Radiological Safety Concerns in the Textile Dye Industry

Document Type : Original Article

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Department of Physics, Faculty of Women for Arts, Science and Education, Ain-Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

People are frequently exposed to various harmful and allergic compounds derived from textiles. One major source of persistent organic pollutants in the environment is dye wastewater from this sector.  The purpose of this study was to use gamma spectrometry with a Hyper Pure Germanium detector to determine the values of 238U, 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in different types of textile dyes (disperse, direct and reactive) and dye wastewater from different cities (Obour and Bader). The average specific activities for 238U, 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were higher in disperse dyes than that in direct and reactive dyes. The associated potential radiation hazards were assessed. The absorbed dose rate (in nGyh−1) was calculated for all the samples under study, with values ranging from 14 to 49 nGyh−1 in disperse dyes, 7.6 to 21 nGyh−1 in reactive dyes, and 7.2 to 8.8 nGyh−1 in direct dyes. The analysis's results showed that there might be some detectable radioactivity in the textile dyes, which is something that needs to be considered. Therefore, people who work in the textile sector and those who use these dyes should follow safety guidelines and take preventative measures.

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