Uranium is a radioactive element normally present in hexavalent form as U(VI) in solution and elevated levels in drinking water cause health hazards. Representative groundwater samples were collected from different litho-units in this region and were analyzed for total U and major and minor ions. Results indicate that the highest U concentration (113 µg l(-1)) was found in granitic terrains of this region and about 10 % of the samples exceed the permissible limit for drinking water. Among different species of U in aqueous media, carbonate complexes [UO2(CO3)(2)(2-)] are found to be dominant. Groundwater with higher U has higher pCO2 values, indicating weathering by bicarbonate ions resulting in preferential mobilization of U in groundwater. The major minerals uraninite and coffinite were found to be supersaturated and are likely to control the distribution of U in the study area. Nature of U in groundwater, the effects of lithology on hydrochemistry and factors controlling its distribution in hard rock aquifers of Madurai district are highlighted in this paper.
Concentrations of natural and fall-out radionuclides in the offshore seawater and sediment from some parts of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, were determined using a coaxial germanium detector. The average activities of (238)U, (232)Th, (40)K and (137)Cs were recorded as 31.2±5.8, 51.9±9.4, 686.4±170.5 and 0.5±0.6 Bq kg(-1) dry weight, respectively, for sediment, and 4.8±1.2, 5.4±1.2 and 39.1±8.6 Bq L(-1) for (238)U, (232)Th and (40)K, respectively, in seawater. The concentration of (137)Cs in seawater was below the detection limit. The concentration of sediment (238)U was found to be positively correlated with (232)Th ([Formula: see text], p<0.05) and (40)K (r=0.96, p<0.01), while (232)Th was positively correlated with (40)K (r=0.91, p<0.05). In sediment, the concentration of (238)U was negatively correlated (r=-0.86, p<0.05) with sea depth. In the seawater sample, the only significant relationship found was between concentration of (232)Th and water depth (r=-0.86, p<0.05). One-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the level of radioisotope concentrations of seawater and sediment was highly significant for (238)U (F=122, df=11, p=0.01), (232)Th (F=143, df=11, p=0.01) and (40)K (F=86, df=11, p=0.01). The results showed that the level of radioactivity decreased from coast to open sea. Imminent threat due to radioactivity was not observed in these parts of the Bay of Bengal.
Concentrations of uranium-238 and thorium-232 in soil, water, grass, moss and oil-palm fruit samples collected from an area of high background radiation were determined using neutron activation analysis (NAA). U-238 concentration in soil ranged from 4.9 mg kg(-1) (58.8 Bq kg(-1)) to 40.4 mg kg(-1) (484.8 Bq kg(-1)), Th-232 concentration ranged from 14.9 mg kg(-1) (59.6 Bq kg(-1)) to 301.0 mg kg(-1) (1204 Bq kg(-1)). The concentration of U-238 in grass samples ranged from below the detection limit to 0.076 mg kg(-1) (912 mBq kg(-1)), and Th-232 ranged from 0.008 mg kg(-1) (32 mBq kg(-1)) to 0.343 mg kg(-1) (1.372 Bq kg(-1)). U-238 content in water samples ranged from 0.33 mg kg(-1) (4.0 Bq L(-1)) to 1.40 mg kg(-1) (16.8 Bq L(-1)), and Th-232 ranged from 0.19 mg kg(-1) (0.76 Bq L(-1)) to 0.66 mg kg(-1) (2.64 Bq L(-1)). It can be said that the concentrations of environmental U-238 and Th-232 in grass and water samples in the study area are insignificant. Mosses were found to be possible bio-radiological indicators due to their high absorption of the heavy radioelements from the environment.
