Abstract
Specific radioactivity of U-238, Ra-226, Th-232, and K-40 was measured for selected samples of Iraqi ore phosphate rocks, fertilizers, and phosphogypsum. Gamma spectroscopy system based on HPGe detector with efficiency of 30 % used for the analysis. The activity (in Bq/kg) of U-238 ranges between 53.1 and 682.7; Ra-226, between 15.1 and 409.7; and Th-232, between below detection level and 2.3 while K-40 activity was below detection level in all the samples. The result shows that about 13 % of initial U-238 transferred to the phosphogypsum while its activity in triple superphosphate samples increased to be about 166 % of initial U-238 in the ore phosphate rock while about 75 % of radium-226 in phosphate rock migrates to the phosphogypsum. The radiological hazards for workers and the public due to the using and manufacturing processes of the phosphate fertilizers were estimated. The radiation doses due to exposure to the direct gamma rays emitted from a stock of ore phosphate are found to be 0.16 μSv/h while doses caused by using three types of fertilizers are in the range of 0.03 to 2.2 mSv per fertilizer application. The use of monoammonium phosphate fertilizer causes a less effective dose because it contains low concentration of radium. The resulting radiation dose by using phosphogypsum as plaster material is 0.27 μSv per year, which could be considered negligible.
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Ali, K.K., Awad, Y.D. Radiological assessment of Iraqi phosphate rock and phosphate fertilizers. Arab J Geosci 8, 9481–9488 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-1898-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-1898-0