A Geological Context in Radiation Risk Assessment to the Public

Filip Jędrzejek (), Katarzyna Szarłowicz and Marcin Stobiński
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Filip Jędrzejek: AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Energy and Fuels, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Katarzyna Szarłowicz: AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Energy and Fuels, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Marcin Stobiński: AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Energy and Fuels, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-19

Abstract: The work aimed to show the applicability of geological studies to the investigation of radiation risk assessment due to the presence of naturally occurring radionuclides of terrestrial origin in the soil. Soil samples were taken from a Tatra Mountains area for which geological maps were available. The concentration of selected radionuclides incl. 40 K, 238 U and 232 Th was determined by gamma-ray spectrometry with a HPGe-detector. Radioactivities and calculated absorbed dose rates were co-related to complex bedrock matrices based on an original methodology. The correlations were proved by performing a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The rocks that had a significant impact on the rate of absorbed dose from the soil were strongly related to the radioactivity of the uranium series. The share of the following fractions was the most significant: granite with pegmatite, gneiss, granitoid and gneiss, coquina, marl and glauconite, hard limestone, dolomite and limestone. The rock types additionally showed good correlation with radioisotopes from the thorium series. Granitoids with potassium feldspar, on the other hand, contributed the largest share of 40 K radioisotope content.

Keywords: radionuclide (NORM); geology; absorbed dose rate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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