Quantifying of Radioactive Elements in Soil, Water and Plant Samples using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) Technique

Abstract

In this study, the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique was applied to detect radioactive elements on surface soil, plant leaves (Tamarindus indica), and flow water collected from Bala, Mayo-Kebbi Quest, Chad. The survey process indicates that the samples contain radioactive elements U, Fr, Ce, Ac, Cm, Tb, and Pm. The concentrations of the detected elements in samples were determined using the calibration curve method, while the plasma temperatures (Texc) and electron density (Ne) of the detected radioactive elements were calculated from Boltzmann linear plots. Except for uranium, all elements in the soil sample had amounts below the acceptable limit. The concentration of uranium in soil samples ranges from 0.024236 to 0.23439 ppm, with a safety limit of 0.03 ppm. The average plasma temperature Texc for uranium (U) is 700, while the electron density Ne is 500 cm-3 .