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 (super 226) Ra, (super 232) Th, and (super 40) K were evaluated. The measurements were performed using gamma-ray spectrometry with an NaI (Tl) detector. The results show that (super 226) Ra, (super 232) Th, and (super 40) K 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+ or -4.91, 20.74+ or -11.29, and 111.87+ or -136.84 Bq/kg, respectively. In contrast, (super 222) Rn in soil, (super 222) Rn in air, and (super 226) Ra 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 (super 226) Ra, (super 232) Th, (super 40) K, and (super 222) Rn are insignificant. (super 226) Ra 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 mu Sv/year (UNSCEAR 2000). However, some locations exhibit values >300 mu Sv/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. Copyright 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York