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Distribution of gamma-ray emitting radionuclides in the marine environment of the Burullus Lake: II. Bottom sediments

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Abstract

The sediment compartment has the ability to trap large amounts of radionuclides and to indicate the radiological impact of pollution. The present work shows the results obtained related to the concentrations of 137Cs and natural radionuclides in sediment in the Burullus Lake, Egypt. The average values of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in the bottom sediments collected from the east of the Burullus Lake ranged from 10.3 to 21.8 Bq/kg, from 11.9 to 34.4 Bq/kg, and from 268 to 401 Bq/kg, respectively. The study has shown that 40K concentration is nearly uniform throughout the studied area while 226Ra and 232Th are more concentrated in the northeastern shore. Lake sediments showed contamination with 137Cs (2.7–15.9 Bq/kg). The 137Cs sediment activities indicated higher concentrations in the off-shore sites. Concentrations of all γ -ray emitting radionuclides except 40K in water samples were below the detection limits. The 40K sediment–water distribution coefficients of the near-shore samples were higher than the off-shore samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hot Laboratories Center, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt

    Hoda I. El-Reefy

  2. Department of Physics and Chemistry, Faculty of Education, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt

    Taher Sharshar

  3. Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Taif University, Taif, 888, Hawiya, Saudi Arabia

    Taher Sharshar

  4. Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, 31527, Egypt

    Tarek Elnimr & Hussein M. Badran

Authors
  1. Hoda I. El-Reefy
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  2. Taher Sharshar
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  3. Tarek Elnimr
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  4. Hussein M. Badran
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Correspondence to Hussein M. Badran.

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El-Reefy, H.I., Sharshar, T., Elnimr, T. et al. Distribution of gamma-ray emitting radionuclides in the marine environment of the Burullus Lake: II. Bottom sediments. Environ Monit Assess 169, 273–284 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-009-1169-1

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