Abstract
Forest fires are annual problem during the dry season and become a biggest threat to forest resources in Indonesia. The forest fires release into the atmosphere large quantities of particulate matter and volatilized substances . The present study investigates effects of forest fire on air quality in the case of a radiological event of ashes from forest fires emissions in Riau province during an intense forest fire season that occurred in 2015. A tmospheric aerosol samples were collected from May to December , 201 5 using a large volume TSP (total suspended particles) sampler. Concentrations of radionuclides in airborne particulate matter were measured by using gamma spectrometry . It was shown that the activity concentrations of 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K ranged from 0.026 to 0.114 mBq/m 3 , 0.005 to 0.011 mBq/m 3 and 0.99 to 5.64 mBq/m 3 , respectively. The activity concentrations of 137 Cs in air was found lower than the minimum detectable activity of the gamma counting systems (<MDA), except for July and September 2015. The result showed that the smokefrom forest fires contain radioactive particulates , which may have a potential health risk of population, and need to be considered in forest fire disaster . Inhaled smoke particles from forest fires may contribute to enhanced radiation doses to the general public.
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