Evaluate the Potential Radiological Risks Due to Gamma Emitting Radiation from Soil Samples of Sunamganj area, Bangladesh

Evaluate the Potential Radiological Risks Due to Gamma Emitting Radiation from Soil Samples of Sunamganj area, Bangladesh

Jannatul Ferdous^1* Eng. Md. Ashraful Islam² and Md. Zakir Hossain¹

¹Health Physics Division, Atomic Energy Centre, Dhaka

²Construction of Rooppur NPP Project Site, Ishwardi, Pabna

¹*Corresponding author: ferdous28@yahoo.com, ²Eng.ashraf@rooppurnpp.gov.bd, ⁴zakir5378@yahoo.com

Abstract

The present research work is encouraged by the increasing demand of the data belonging to the earthly γ-ray activities into the soil samples of haor area of Sunamgonj districts of Bangladesh. For measurements of naturally occurring radioactivity and artificial fall out, in the present work a total of 25 soil samples were collected from the eleven upazilas of this district. The samples were then prepared and irradiated for activity measurements using HPGe detecting system. The average concentration of radioactivity in soil samples for ²³⁸U is 29.07±2.84 Bq kg^-1, ²³²Th is 26.15±2.34 Bq kg^-1 and ⁴⁰K is 346.33±32.66 Bq Kg^-1, are below the world-wide average concentration value. No peak of man-made fission fragment ¹³⁷Cs (661.66 keV) was observed in the gamma-ray spectrum.  The Radium Equivalent Activity, Dose Rate, External Hazard Index and Annual Effective Dose Equivalent for soil samples in Sunamgonj District has been estimated which are also comparable with worldwide average. The natural radioactivity in the present study poses no health-hazards to the population there. This study will be helpful to provide the possibility to accurately determine the public total effective dose rates due to natural radioactivity.

Key word: Soil sample, HPGe detecting system, Activity concentration, Radiological hazards parameters.

URL: https://www.ijlst.org/papers-published/ijlst-2022-volume-14-issue-3