Abstract
In order to determine the radiological hazards indices of chemical fertilizers commonly used in Upper Egypt, The concentrations of natural radionuclides
226
Ra,
232
Th and
40
K in seven types of chemical fertilizers used in Upper Egypt have been measured by gamma spectrometry using NaI (Tl) 3″×3″ detector. The ranges of concentration levels of
226
Ra,
232
Th and
40
K were 12±0.6-244±12.6, 3±0.2-99±4.9, and 109±5.5-670±34Bqkg
−1
, respectively. In the other side, the range values obtained from fertilizer samples under investigation were (33.1-392.3Bqkg
−1
), (0.6-2.7), (15.6-177.8nGyh
−1
) and (20.1-229.1μSvy
−1
) for radium equivalent activity, γ-radiation hazard index I
γr
, Dose rate (nGyh
−1
) and annual effective dose equivalent (AED) in the air to the occupational workers, respectively. The obtained values were compared with available reported data from other countries in literature.