Evaluation of dose parameters and radiological hazards in gravel samples of Konyaaltı Beach, Antalya

Abstract

It is important to know the distribution and transfer of radionuclides such as uranium, thorium, and potassium, which exist naturally in the environment we live in. For this reason, measurements of these natural radionuclides have been carried out for 15 gravel samples collected from Konyaalti Beach, Antalya. In order to measure the natural activity concentrations of potassium-40, uranium-238, and thorium-232 radionuclides, we performed the measurements by applying a gamma spectrometry method with a “3 × 3” NaI(Tl) detector, which is a multichannel analytical detector in the Suleyman Demirel University gamma spectrometry laboratory. The minimum, maximum, and mean values for the 226Ra activity concentration were measured as 19.74 Bq/kg, 37.03 Bq/kg, and 31.64 Bq/kg, respectively. The minimum, maximum, and mean values for the 232Th activity concentration were measured as 12.76 Bq/kg, 34.32 Bq/kg, and 26.67 Bq/kg, respectively. The minimum, maximum, and mean values for the 40K activity concentration were measured as 196.37 Bq/kg, 421.13 Bq/kg, and 350.42 Bq/kg, respectively. Dose parameters and radiation damage indices were calculated using experimentally measured activity results and the resulting dose and hazard index values were compared with the determined limit values. It can be concluded that no risk may threat in terms of the hazard index values. In addition, all results obtained in terms of calculated dose values except for annual gonadal dose are below the recommended limit values.