Natural radioactivity level and evaluation of radiological hazard in the soil around a gold mining area in the North Region of Burkina Faso
by Karim Kabore; Luc Telado Bambara; Inoussa Zongo; Ousmane Cisse; François Zougmore; Emmanuel Ofori Darko
International Journal of Global Environmental Issues (IJGENVI), Vol. 21, No. 2/3/4, 2022

Abstract: The activity concentrations of natural radionuclides ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in soil samples from the North Region of Burkina Faso around the mining site of Kalsaka were measured by gamma spectrometry using high purity germanium detector. Radiological hazard assessment due to such natural radioactivity was also investigated. The average activity concentration of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were found to be 26.06 ± 1.50 Bq.kg^-1, 33.27 ± 1.97 Bq.kg^-1 and 133.11 ± 13.69 Bq.kg^-1 respectively. The average absorbed dose was 0.038 µGy/h whereas the annual committed effective dose was 0.050 ± 0.003 mSv.y^-1. The average radium equivalent activity concentration was 83.89 Bq.kg^-1. The external and internal hazard indices were 0.23 and 0.30 respectively which are three times less than one. The activity utilisation index was 0.6 Bq.kg^-1 with maximum of 0.79 Bq.kg^-1. The mean effective dose rate of 0.05 ± 0.003 mSv.y^-1 and the mean values of Ra_eq and H_ex and H_in for the studied area are below their respective permissible limits, thus indicating that radiation hazard is not significant in this area.

Online publication date: Fri, 14-Oct-2022

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Global Environmental Issues (IJGENVI):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com