Environmental and Human Risk Assessment of Radioactive Pollution in Sediments of Northern Nile Delta, Egypt

Abstract

ABSTRACT To evaluate radiation risks and the exposure to human and marine life, samples of marine sediments were taken along Mediterranean Sea Coastline and Lake Burullus, Egypt. The current study sought to evaluate the levels of 226Ra, 238U, 232Th and 40K radioactive elements in surface sediments as well as their ecological concerns and potential sources using remote sensing and GIS. The multivariate statistical analyses were done to assume the inter-relationships between the radiological indexes and concentrations. The activity of radionuclides concentrations in sediments for 226Ra, 238U, 232Th and 40K were 13.81, 9.08, 15.28 and 155.48 Bq/kg, and 7.29, 5.84, 8.2 and 136.98 Bq/Kg for Lake Burullus and Sea, respectively. It is obvious that radionuclides concentrations are more in the lake than those of the sea, due to the nature of geological and tectonic structures of the lake. The activity concentration of 226Ra didn’t exceed the world averages recorded by UNSCEAR but 40K value exceeded this limit twice. The higher levels of 226Ra were due to anthropogenic activities, Soil type and geological components which may influence the concentrations of the radionuclides. The multivariate analyses showed different trends to site 3 than other sites and different trend to 40K than other radionuclides. Partial least squares regression (PLS) analysis indicated decrease in the elements in the area of Lake Burullus and increase in the coastline of Mediterranean Sea. With the exception of 40k, all results indicated that radioactive pollution is safe and may not pose threat to human or the environment. Nevertheless, it is advised to apply cost–benefit analysis to maximize radiation protection.