Abstract
More than one hundred undisturbed soil samples from Northern Venezuela and the islands of Margarita and Los Roques have been analyzed for137Cs,40K,238U and232Th by γ-ray spectroscopy. The specimens were taken from between 5–10 cm below the earth's surface. Thus, they are valid not only for the137Cs deposition studies but also for the estimation of the natural γ-ray dose from primordial radionuclides that form the terrestrial component. The concentration of40K was directly determined from its 1461 keV γ-ray, while those of137Cs,238U and232Th were performed using a γ-ray from one of their daughter radionuclides: the 661 keV γ-ray of137mBa for137Cs, the 1760 keV γ-ray of214Bi for238U and the 2620 keV γ-ray of208Tl for232Th. Finally, the concentration values were compared with those of global estimates.
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