A survey of radioactivity content and associated radiological risks was carried out in various soils used for agriculture and building materials in Cameroon by means of a well-calibrated high-purity germanium detector...A survey of radioactivity content and associated radiological risks was carried out in various soils used for agriculture and building materials in Cameroon by means of a well-calibrated high-purity germanium detector. Soil samples were collected directly from the agricultural farms and the brick’s factories, air-dried at room temperature to a constant mass, crushed, sieved and sealed for at least one month before analysis. The specific activity of 238U ranged from 5.36 ± 0.39 to 51.28 ± 9.67 Bq﹒kg–1 with an average of 34.52 ± 7.18 Bq﹒kg–1;232Th from 4.03 ± 1.03 to 24.74 ± 3.10 Bq﹒kg–1 with an average of 16.67 ± 4.28 Bq﹒kg–1;40K ranged from 16.18 ± 3.11 to 467.40 ± 50.80 Bq﹒kg–1 with an average of 186.96 ± 16.21 Bq﹒kg–1;while that of the fallout 137Cs ranged from 0.00 to 4.79 ± 1.75 Bq﹒kg–1with an average of 2.32 ± 0.99 Bq kg–1;The mean result obtained for the Representative levels index (Iγ), the radium equivalent (Raeq), the total absorbed dose rate (ADR), the external hazard index (Hex), the internal hazard index (Hin) and the Ceasium intervention levels were 0.52, 72.75 Bq﹒kg–1, 33.73 nGy﹒h–1, 0.20 Bq﹒kg–1, 0.29 Bq﹒kg–1 and 0.0028 Bq﹒cm2 respectively. The discrepancies of our data can be attributed to several factors such as past nuclear disasters, geological formation, transport process, etc. Although our results are just some fractions of the international standard limit, but still within the same ranges when compared with those obtained elsewhere. This results also will serve as a baseline data for future investigations.展开更多
The specific activity concentration and the derived Annual Effective Dose(AED) in three types of vernonia cultivated and consumed within and outside Cameroon were measured by means of a well-calibrated high-purity ger...The specific activity concentration and the derived Annual Effective Dose(AED) in three types of vernonia cultivated and consumed within and outside Cameroon were measured by means of a well-calibrated high-purity germanium detector. Vernonia samples were collected directly from the production farms, oven-dried to a constant mass, crushed, sieved and sealed for at least a month before analysis. The specific activity of 238U in the three types of vernonia ranged from 20 - 50 Bq kg-1 with an average of 42 ± 15 Bq kg-1, 232Th from 9 - 22 Bq kg-1 with an average of 17 ± 7 Bq kg-1 while 40K ranged from 115 - 460 Bq kg-1 with an average of 302 ± 36 Bq kg-1. The average AED for 40K, 238U and 232Th were 0.15, 0.92 and 0.92μSv y-1 respectively. 238U and 232Th show the same trends both for the regional distribution of the radioactivity content and the AED. The discrepancies in our data can be attributed to many factors such as geological formation, foliar deposition, type and age of the plant, etc. Although the results obtained represent only some fractions of the standard limit, but they are within some range obtained in other countries.展开更多
文摘A survey of radioactivity content and associated radiological risks was carried out in various soils used for agriculture and building materials in Cameroon by means of a well-calibrated high-purity germanium detector. Soil samples were collected directly from the agricultural farms and the brick’s factories, air-dried at room temperature to a constant mass, crushed, sieved and sealed for at least one month before analysis. The specific activity of 238U ranged from 5.36 ± 0.39 to 51.28 ± 9.67 Bq﹒kg–1 with an average of 34.52 ± 7.18 Bq﹒kg–1;232Th from 4.03 ± 1.03 to 24.74 ± 3.10 Bq﹒kg–1 with an average of 16.67 ± 4.28 Bq﹒kg–1;40K ranged from 16.18 ± 3.11 to 467.40 ± 50.80 Bq﹒kg–1 with an average of 186.96 ± 16.21 Bq﹒kg–1;while that of the fallout 137Cs ranged from 0.00 to 4.79 ± 1.75 Bq﹒kg–1with an average of 2.32 ± 0.99 Bq kg–1;The mean result obtained for the Representative levels index (Iγ), the radium equivalent (Raeq), the total absorbed dose rate (ADR), the external hazard index (Hex), the internal hazard index (Hin) and the Ceasium intervention levels were 0.52, 72.75 Bq﹒kg–1, 33.73 nGy﹒h–1, 0.20 Bq﹒kg–1, 0.29 Bq﹒kg–1 and 0.0028 Bq﹒cm2 respectively. The discrepancies of our data can be attributed to several factors such as past nuclear disasters, geological formation, transport process, etc. Although our results are just some fractions of the international standard limit, but still within the same ranges when compared with those obtained elsewhere. This results also will serve as a baseline data for future investigations.
文摘The specific activity concentration and the derived Annual Effective Dose(AED) in three types of vernonia cultivated and consumed within and outside Cameroon were measured by means of a well-calibrated high-purity germanium detector. Vernonia samples were collected directly from the production farms, oven-dried to a constant mass, crushed, sieved and sealed for at least a month before analysis. The specific activity of 238U in the three types of vernonia ranged from 20 - 50 Bq kg-1 with an average of 42 ± 15 Bq kg-1, 232Th from 9 - 22 Bq kg-1 with an average of 17 ± 7 Bq kg-1 while 40K ranged from 115 - 460 Bq kg-1 with an average of 302 ± 36 Bq kg-1. The average AED for 40K, 238U and 232Th were 0.15, 0.92 and 0.92μSv y-1 respectively. 238U and 232Th show the same trends both for the regional distribution of the radioactivity content and the AED. The discrepancies in our data can be attributed to many factors such as geological formation, foliar deposition, type and age of the plant, etc. Although the results obtained represent only some fractions of the standard limit, but they are within some range obtained in other countries.
