Abstract
The activity concentration of natural radionuclides in soils and sediments is dependent on many factors, such as the rock parental material, pedogenic and weathering processes, physical and chemical properties of the environment, anthropogenic sources, among other aspects. There are few studies about the levels of natural radionuclides in reservoirs in both, international and national, literature. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the activity concentrations of 238U and 232Th by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis and 226Ra, 210Pb, 228Ra, 228Th and 40K by gamma spectrometry in two soil profiles and three sediment cores collected in the catchment area of Jundiai reservoir, located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Principal component analysis was applied to verify the correlation of the activity concentrations of the natural radionuclides with physical and chemical properties of soil and sediment samples. The mean activity concentrations of the radionuclides in the soil profiles 1 and 2 were, respectively: 238U – 37(1) and 32(1) Bq.kg-1; 232Th – 91(1) and 60(1) Bq.kg-1; 226Ra – 66(1) and 51(1) Bq.kg-1; 210Pb – 35(1) and 37(1) Bq.kg-1; 228Ra – 34(1) and 27(1) Bq.kg-1; 228Th – 78(1) and 58(1) Bq.kg-1; 40K – 96(2) and 171(7) Bq.kg-1. For the three sediment cores analyzed, the average activities concentrations of the radionuclides were, respectively: 238U – 64(0.5), 47(0.1) and 44(0.2) Bq.kg-1; 232Th – 122(2), 100(1) and 64(1) Bq.kg-1; 226Ra – 74(2), 71(1) and 45(1) Bq.kg-1; 210Pb – 70(3), 56(2) and 55(2) Bq.kg-1; 228Ra – 53(1), 41(1) and 33(1) Bq.kg-1; 228Th – 100(2), 92(1) and 63(2); 40K – 316(5), 237(1) and 136(2) Bq.kg-1.
Highlights
Ionizing radiation is characterized by electromagnetic waves and electrically charged particles which ionize other atoms
The objective of this paper was to evaluate the activity concentrations of 238U and 232Th by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis and 226Ra, 210Pb, 228Ra, 228Th and 40K by gamma spectrometry in two soil profiles and three sediment cores collected in the catchment area of Jundiai reservoir, located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil
The present work evaluated the activity concentrations of the natural radionuclides from 238U and 232Th series and 40K in soil profiles and sediment cores collected in the Jundiaí reservoir
Summary
Ionizing radiation is characterized by electromagnetic waves and electrically charged particles which ionize other atoms. Human and environmental exposure to natural radiation is an important subject for public health prevention, geologic characterization, and radioecology studies [2]. The naturally occurring radiation materials are part of the Earth’s rocks composition. These rocks undergo weathering and erosion processes and carried out radionuclides and other trace elements for soil composition. These elements can be transported, by water or wind, to a sedimentation watershed, where occurs the deposition in the bottom of a lake, ocean, rivers, or reservoirs [3] and absorbed by biota, causing concern about the possible negative biological effects that the radiation can trigger in animals, plants or humans [4]
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