Abstract
This study was conducted to assess the radiological impacts of mining activities in mechanized and non-mechanized mining sites in order to build up database records for non-nuclear industries. Measurements of Ra-226, Th-226 and K-40 in 50 soil samples collected from these sites were carried out using gamma spectrometry system. The investigations showed that the highest concentrations of these radionuclides were 32, 37 and 648 Bq/kg, respectively . The average values in the mechanized region were 16 +/- 7, 22 +/- 9 and 366 +/- 148 Bq/kg, respectively, while in non-mechanized region they were 9 +/- 4, 12 +/- 6 and 111 +/- 68 Bq/kg, respectively. Spearman's rank correlation test resulted in significant correlations (at 0.01 level) between Ra-226 and Th-232 (0.6) and K-40 (0.8) in the mechanized region, while Th-232 correlated with K-40 (0.445) in the non-mechanized region. At 0.05 level, only Th-232 is correlated with K-40 in mechanized area (0.58). Between the two groups, only K-40 in the mechanized area showed significant correlation to Th-232 in the non-mechanized area (0.497) at 0.05 level. The Ra-226/Th-232 ratios were 0.88 +/- 0.66 and 0.77 +/- 0.23 in the two regions, while Ra-226/K-40 ratios were much lower than natural. This is attributed to weathering and metrological conditions rather than mining activity. Some radiological parameters were assessed displayed in general, significantly low values when compared with average global and recommended values. It can be concluded that both mechanized mining and non-mechanized mining do not significantly alter the levels of natural radioactive elements and do not give rise to a significant radiation exposure for the mining workers or population.