Distribution of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides and associated radiation indices in the Southwestern coastline of Caspian Sea

Akbar Abbasi; Merfat Algethami; Omemh Bawazeer; Hesham M H Zakaly

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113593

Distribution of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides and associated radiation indices in the Southwestern coastline of Caspian Sea

Mar Pollut Bull. 2022 May:178:113593. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113593. Epub 2022 Mar 28.

Authors

Akbar Abbasi¹, Merfat Algethami², Omemh Bawazeer³, Hesham M H Zakaly⁴

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Engineering, University of Kyrenia, via Mersin 10, Kyrenia, TRNC, Turkey. Electronic address: akbar.abbasi@kyrenia.edu.tr.
² Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Taif University, P. O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.
³ Medical Physics Department, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Umm-al qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Institute of Physics and Technology, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg 620002, Russia; Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, 71524 Assuit, Egypt. Electronic address: h.m.zakaly@gmail.com.

PMID: 35344732
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113593

Abstract

The distribution pattern of natural radionuclides (²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K) and anthropogenic radionuclide (¹³⁷Cs) in surface sediment samples from the southwestern coastline of the Caspian Sea were determined to estimate the radiation hazard indices using a high-purity germanium HPGe gamma-ray detector. The activity concentrations of the sediment samples ranged from 22.5 ± 1.0 to 47.4 ± 2.2 Bq kg^-1 dry weight (dw) for ²²⁶Ra, 6.5 ± 0.1 to 18.7 ± 0.7 Bq kg^-1 dw for ²³²Th, 559.9 ± 30.9 to 233.2 ± 19.4 Bq kg^-1 dw for ⁴⁰K, and 0.9 MDL (minimum detection limit) to 2.7 ± 0.1 Bq kg^-1 dw for ¹³⁷Cs. Based on the measured values, radiological risk indices were estimated. The mean values for absorbed dose rate, ambient dose equivalent rate, and excess lifetime cancer risk, were calculated as 35.7 nGy h^-1, 47.9 nSv h^-1, and 0.2, respectively.

Keywords: Activity concentrations; Caspian Sea; Gamma-ray; Radiation hazard; Sediment.

MeSH terms

Caspian Sea
Gamma Rays
Soil Pollutants, Radioactive* / analysis

Substances

Soil Pollutants, Radioactive