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Environmental-Impact Assessment of Natural Radioactivity Around a Traditional Mining Area in Al-Ibedia, Sudan

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Abstract

Recently, in the Sudan, traditional gold mining has been growing rapidly and has become a very attractive and popular economic activity. Mining activity is recognized as one of the sources of radioactivity contamination. Hence, the radioactivity concentration and radiological hazard due to exposure of radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K were evaluated. The measurements were performed using gamma-ray spectrometry with an NaI (Tl) detector. The results show that 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K activity concentration ranged from 2.66 to 18.47, 9.20 to 51.87, and 0.17 to 419.77 Bq/kg with average values of 7.54 ± 4.91, 20.74 ± 11.29, and 111.87 ± 136.84 Bq/kg, respectively. In contrast, 222Rn in soil, 222Rn in air, and 226Ra in vegetables along with radiation dose were computed and compared with the international recommended levels. Potential radiological effects to miners and the public due to 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, and 222Rn are insignificant. 226Ra transferred to vegetables appears to be negligible compared with the allowable limit 1.0 mSv/year set by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The average value of the annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE) is lower than the global average of 300 µSv/year (UNSCEAR 2000). However, some locations exhibit values >300 µSv/year. To the best of our knowledge, so far there seems to be no data regarding radioactivity monitoring in traditional mining areas in the Sudan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Committee on Radiation and Environmental Pollution Protection, Physics Department, College of Science, Al Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, 11642, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Hajo Idriss & Abdulaziz S. Alaamer

  2. Sudan Atomic Energy Commission, Khartoum, Sudan

    Hajo Idriss & Isam Salih

  3. Department of Physics, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Isam Salih

  4. Sudan Academy of Sciences, Khartoum, Sudan

    Almuaiz Saleh

  5. Department of Mineral Wealth Faculty of Petroleum and Minerals, Al Neelain University, Khartoum, Sudan

    M. Y. Abdelgali

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  1. Hajo Idriss
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  2. Isam Salih
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  3. Abdulaziz S. Alaamer
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  4. Almuaiz Saleh
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  5. M. Y. Abdelgali
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Correspondence to Hajo Idriss.

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Idriss, H., Salih, I., Alaamer, A.S. et al. Environmental-Impact Assessment of Natural Radioactivity Around a Traditional Mining Area in Al-Ibedia, Sudan. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 70, 783–792 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-016-0271-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-016-0271-y

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