The presence of radioactive elements in groundwater results in high health risks on surrounding populations. Hence, a study was conducted in central Tamil Nadu, South India, to measure the radon levels in groundwater and determine the associated health risk. The study was conducted along the lithological contact of hard rock and sedimentary formation. The concentrations of uranium (U) varied from 0.28 to 84.65 µg/L, and the radioactivity of radon (Rn) varied from 258 to 7072 Bq/m3 in the collected groundwater samples. The spatial distribution of Rn in the study area showed that higher values were identified along the central and northern regions of the study area. The data also indicate that granitic and gneissic rocks are the major contributors to Rn in groundwater through U-enriched lithological zones. The radon levels in all samples were below the maximum concentration level, prescribed by Environmental Protection Agency. The effective dose levels for ingestion and inhalation were calculated according to parameters introduced by UNSCEAR and were found to be lesser (0.235-6.453 μSvy-1) than the recommended limit. Hence, the regional groundwater in the study area does not pose any health risks to consumers. The spatial distribution of Rn's effective dose level indicates the higher values were mainly in the central and northern portion of the study area consist of gneissic, quarzitic, and granitic rocks. The present study showed that Rn concentrations in groundwater depend on the lithology, structural attributes, the existence of uranium minerals in rocks, and the redox conditions. The results of this study provide information on the spatial distribution of Rn in the groundwater and its potential health risk in central Tamil Nadu, India. It is anticipated that these data will help policymakers to develop plans for management of drinking water resources in the region.
Uranium, perhaps the most strategically important component of heavy minerals, finds particular significance in the nuclear industry. In prospecting trenches, the radioactivity of 238U and 232Th provides a good signature of the presence of heavy minerals. In the work herein, the activity concentrations of several key primordial radionuclides (238U, 232Th, and 40K) were measured in prospecting trenches (each of the latter being of approximately the same geometry and physical situation). All of these are located in the Seila area of the South Eastern desert of Egypt. A recently introduced industry standard, the portable hand-held RS-230 BGO gamma-ray spectrometer (1024 channels) was employed in the study. Based on the measured data, the trenches were classified as either non-regulated (U activity less than 1000 Bq kg-1) or regulated (with 238U activity more than 1000 Bq kg-1). Several radiological hazard parameters were calculated, statistical analysis also being performed to examine correlations between the origins of the radionuclides and their influence on the calculated values. While the radioactivity and hazard parameters exceed United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) guided limits, the mean annual effective doses of 0.49 and 1.4 mSv y-1 in non-regulated and regulated trenches respectively remain well below the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommended 20 mSv/y maximum occupational limit. This investigation reveals that the studied area contains high uranium content, suitable for extraction of U-minerals for use in the nuclear fuel cycle.
The purpose of this project is to evaluate the suitability of different sites as locations for obtaining underground water for consumption. The analysis of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K from rock samples from each layer of borehole at a depth of ∼50 m at Site A borehole, S3L1-S3L6 in Gosa and 40 m at Site B borehole, S4L1-S4L5 in Lugbe, Abuja, north central Nigeria is presented. The gamma-ray spectrometry was carried out using a high-purity germanium detector coupled to a computer-based high-resolution multichannel analyzer. The activity concentrations at Site A borehole for ²³⁸U have a mean value of 26 ± 3, ranging from 23 ± 2 to 30 ± 3 Bq kg⁻¹, ²³²Th a mean value of 63 ± 5, ranging from 48 ± 4 to 76 ± 6 Bq kg⁻¹ and ⁴⁰K a mean value of 573 ± 72, ranging from 437 ± 56 to 821 ± 60 Bq kg⁻¹. The activity concentrations at Site B borehole for ²³⁸U have a mean value of 20 ± 2, ranging from 16 ± 2 to 23 ± 2 Bq kg⁻¹, ²³²Th a mean value of 46 ± 4, ranging from 43 ± 4 to 49 ± 4 Bq kg⁻¹, ⁴⁰K a mean value of 915 ± 116 and ranging from 817 ± 103 Bq kg⁻¹ to 1011 ± 128 Bq kg⁻¹. It is noted that the higher activity concentrations of ²³²Th and ²³⁸U are found in Site A at Gosa. Site B has lower radioactivity, and it is recommended that both sites are suitable for underground water consumption.
Concentrations of uranium and thorium in seawater, sediment and some marine species taken from along the coastal areas of Malaysia were determined spectrophotometrically. The uranium and thorium concentrations in seawater were found to vary ranging from 1.80 to 4.1 and 0.14 to 0.88 microg/L, respectively. The concentration of uranium in sediment samples was reported to range from 3.00 to 6.60 microg/g while those of thorium were slightly lower ranging from 0.01 to 0.68 microg/g. The uptake of uranium and thorium in marine species was found to be rather low. Similar variations in total alpha activities in samples were also observed with the total alpha activities relatively lower than the beta activities in most samples.
