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Investigation of Radium Contents and Radon Exhalation Rates in Soil Samples in Menge District, Ethiopia

Received: 5 March 2020    Accepted: 20 March 2020    Published: 25 August 2020
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Abstract

Radon has been recognized as one of the major contributor to the natural radiation and health hazards in the human dwellings, working places and mining areas. Even lung cancer is expected if it is present in enhanced levels beyond maximum permissible limit. We have studied radium contents and radon exhalation (both mass and surface) rates in Menge mining and non-mining areas of the Benishangul Gumuz region in Western Ethiopia using the sealed Can technique and LR-115 type II plastic nuclear track detectors. Fifteen soil samples were collected over the study area according to the fraction of the populations and mining and non-mining areas. It is found that the values of radium contents vary from 1.20 to 3.94 Bq.kg-1 with an average value 2.44 Bq.kg-1. It is also found that gold mining areas have had relatively higher radium contents as compared to the other samples which are collected from non-mining areas. And radon exhalation study is important for understanding the relative contribution of the material to the total radon concentration found inside the study area. The radon mass and surface exhalation rates for the studied samples had the mean values of 2.16×10-6 Bq.kg-1.d-1 and 1.14×10-4 Bq.m-2.d-1 respectively.

Published in Nuclear Science (Volume 5, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ns.20200502.11
Page(s) 16-21
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Radium Contents, Radon Exhalation Rates, LR-115 Detector, Mining Areas, Menge District

References
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  • APA Style

    Tadesse Abate, Demewoz Amtatie. (2020). Investigation of Radium Contents and Radon Exhalation Rates in Soil Samples in Menge District, Ethiopia. Nuclear Science, 5(2), 16-21. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ns.20200502.11

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    ACS Style

    Tadesse Abate; Demewoz Amtatie. Investigation of Radium Contents and Radon Exhalation Rates in Soil Samples in Menge District, Ethiopia. Nucl. Sci. 2020, 5(2), 16-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ns.20200502.11

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    AMA Style

    Tadesse Abate, Demewoz Amtatie. Investigation of Radium Contents and Radon Exhalation Rates in Soil Samples in Menge District, Ethiopia. Nucl Sci. 2020;5(2):16-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ns.20200502.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ns.20200502.11,
      author = {Tadesse Abate and Demewoz Amtatie},
      title = {Investigation of Radium Contents and Radon Exhalation Rates in Soil Samples in Menge District, Ethiopia},
      journal = {Nuclear Science},
      volume = {5},
      number = {2},
      pages = {16-21},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ns.20200502.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ns.20200502.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ns.20200502.11},
      abstract = {Radon has been recognized as one of the major contributor to the natural radiation and health hazards in the human dwellings, working places and mining areas. Even lung cancer is expected if it is present in enhanced levels beyond maximum permissible limit. We have studied radium contents and radon exhalation (both mass and surface) rates in Menge mining and non-mining areas of the Benishangul Gumuz region in Western Ethiopia using the sealed Can technique and LR-115 type II plastic nuclear track detectors. Fifteen soil samples were collected over the study area according to the fraction of the populations and mining and non-mining areas. It is found that the values of radium contents vary from 1.20 to 3.94 Bq.kg-1 with an average value 2.44 Bq.kg-1. It is also found that gold mining areas have had relatively higher radium contents as compared to the other samples which are collected from non-mining areas. And radon exhalation study is important for understanding the relative contribution of the material to the total radon concentration found inside the study area. The radon mass and surface exhalation rates for the studied samples had the mean values of 2.16×10-6 Bq.kg-1.d-1 and 1.14×10-4 Bq.m-2.d-1 respectively.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Investigation of Radium Contents and Radon Exhalation Rates in Soil Samples in Menge District, Ethiopia
    AU  - Tadesse Abate
    AU  - Demewoz Amtatie
    Y1  - 2020/08/25
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ns.20200502.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ns.20200502.11
    T2  - Nuclear Science
    JF  - Nuclear Science
    JO  - Nuclear Science
    SP  - 16
    EP  - 21
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2640-4346
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ns.20200502.11
    AB  - Radon has been recognized as one of the major contributor to the natural radiation and health hazards in the human dwellings, working places and mining areas. Even lung cancer is expected if it is present in enhanced levels beyond maximum permissible limit. We have studied radium contents and radon exhalation (both mass and surface) rates in Menge mining and non-mining areas of the Benishangul Gumuz region in Western Ethiopia using the sealed Can technique and LR-115 type II plastic nuclear track detectors. Fifteen soil samples were collected over the study area according to the fraction of the populations and mining and non-mining areas. It is found that the values of radium contents vary from 1.20 to 3.94 Bq.kg-1 with an average value 2.44 Bq.kg-1. It is also found that gold mining areas have had relatively higher radium contents as compared to the other samples which are collected from non-mining areas. And radon exhalation study is important for understanding the relative contribution of the material to the total radon concentration found inside the study area. The radon mass and surface exhalation rates for the studied samples had the mean values of 2.16×10-6 Bq.kg-1.d-1 and 1.14×10-4 Bq.m-2.d-1 respectively.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Physics Department, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia

  • Physics Department, Debre Birhan University, Debre Birhan, Ethiopia

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