Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
a Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Orman, Postal Code 12613, Egypt
2
Physics Department, Faculty of Women for Arts, Science and Education, Ain Shams University, Heliopolis, Egypt
3
Geological Studies Department , Nuclear Material Authority, Cairo, Egypt
4
Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Orman, Postal Code 12613, Egypt
Abstract
The activity concentration of 235U, 238U, 234mPa, 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were determined using gamma ray spectrometry with a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector for eighteen samples of phosphate rocks collected from Wadi Qena and Abu-Tartor mine. To obtain the exact information about the measurement of 238U by gamma-ray spectroscopy, it is essential that any one of the daughters of 238U should exist in equilibrium with 238U. This condition is fulfilled by taking the average of all present measurements of daughters of 238U, namely 234mPa, 226Ra, 214Bi and 214Pb. The average activity concentration for phosphate rocks of Wadi Qena are 52.31, 864.69, 54.14 and 87.39 for 235U, 238U, 232Th and 40K, respectively, while that of Abu-Tartor are 24.80, 419.13, 48.21 and 115.95 for 235U, 238U, 232Th and 40K, respectively. The results were compared with different locations in Egypt and the world abroad reported in the literature. The radiation hazard to the occupational workers and public, the radium equivalent activities in Bq/kg, external and internal hazards and dose rate in nGy/hr are calculated. It seems that Abu-Tartor phosphate deposit has the lowest radioactivity level for 235U, 238U and 232Th of exploited phosphate of sedimentary origin.
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