Sains Malaysiana 45(5)(2016): 699–707

Determination of Alpha Particles Concentration in Some Soil Samples and the Extent of Their Impact on Health

(Penentuan Kepekatan Partikel Alfa dalam Beberapa Sampel Tanah dan Kesannya Terhadap Kesihatan)

KHALIL M. THABAYNEH*

Faculty of Science and Technology, Hebron University, Po. Box 40, Hebron- Palestine

Diserahkan: 23 Oktober 2014/Diterima: 1 Disember 2015

ABSTRACT

The radon concentration, the exhalation rates and the radiation exposure from samples of soil collected from different sites at Hebron province in Palestine were measured using the sealed-can technique based on the CR-39 detectors. The total average values of radon concentrations for 0, 20, 40 and 60 cm depths were 294, 357, 433 and 512 Bqm−3, respectively. As expected, our data showed an increase of radon concentration levels with depth. The average values of surface exhalation rates, the effective dose equivalent (Ep), the annual effective dose (HE), the dissolved in soft tissues (Dsoft, tissue) and the dose rate due to alpha-radiation in lung (Dlung) were calculated. The values were found to be within the safe limits as recommended by ICRP and WHO. The results showed that these areas are safe from the health hazard site of view as far as the radon is concerned.

Keywords: Alpha particles; exhalation rates; Palestine; radon

ABSTRAK

Kepekatan radon, kadar penghembusan dan pendedahan radiasi daripada sampel tanah yang diambil dari tapak yang berbeza di wilayah Hebron di Palestin telah diukur menggunakan teknik takungan adang dengan pengesan CR-39. Jumlah nilai purata kepekatan radon bagi kedalaman 0, 20, 40 dan 60 cm masing-masing adalah 294, 357, 433 dan 512 Bqm−3. Seperti yang dijangka, data kami menunjukkan tahap kepekatan radon meningkat mengikut kedalaman. Nilai purata kadar hembusan nafas permukaan, dos efektif setara (Ep), dos efektif tahunan (HE), pelarutan dalam tisu lembut (Dlembut, tisu) dan kadar dos yang disebabkan oleh radiasi-alfa dalam paru-paru (Dparu-paru) telah dikira. Nilai didapati dalam had selamat seperti yang disyorkan oleh ICRP dan WHO. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa kawasan ini selamat daripada bahaya kesihatan oleh radiasi radon.

Kata kunci: Kadar penghembusan; Palestin; radon; zarah alfa

RUJUKAN

Alharbi, W.R. & Abbady, A.G. 2013. Measurement of radon concentrations in soil and the extent of their impact on the environment from Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia. Natural Science 5(1): 93-98.

Almayahi, B.A., Hussein, R.O., Hussain, H.H., Alsaedi, A.K., Alasadi, A.H. & Ali, A.S. 2014. Bricks Rn-222 exhalation rates in some samples from different countries. International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology 7(3): 102- 104.

Alsaedi, A.K. 2014. Powder milk 222Rn exhalation rate measurements in different kinds. International J. of Engineering Trends and Technology 8(4): 204- 206.

Amalds, O., Custball, N.H. & Nielsen, G.A. 1989. 137Cs in Montarq soils. Health Physics 57(6): 955-958.

Anil, P., Rajinder, S. & Sunil, K. 2014. Measurement of radon concentration and exhalation rates in soil samples of some districts of Haryana and Himachal in India. Researcher 6(6): 71-76.

Douglas, G.B. 1990. The Indoor Radon Problem. New York: Columbia University Press.

Durrani, S.A. & Bull, R.K. 1987. Solid State Nuclear Track Detection: Principles, Methods and Applications. London: Pergammon Press.

Garg, A.K., Kumar, S. & Chauhan, R.P. 2014. Estimation of alpha radioactivity in some soil samples collected from eastern Haryana. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Computational and Applied Sciences 8(2): 193-195.

International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). 1993. Protection Against Radon-222 at Homes and at Work. ICRP Publication 65. Annals of ICRP 23(2).

International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). 1987. (New York: Pub. No. 50, 17).

International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). 1981. Limits for Inhalation of Radon Daughters by Workers. Ottawa.

Mahur, A.K., Kumar, R., Sengupta, D. & Prasad, R. 2009. Radon exhalation rate in Chhatrapur beach sand samples of high background radiation area and estimation of its radiological implications. Indian J. Phys. 83(7): 1011-1018.

Najam, L.A., Tawfiq, N.F. & Mahmood, R.H. 2013. Radon concentration in some building materials in Iraq using CR-39 track detector. International Journal of Physics 1(3): 73-76.

Nisar, A., Mohamad, S.J., Sohail, A.K., Tabassum, N., Sajjad, A. & Muhammad, R. 2014. Measurement of radon exhalation rate, radium activity and annual effective dose from bricks and cement samples collected from Dera Ismail Khan. American Journal of Applied Sciences 11(2): 240-247.

Ridha, A.A., Karim, M.S. & Kadhim, N.F. 2014. Measurement of radon gas concentration in soil and water samples in Salahaddin Governorate-Iraq using nuclear track detector (CR-39). Civil and Environmental Research 6(1): 24-30.

Sonkawade, R.G., Kant, K., Muralithar, S., Kumar, R. & Ramola, R.C. 2008. Natural radioactivity in common building construction and radiation shielding materials. Atmospheric Environment 42: 2254-2259.

United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). 2002. Effects and Risk of Ionizing Radiation. New York: United Nations.

United Nations Scientific Committee on the effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). 2000. Report of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation to the General Assembly. ANNEX B, Exposures from natural radiation sources.

United Nations Scientific Committee on the effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). 1988. New York: United Nations.

Vikas Duggal, Asha Rani & Rohit Mehra. 2014. Measurement of soil-gas radon in some areas of northern Rajasthan, India. J. Earth Syst. Sci. 123(6): 1241-1247.

Vimal Mehta, Chauhan, R.P. & Mudahar, G.S. 2014. Radon exhalation rates from some soil samples of Nangal, Punjab. IJITKM Special Issue (ICFTEM-2014) 225: 225-227.

World Health Organization (WHO). 2014. Radon and health, Fact sheet No 291 Updated October 2014.

World Health Organization (WHO). 2009. Public health, environmental and social determinants of health (PHE).

Zubair, M., Shakir Khan, M. & Verma, D. 2012. Measurement of radium concentration and radon exhalation rates of soil samples collected from some areas of Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh, India using plastic track detectors. Iran. J. Radiat. Res. 10(2): 83-87.

*Pengarang untuk surat-menyurat; email: khalilt@hebron.edu