Measurement Of Radioactivity Concentrations In Soil Samples From Karima City, Sudan

Abstract

This study aimed to measure the activity concentrations of natural radioactive elements in soil in karima city. Thirty soil samples were collected from different locations. The specific activity was determined by using the gamma ray spectroscopy with high purity Germanium detector (HPGe), The activity ranged from 7.05 to 19.2 Bq Kg-1 for 226Ra, from 9.7 to 55 Bq Kg-1 for 232Th, and 59 to 378 BqKg-1for 40K. The average absorbed dose of the terrestrial natural existing radionuclides (226Ra, 232Th and 40K) were found to be 22.903 nGyh-1. The evaluated annual effective dose is 28.08 µSvy-1. The mean absorbed dose is 22.9 nGyh-1, and the mean radium equivalent activity is 50.31 Bq Kg-1. The external hazard index is 0.135877 which is less than one. The representative gamma index was also less than one. The results of this study were compared with other studies and found that the concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were the lowest.