithologies (e.g., rock formations, sedimentary deposits, and mineral deposits) at varying concentrations related to the geochemical properties of a region. 5 Studying the NORM concentration in geographic specimens and related radioactive contamination is critically vital since NORMs can cause severe radiometric risks to human health, such as lung disease, kidney damage, bone deformities, and renal disease.…”

“…Consequently, to ll this information vacuum in the previous literature, this study includes the abundance and distribution of NORMs and their potential radiological threats to a signicant number of people who are dependent on the weathered watershed sediment of this stream for construction materials. Besides, the specic objectives of this study are to (1) measure the NORMs ( 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K) along with 14 elemental concentrations in the Punarbhaba river basin (PRB), (2) analyze the allocation of NORMs and derived components for describing the derivation, and (3) evaluate the potential radiological risks, along with the elemental pollution and contamination level.…”