Abstract
Gold mining is one of the primary industry in Fiji, and it could expose the naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs) that may produce health risk to the people working in mining. The present study focuses on the assessment of soil samples in the vicinity of gold mining to assess the concentration of these nuclides. The average activity concentrations of Uranium (238U), Thorium (232Th) and Potassium (40K) in the soil samples from the gold mining area in Vatukoula, Fiji were computed using NaI(Tl) detector. The activity concentrations varied from 30.7 Bq kg−1 and 175.73 Bq kg−1 for 238U and 40K with the absence of 232Th in the decommissioned site. 19.49 Bq kg−1, 123.06 Bq kg−1 and 86.86 Bq kg−1 was determined for 238U, 232Th and 40K of the commissioned sites respectively which is less than the world averages according to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation report [1], except for 232Th which is expected to be higher due to the mineral composition of monazite derivatives. Our preliminary results on the activity of these radioactive nuclides demonstrate that the mining activities at Vatukoula poses no significant radionuclide hazard to the miners and the general public.
Highlights
Occurring radioactive materials (NORMs) is an integral component of our environment since the formation of our planet, Earth
The background counts were subtracted from the total gammaray spectra of elemental composition in soil samples to get the net counts
This study revealed that the total concentrations of 238U, 232Th and 40K collected for the soil mine tailings from Vatukoula were lower than that of the world average values quoted in [1] report
Summary
Occurring radioactive materials (NORMs) is an integral component of our environment since the formation of our planet, Earth The source of these could be of cosmic, terrestrial, or internal. The concentration of these materials in the environment at amounts that are not potentially risky to human health. [2] stated that NORMs account for up to 85% of the annual dose exposure received by the world population. These researchers reported that in certain cases, anthropogenic activities, such as mining, have produced wastes that contain radiation above background levels in the environment, a situation that has been a major concern for radiation protection. It has been noted that the contamination of soil due to mining could affect humans in two ways: external or internal ingestion and inhalation [1,4]
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