Natural radioactivity mapping of Greek surface soils

Anagnostakis, MJ; Hinis, EP; Simopoulos, SE; Angelopoulos, MG

dc.contributor.author	Anagnostakis, MJ	en
dc.contributor.author	Hinis, EP	en
dc.contributor.author	Simopoulos, SE	en
dc.contributor.author	Angelopoulos, MG	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-01T02:48:33Z
dc.date.available	2014-03-01T02:48:33Z
dc.date.issued	1997	en
dc.identifier.issn	01604120	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://dspace.lib.ntua.gr/xmlui/handle/123456789/33895
dc.subject.other	Germanium gamma ray detectors	en
dc.subject.other	Natural radioactivity mapping	en
dc.subject.other	Data reduction	en
dc.subject.other	Database systems	en
dc.subject.other	Dosimetry	en
dc.subject.other	Gamma rays	en
dc.subject.other	Geographic information systems	en
dc.subject.other	Mapping	en
dc.subject.other	Radiation detectors	en
dc.subject.other	Radioisotopes	en
dc.subject.other	Radon	en
dc.subject.other	Soils	en
dc.subject.other	Statistical methods	en
dc.subject.other	Thorium	en
dc.subject.other	Radioactivity measurement	en
dc.subject.other	potassium 40	en
dc.subject.other	radium 226	en
dc.subject.other	thorium 232	en
dc.subject.other	conference paper	en
dc.subject.other	gamma radiation	en
dc.subject.other	gamma spectrometry	en
dc.subject.other	geography	en
dc.subject.other	greece	en
dc.subject.other	natural radioactivity	en
dc.subject.other	priority journal	en
dc.subject.other	reproducibility	en
dc.subject.other	sampling	en
dc.subject.other	soil pollution	en
dc.subject.other	statistical analysis	en
dc.title	Natural radioactivity mapping of Greek surface soils	en
heal.type	conferenceItem	en
heal.identifier.primary	10.1016/S0160-4120(96)00085-2	en
heal.identifier.secondary	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0160-4120(96)00085-2	en
heal.publicationDate	1997	en
heal.abstract	A total of 1440 samples of soil, collected across Greece from the 1 cm surface layer, were analysed for natural radioactivity (226Ra, 232Th, and 40K). The samples were air-dried and then hermetically sealed in 0.282 L plastic boxes covered with a film of epoxy resin to ensure that no gases escaped from them. Secular equilibrium of 226Ra and 232Th with their decay products was obtained before the samples were analysed using high resolution Ge gamma-ray detectors. A Unix-based in-house built complex Data Base/Geographical Information System (DBGIS) was used to analyze the data and present them in map form. The analysis of a second 1 cm thick sample, collected at several sites at a depth of 10 cm, led to the statistically justified conclusion that the natural radioactivity content of the surface and of 10 cm deep soil layers do not significantly differ. According to these results, the natural radioactivity content of Greek surface soils is rather low and is for 226Ra; 25 ± 19 Bqkg-1, for 228Ra; 21 ± 16 Bqkg-1, and for 40K; 355 ± 220 Bqkg-1. They entail a gamma-ray dose rate outdoors of 40 nGyh-1. A statistical analysis showed that only 90 samples, collected at 67 locations, have 226Ra content exceeding their mean value by more than 1.65σ. The 226Ra/232Th and 226Ra/40K concentration ratios were 1.10 ± 0.48 and 0.06 ± 0.03, respectively.	en
heal.journalName	Environment International	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1016/S0160-4120(96)00085-2	en
dc.identifier.volume	22	en
dc.identifier.issue	SUPPL. 1	en
dc.identifier.spage	S3	en
dc.identifier.epage	S8	en