Appraisal of radioactivity and associated radiation hazards in sand samples of four rivers of Punjab province, Pakistan

Abstract

Natural and anthropogenic radioactivity of sand and water samples collected from the four big rivers of Punjab province, Pakistan, was measured using a high-purity germanium detector coupled with a high resolution multichannel analyser. The average concentration of the naturally occurring radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in all the sand samples from the rivers Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Indus was found to be 22±0.6, 36±1 and 287±10 Bq kg −1, respectively, while the concentration of the anthropogenic radionuclide 137Cs was found to be below the minimum detectable activity, i.e. ∼ 1.2 Bq kg −1. All the sand samples have Raeq concentrations lower than the limit of 370 Bq kg −1. Indoor (H in) and outdoor (H out) radiation hazard indices were calculated for the samples to assess the radiation hazards arising due to the use of this sand in construction, and were found to be less than unity in the study area. Calculated values of the absorbed dose rate were less than the typical world average value of 59 nGy h −1, and the annual effective dose rate was also less than the typical world value of 70 μSv, except in the Indus river, in which it is slightly higher then the world average. Results show that the measured values are comparable with other global radioactivity measurements. None of the studied riverbeds was considered a radiological hazard, and their sand can be safely used in construction.