To assess the exposure of welders to thorium-232 (232Th) during tungsten inert gas arc (TIG) welding, airborne concentrations of 232Th in the breathing zone of the welder and background levels were measured. The radioactive concentrations were 1.11 x 10(-2) Bq/m3 during TIG welding of aluminum (TIG/Al), 1.78 x 10(-4) Bq/m3 during TIG welding of stainless steel (TIG/SS), and 1.93 x 10(-1) Bq/m3 ...

Exposure to radionuclide thorium (Th) has generated widespread public concerns, mainly because of its radiological effects on human health. Activity levels of airborne 232Th in total suspended particulate (TSP) were measured in the vicinity of the largest rare earth mine in China in August 2012 and March 2013. The mean activity concentrations of 232Th in TSP ranged from 820μBqm-3 in a mining ar...

Spatial radionuclides distribution was studied in recent estuarine sediments in the Krka River Estuary. Sediment samples were analyzed for 40K and 232Th by gamma-spectrometry. Activities of 40K were found in the range of 18–457 Bq kg–1 and activities of 232Th in range of 1.9–29.4 Bq kg–1. Distribution of 232Th activities follows that of 40K, with correlation coefficients higher than 0.97 in all...

Pre-operational survey at Kalpakkam coast, indicated elevated gamma background radiation levels in the range of 100-4000 nGy h(-1) over the large tracts of the coastal sands due to the presence of pockets of monazite mineral in beach sands. In view of the prevalence of monazite, a systematic gamma spectrometric study of distribution of natural radionuclides in soil and beach sand samples collec...

BACKGROUND The distribution of radionuclides occurring naturally in the earth depends on bedrock characteristics. Therefore, the spatial distribution of radionuclides is not uniform. Consequently, radionuclide information is vitally important in determining and monitoring the spatial variation of the radionuclide concentrations that are over the limits for the sustainable environment and human ...

Determining radioactivity levels in foodstuffs is of great importance for the protection of human health. In addition, the literature includes few studies related to this subject in Turkey. In this study, gamma spectroscopic system was used in order to measure 226Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs activity concentrations in vegetables and fruits produced in Elazığ Region. The average activity concentrati...

The activity concentrations of 40K, 232Th, and 238U in the characteristic rocks of the Modane-Aussois region (Western Alps, France) were determined using an HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry system. The activity concentrations of 40K varied from 18 Bqkg-1 (limestone dolomite) to 392 Bqkg-1 (calcschist), while those of 232Th varied from 0.7 Bqkg-1 (limestone dolomite) to 18 Bqkg-1 (calcschist). The ac...

The two counting modes: a normal with a single HPGE detector and second with the additional anti-Compton shield of the annular NaI(Tl) detector have been compared for fast determination of the activity concentration of thorium 232Th in the building materials. The 232Th activity concentration was calculated by measurement of its decay products: 212Pb, 212Bi and 208Tl as well 228Ac content. Altho...

The radionuclide activities of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K and radiological parameters (radium equivalent activity, gamma and alpha indices, the absorbed gamma dose rate and external and internal hazard indices) of cements and cement composites commonly used in the Slovak Republic have been studied in this paper. The cement samples of 8 types of cements from Slovak cement plants and five types of comp...

Large amounts of uranium waste rocks and tailings resulting from the exploitation and treatment of uranium ore at the Northern Guangdong mine (South China) have been accumulated in dams (tailing ponds). To reduce the dispersion of natural radionuclides into the environment, some dams were revegetated with arbor, bush and sward. Besides these plants, Miscanthus floridulu is the dominant plant gr...