Seasonal Variations of Radioactivity Concentrations in Soil and Sediment of Meriç River, Turkey

Abstract

In this study, the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs radionuclides were determined for spring, summer, autumn and winter in soil and sediment samples collected from different sites in the Meriç River using a gamma spectrometer with an HPGe detector. The results showed that the mean activity concentrations in the soil samples were 45.26±1.80 Bq kg-1, 56.24±1.87 Bq kg-1, 704.32±10.82 Bq kg-1, and 2.41±0.54 Bq kg-1 for 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs, respectively. The mean 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs activities in the sediment samples were 25.99±0.73 Bq kg-1, 31.05±0.79 Bq kg-1, 658.03±6.27 Bq kg-1, and 2.71±0.24 Bq kg-1, respectively. The mean radioactivity levels in this study were compared with other activity concentrations in various regions’ soils and sediments and also with the world mean values. The mean activity concentrations of 40K were found to be higher than the world mean value in both soil and sediment samples. To estimate the potential health risk in samples, radiological hazard parameters such as the radium equivalent activity, the absorbed dose rate, the annual effective dose equivalent, and the external hazard index were calculated for samples and compared with the recommended values.