Abstract
The surficial quaternary deposits of Wadi Arar were radioactively evaluated for construction purposes. The concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K were used to evaluate the radioactive suitability of Wadi Arar. Gamma-spectrometry technique with an HPGe detector was used to measure the concentrations of Ra, Th, and K. The average specific activities of Ra, Th, and K were 22.92, 16.99, and 223.66Bq/kg respectively. The average value of the air absorbed dose rate (D) was 30.47nGy/h. The average values of the indoor and outdoor annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE) were 149.46 and 37.36μSv/y respectively. The average value of the radium equivalent activity index (Raeq) was 64.44Bq/kg. The maximum values of the external and internal hazard index (H) were 0.20 and 0.27 respectively. Radioactivity concentration and hazard index values are within the acceptable global values and do not pose any significant radiological threat to the population. These results reflect the safety of Wadi Arar as a site for construction and the potential to use depositional sediments at the site as construction materials.
Highlights
Wadis, coasts, and deserts are possible construction sites and sources for construction materials
Hex and Hin values were lower than unity, so the soil samples at Wadi Arar are considered safe and can be used as construction materials without posing any significant radiological threat to the population, according to [26]
Based on the fluctuations in radioactivity, Wadi Arar deposits can be divided into two radiological zones: from locations A to D and from D to G with maximum concentrations of 365 and 265Bq/Kg, respectively
Summary
Coasts, and deserts are possible construction sites and sources for construction materials. The specific natural radionuclide activities in sediment samples collected from Beni Haroun Dam, Algeria had no hazardous indices compared with analog measurements from other locations [12]. In Saudi Arabia, the strategic road that connects Arar and Aljouf is crossing Wadi Arar while the urban expansion of Arar extends in the southeastern direction towards Wadi Arar (Figure 1) Radon concentrations in this Wadi, reflect a significant correlation between the RAD7 and Cr-39 techniques that were used to detect it [14], while it has a significant correlation with coarse and fine sand grain size [15]. The assessment of radiation concentrations and hazard indices at this Wadi will allow us to i) evaluate the site validity for future urbanization and the potential use of sediment deposits as construction materials, ii) support interpretations of subsurface structural geology, and iii) perform comparisons and Corresponding author: Mohammed A. Interpretations of radiation hazards in Wadi environments with the global environment
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