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Evaluation of Environmental Radioactivity and Estimation of Radiation Exposure in the Niankhene Agricultural Field in Senegal

Received: 22 February 2024    Accepted: 4 March 2024    Published: 19 March 2024
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Abstract

The presence of radioactivity, originating from both natural and human-induced sources, is widespread in varying degrees throughout the Earth's crust. Soil, as a fundamental component of the Earth's crust, serves as an ongoing source of exposure to humans. The level of radioactivity in soil is influenced by factors such as soil composition and land usage. It is expected that barren soil exhibits distinct radioactivity levels compared to cultivated soil. To investigate the radioactivity levels within barren soil, a study was conducted on approximately 11 hectares of soil samples located in Niankhene. Utilizing gamma ray spectrometry methodology with a high purity germanium gamma-ray detector, activity concentration levels of radionuclides including 40K, 137Cs, 226Ra, and 232Th were evaluated. A total of 16 soil samples were collected at depths ranging from 0 to 40 cm with 20 cm intervals. The activity concentrations of the radionuclides were observed as follows: 40K ranged from below the limit of detection to 34.7 Bq.kg-1; 137Cs varied from 0.06 to 0.80 Bq.kg-1; 226Ra measured was between 7.49 and 101.56 kg-1; and 232Th ranged 0.33 and 12.68 Bq.kg-1. The total dose radiation exposure were 27 nGy/h in this study. Before conducting radiometric measurements, chemical analyses were performed to determine the concentrations of Na, Ca, and Mg, along with measurements of electrical conductivity and pH levels of the soil samples.

Published in Nuclear Science (Volume 9, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ns.20240901.11
Page(s) 1-7
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

Soil, Gamma Spectrometry, Environmental Radioactivity, 40K, 226Ra, 232Th, 137Cs

References
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    Dione, D., Faye, P. M., Sy, M. H., Ndiaye, O., Ndiaye, N., et al. (2024). Evaluation of Environmental Radioactivity and Estimation of Radiation Exposure in the Niankhene Agricultural Field in Senegal. Nuclear Science, 9(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ns.20240901.11

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    ACS Style

    Dione, D.; Faye, P. M.; Sy, M. H.; Ndiaye, O.; Ndiaye, N., et al. Evaluation of Environmental Radioactivity and Estimation of Radiation Exposure in the Niankhene Agricultural Field in Senegal. Nucl. Sci. 2024, 9(1), 1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ns.20240901.11

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    AMA Style

    Dione D, Faye PM, Sy MH, Ndiaye O, Ndiaye N, et al. Evaluation of Environmental Radioactivity and Estimation of Radiation Exposure in the Niankhene Agricultural Field in Senegal. Nucl Sci. 2024;9(1):1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ns.20240901.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ns.20240901.11,
      author = {Djicknack Dione and Papa Macoumba Faye and Moussa Hamady Sy and Oumar Ndiaye and Nogaye Ndiaye and Alassane Traoré and Ababacar Sadikhe Ndao},
      title = {Evaluation of Environmental Radioactivity and Estimation of Radiation Exposure in the Niankhene Agricultural Field in Senegal},
      journal = {Nuclear Science},
      volume = {9},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-7},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ns.20240901.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ns.20240901.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ns.20240901.11},
      abstract = {The presence of radioactivity, originating from both natural and human-induced sources, is widespread in varying degrees throughout the Earth's crust. Soil, as a fundamental component of the Earth's crust, serves as an ongoing source of exposure to humans. The level of radioactivity in soil is influenced by factors such as soil composition and land usage. It is expected that barren soil exhibits distinct radioactivity levels compared to cultivated soil. To investigate the radioactivity levels within barren soil, a study was conducted on approximately 11 hectares of soil samples located in Niankhene. Utilizing gamma ray spectrometry methodology with a high purity germanium gamma-ray detector, activity concentration levels of radionuclides including 40K, 137Cs, 226Ra, and 232Th were evaluated. A total of 16 soil samples were collected at depths ranging from 0 to 40 cm with 20 cm intervals. The activity concentrations of the radionuclides were observed as follows: 40K ranged from below the limit of detection to 34.7 Bq.kg-1; 137Cs varied from 0.06 to 0.80 Bq.kg-1; 226Ra measured was between 7.49 and 101.56 kg-1; and 232Th ranged 0.33 and 12.68 Bq.kg-1. The total dose radiation exposure were 27 nGy/h in this study. Before conducting radiometric measurements, chemical analyses were performed to determine the concentrations of Na, Ca, and Mg, along with measurements of electrical conductivity and pH levels of the soil samples.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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    T1  - Evaluation of Environmental Radioactivity and Estimation of Radiation Exposure in the Niankhene Agricultural Field in Senegal
    AU  - Djicknack Dione
    AU  - Papa Macoumba Faye
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    AU  - Nogaye Ndiaye
    AU  - Alassane Traoré
    AU  - Ababacar Sadikhe Ndao
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ns.20240901.11
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    T2  - Nuclear Science
    JF  - Nuclear Science
    JO  - Nuclear Science
    SP  - 1
    EP  - 7
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2640-4346
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ns.20240901.11
    AB  - The presence of radioactivity, originating from both natural and human-induced sources, is widespread in varying degrees throughout the Earth's crust. Soil, as a fundamental component of the Earth's crust, serves as an ongoing source of exposure to humans. The level of radioactivity in soil is influenced by factors such as soil composition and land usage. It is expected that barren soil exhibits distinct radioactivity levels compared to cultivated soil. To investigate the radioactivity levels within barren soil, a study was conducted on approximately 11 hectares of soil samples located in Niankhene. Utilizing gamma ray spectrometry methodology with a high purity germanium gamma-ray detector, activity concentration levels of radionuclides including 40K, 137Cs, 226Ra, and 232Th were evaluated. A total of 16 soil samples were collected at depths ranging from 0 to 40 cm with 20 cm intervals. The activity concentrations of the radionuclides were observed as follows: 40K ranged from below the limit of detection to 34.7 Bq.kg-1; 137Cs varied from 0.06 to 0.80 Bq.kg-1; 226Ra measured was between 7.49 and 101.56 kg-1; and 232Th ranged 0.33 and 12.68 Bq.kg-1. The total dose radiation exposure were 27 nGy/h in this study. Before conducting radiometric measurements, chemical analyses were performed to determine the concentrations of Na, Ca, and Mg, along with measurements of electrical conductivity and pH levels of the soil samples.
    
    VL  - 9
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Author Information
  • Institute Technologies of Nuclear Applied, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal; Department of physics, Faculty of Sciences and Technologies, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal

  • Institute Technologies of Nuclear Applied, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal; Department of physics, Faculty of Sciences and Technologies, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal

  • Institute Technologies of Nuclear Applied, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal; Department of physics, Faculty of Sciences and Technologies, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal

  • Institute Technologies of Nuclear Applied, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal; Department of physics, Faculty of Sciences and Technologies, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal

  • Institute Technologies of Nuclear Applied, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal; Department of physics, Faculty of Sciences and Technologies, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal

  • Institute Technologies of Nuclear Applied, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal; Department of physics, Faculty of Sciences and Technologies, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal

  • Institute Technologies of Nuclear Applied, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal; Department of physics, Faculty of Sciences and Technologies, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal

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