Investigation of natural and artificial radioactivity levels in travertines of the Cappadocia region in Turkey

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Kamislioglu M., Kocak I., Buyuk B., EKE C., ÖZAYDIN ÖZKARA R., TEMİZ U.

Environmental Geochemistry and Health, cilt.46, sa.6, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Kısa Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 46 Sayı: 6
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s10653-024-01963-y
  • Dergi Adı: Environmental Geochemistry and Health
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, EMBASE, Environment Index, Geobase, INSPEC, MEDLINE, Pollution Abstracts, Veterinary Science Database
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: HpGe detector, Natural radionuclides, Radiation detection and measurement, Radiological dose parameters, Travertines
  • Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study determined natural and artificial radionuclide concentrations to evaluate natural radioactivity and health risk levels of nine travertines in the Yaprakhisar and Balkayası regions in Turkey. The samples coded B1-M, B2, B5, B7, B8, and B10 represent waste derived from the Yaprakhisar travertines, as well as samples T5-M, T12, and Z1 travertines derived from Balkayası. The levels of natural and artificial radionuclide concentrations (232Th, 40K, and 137Cs) were measured using a high-purity germanium (HpGe) detector system. The travertine activity ranged from 2.09 to 12.07 Bq kg−1 for 232Th, 4.21 to 13.41 Bq kg−1 for 40K, and 0.42–3.26 Bq kg−1 for 137Cs. The results showed that the activity concentration values for 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs were coherent with the travertine analysis results in the UNSCEAR, 2000; 2008 publications. The values obtained were lower than the average values in the UNSEAR reports. The radiological hazard parameters calculated in this study were absorbed gamma dose rate (D), radium equivalent activity (Raeq), annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE), exposure dose (ER), total annual effective dose (AEDEtotal), excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCRtotal), gamma representative level (GRL), internal hazard index (Hin) and external hazard index (Hex).