Natural radioactivity measurements and evaluation of radiological hazards in the soil of an iron beneficiation plant in China

Abstract

The specific activities of natural radionuclides, ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra, and ⁴⁰K, in a Chinese iron beneficiation plant and surrounding soil were analyzed with the high purity germanium gamma (HPGe) spectrometer in this study. Average specific activities of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra and ⁴⁰K lower than the Chinese averages. To assess radiation impact, various indicators, radium equivalent index (Ra_eq), absorbed dose rate (D_R), annual effective dose (AED), excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR), external hazard index (H_ex), internal hazard index (H_in) and activity utilization index (AUI), were calculated. Mean values were below international limits, indicating no significant health hazards for the local population. Statistical analyses, including skewness and kurtosis calculations, along with techniques like frequency distribution, Pearson's correlation analysis, box plots and cluster analysis, were applied to comprehensively assess distribution patterns and interrelationships among radiological parameters. In summary, there are no potential health hazards associated with the soil in the study region for people.

KEYWORDS:

• Iron ore
• waste residue
• radioactivity
• soil
• radiation hazard indicators

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Scientific Research Business Fee Project of Heilongjiang Provincial Scientific Research Institutes (CZKYF2021-2-B003), Ecological Environment Protection Scientific Research Project in Heilongjiang Province (HST2022H001), Youth Innovation Fund Project of Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences (CXMS2023YZNY01 and CXMS2023YZNY02).