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Radiation Protection Dosimetry Advance Access originally published online on August 12, 2008
Radiation Protection Dosimetry 2008 131(4):449-454; doi:10.1093/rpd/ncn214
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Investigations on the activity concentrations of 238U, 226RA, 228RA, 210PB and 40K in Jordan phosphogypsum and fertilizers

J. Al-Jundi1,*, N. Al-Ahmad1, H. Shehadeh2, F. Afaneh1, M. Maghrabi1, U. Gerstmann3, V. Höllriegl3 and U. Oeh3

1 Department of Physics, Hashemite University, PO Box 150459, Zarqa, Jordan
2 Faculty of Science, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
3 Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany

* Corresponding author: jaj{at}hu.edu.jo

Received April 14, 2008, amended July 8, 2008, accepted July 23, 2008

The activity concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides (238U, 226Ra, 228Ra, 210Pb and 40K) in Jordanian phosphate ore, fertilizer material and phosphogypsum piles were investigated. The results show the partitioning of radionuclides in fertilizer products and phosphogypsum piles. The outcome of this study will enrich the Jordanian radiological map database, and will be useful for an estimation of the radiological impact of this industrial complex on the immediate environment. The activity concentration of 210Pb was found to vary from 95 ± 8 to 129 ± 8 Bq kg–1 with a mean value of 111 ± 14 Bq kg–1 in fertilizer samples, and from 364 ± 8 to 428 ± 10 Bq kg–1 with a mean value of 391 ± 30 Bq kg–1 in phosphogypsum samples; while in phosphate wet rock samples, it was found to vary between 621 ± 9 and 637 ± 10 Bq kg–1, with a mean value of 628 ± 7 Bq kg–1. The activity concentration of 226Ra in fertilizer samples (between 31 ± 4 and 42 ± 5 Bq kg–1 with a mean value of 37 ± 6 Bq kg–1) was found to be much smaller than the activity concentration of 226Ra in phosphogypsum samples (between 302 ± 8 and 442 ± 8 Bq kg–1 with a mean value of 376 ± 62 Bq kg–1). In contrast, the activity concentration of 238U in fertilizer samples (between 1011 ± 13 and 1061 ± 14 Bq kg–1 with a mean value of 1033 ± 22 Bq kg–1) was found to be much higher than the activity concentration of 238U in phosphogypsum samples (between 14 ± 5 and 37 ± 7 Bq kg–1 with a mean value of 22 ± 11 Bq kg–1). This indicates that 210Pb and 226Ra show similar behaviour, and are concentrated in phosphogypsum piles. In addition, both isotopes enhanced the activity concentration in phosphogypsum piles, while 238U enhanced the activity concentration in the fertilizer. Due to the radioactivity released from the phosphate rock processing plants into the environment, the highest collective dose commitment for the lungs was found to be 1.02 person nGy t–1. Lung tissue also shows the highest effect due the presence of 226Ra in the radioactive cloud (0.087 person nGy t–1).


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Home page
 Radiat Prot DosimetryHome page
S. N. A. Tahir, A. S. Alaamer, and R. M. Omer
STUDY OF CONTENTS OF 226Ra, 232Th AND 40K IN FERTILISERS
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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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