In this study, concentrations of heavy metals, rare earth elements (REEs), Uranium (U) and Thorium (Th) of the actinide group were determined from Linggi estuary sediment samples by neutron activation analysis (NAA) and inductive coupled plasma - mass spectrometry techniques. The geo-accumulation (Igeo) and ecological risk index (Ri) values were calculated to identify the quality status of Linggi estuary sediments. Results indicated Linggi estuary was polluted by arsenic (As), lead (Pb) and antimony (Sb). REEs, U and Th showed significant increase of concentration in Linggi estuary sediments. Ri of Linggi estuary was categorised as low to considerable ecological risk, which indicates no significant to moderate effect on the majority of the sediment-dwelling organisms. Correlation matrix and principal component analysis assessed pollution sources to be both natural and anthropogenic.
Processing of by-product heavy minerals (amang) from tin mining involves potential exposure to external and internal sources of radioactivity. The radioactivity arises through the presence of thorium and uranium series radionuclides in the various minerals. Monazite is the most radioactive mineral, containing 3% to 7% thorium by weight, while ilmenite is generally the least radioactive mineral containing typically less than 0.05% thorium. External exposure occurs when workers are in close proximity to accumulations or stockpiles of the radioactive minerals, whereas internal exposure occurs when workers are involved in dusty processes. This paper summarizes the nature of the amang industry in South East Asia and presents the results of preliminary measurements of external radiation and airborne radioactivity in twelve Malaysian and Thai plants. Although constrained by a paucity of exposure data, it is concluded that radiation doses to some amang plant workers may approach or exceed international standards and that appropriate control measures are required as a matter of priority, Radiation doses may approach or exceed 100 mSv in situations where workers are exposed to excessive levels of ambient dust and no protective measures are used. Observations and recommendations are made relating to monitoring and surveillance, instruction and training, and engineering and administrative protection measures.
Concentrations of primordial radionuclides in common construction materials collected from the south-west coastal region of India were determined using a high-purity germanium gamma-ray spectrometer. Average specific activities (Bq kg(-1)) for (238)U((226)Ra) in cement, brick, soil and stone samples were obtained as 54 ± 13, 21 ± 4, 50 ± 12 and 46 ± 8, respectively. Respective values of (232)Th were obtained as 65 ± 10, 21 ± 3, 58 ± 10 and 57 ± 12. Concentrations of (40)K radionuclide in cement, brick, soil and stone samples were found to be 440 ± 91, 290 ± 20, 380 ± 61 and 432 ± 64, respectively. To evaluate the radiological hazards, radium equivalent activity, various hazard indices, absorbed dose rate and annual effective dose have been calculated, and compared with the literature values. Obtained data could be used as reference information to assess any radiological contamination due to construction materials in future.
Toxic elements in drinking water have great effects on human health. However, there is very limited information about toxic elements in drinking water in Afghanistan. In this study, levels of 10 elements (chromium, nickel, copper, arsenic, cadmium, antimony, barium, mercury, lead and uranium) in 227 well drinking water samples in Kabul, Afghanistan were examined for the first time. Chromium (in 0.9% of the 227 samples), arsenic (7.0%) and uranium (19.4%) exceeded the values in WHO health-based guidelines for drinking-water quality. Maximum chromium, arsenic and uranium levels in the water samples were 1.3-, 10.4- and 17.2-fold higher than the values in the guidelines, respectively. We next focused on uranium, which is the most seriously polluted element among the 10 elements. Mean ± SD (138.0 ± 1.4) of the (238)U/(235)U isotopic ratio in the water samples was in the range of previously reported ratios for natural source uranium. We then examined the effect of our originally developed magnesium (Mg)-iron (Fe)-based hydrotalcite-like compounds (MF-HT) on adsorption for uranium. All of the uranium-polluted well water samples from Kabul (mean ± SD = 190.4 ± 113.9 μg/L; n = 11) could be remediated up to 1.2 ± 1.7 μg/L by 1% weight of our MF-HT within 60 s at very low cost (<0.001 cents/day/family) in theory. Thus, we demonstrated not only elevated levels of some toxic elements including natural source uranium but also an effective depurative for uranium in well drinking water from Kabul. Since our depurative is effective for remediation of arsenic as shown in our previous studies, its practical use in Kabul may be encouraged.