Abstract
The radioactive concentrations of226Ra,232Th,235U and40K in surface soil of the province of Cáceres (Spain) were studied as a function of the geology and grain size. The activities of the four radionuclides in granitic and metamorphic soils have normal frequency distributions, with the mean value being significantly higher for the granitic soils than for the metamorphic soils. Sedimentary soils present asymmetric distributions, and their activities lie between the previous two types. The specific activities of the four radionuclides rises as the particle radius decreases. The equationA e =(P 1/R)+P 2 describes the dependence of the specific activityA e on radiusR, P 1 andP 2 being parameters that are related to the surface area and volume activities of the grains. The isotopes226Ra,232Th and235U accumulate with greater intensity on the surface of the grains than40K. This effect is more pronounced in granitic and sedimentary soils than in metamorphic soils.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
A. S. NISBET, B. SALBU, S. SHAW, J. Environ. Radioactivity, 18 (1993) 71.
J. KVASNICKA, Health Phys., 51 (1986) 329.
E. R. LANDA, Health Phys., 52 (1987) 303.
R. O. GILBERT, J. H. SHIMN, E. H. ESSINGON, T. TAMURA, E. M. ROMMEY, K. S. MOOR, T. P. O'FARRELL, Health Phys., 55 (1988) 869.
K. BUNZL, Radiochim. Acta, 58/59 (1992) 461.
D. STAMMOSE, J. M. DOLO, Radiochim. Acta, 51 (1990) 189.
Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación. Mapa de Cultivos y Aprovechamientos de la Provincia de Cáceres. Madrid, 1983.
A. BAEZA, G. CORVO, M. DEL RIO, C. MIRO, J. M. PANIAGUA, Appl. Radiat. Isotopes, 43 (1991) 883.
M. IVANOVICH, R. S. HARMON, Uranium Series Disequilibrium, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1982.
R. S. CARMICHAEL, Practical Handbook of Physical Properties of Rocks and Minerals, CRC Press Inc., Boca Raton, 1989, p. 8.
H. W. KÖSTER, A. KEEN, R. M. J. PENNDERS, D. W. BANNINK, J. H. WINKEL, Radiat. Protec. Dosim., 24 (1988) 63.
K. N. YU, Z. J. GUAN, M. J. STOKES, E. C. M. YOUNG, J. Environ. Radiact., 17 (1992) 31.
R. D. YU, G. L. JONES, C. J. SMITH, Health Phys., 51 (1986) 239.
K. BUNZL, H. HÖTZL, G. RORNER, R. WINKLER, Sci. Total Environ., 38 (1984) 15.
UNSCEAR 1982. Ionizing Radiation. Sources and Biological Effects, United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation 1982, United Nations, New York, 1982.
K. BUNZL, Statistical procedures for the evaluation of radiological investigations. Selected examples, 3rd Intern. Summer School on Low-Level Measurements of Radioactivity in the Environment-Techniques and Applications, La Rábida, Huelva, Spain, 1989, in press.
A. BAEZA, M. DEL RIO, C. MIRO, J. M. PANIAGUA, J. Environ. Radiact., 23 (1994) 19.
E. YUNOKI, T. KATAOKA, K. MICHICHIRO, H. SUGIYAMA, M. SHIMIZU, T. MORI, J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 166 (1992) 331.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baeza, A., Del Rio, M., Jimenez, A. et al. Influence of geology and soil particle size on the surface-area/volume activity ratio for natural radionuclides. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Articles 189, 289–299 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02042608
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02042608