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Radioelement Mapping and Environmental Monitoring of Surface Deposits using Ground Gamma Ray Spectrometry of the Area Adjacent to El‐Ramlah Village, Southwestern Sinai, Egypt
Author(s) -
ABOELKHAIR Hatem,
RABEI Mostafa
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
resource geology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1751-3928
pISSN - 1344-1698
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-3928.2012.00190.x
Subject(s) - thorium , uranium , gamma ray spectrometry , radionuclide , environmental science , radium , dose rate , uranium ore , equivalent dose , absorbed dose rate , radiometric dating , natural radioactivity , potassium , radiochemistry , geology , mineralogy , geochemistry , absorbed dose , chemistry , radiation , nuclear physics , physics , organic chemistry
A ground‐based gamma‐ray survey has been performed in the area close to El‐Ramlah village, southwestern Sinai, Egypt, using a GS‐512 spectrometer. The main objective of this survey was to delineate radioactive anomalies within the surface of the study area and to identify the environmental effects of natural radioelements on the new inhabitants, Bedouins, who live in the recently built village in this region of the Sinai Peninsula. The results show that the maximum radioactivity of the total count component (T.C.) was about 15.7Ur at the northern part of the study area. The average radioelements concentration were 0.4% for potassium, 1.6 ppm for equivalent uranium and 4.5 ppm for equivalent thorium. To identify and map the environmental effects of the concentration of these radioelements on El‐Ramlah village, measurements of potassium (K%), equivalent uranium (eU) and equivalent thorium (eTh) were converted into an equivalent dose rate. The results illustrate that, the levels of effective dose rate of the natural radioactivity of the area of study remains in the safe range without any harm to living organisms, and it stays within the maximum permissible radiation dose rate (1.0 mSv y −1 ) recommended by the International Commission of Radiological Protection.