Evaluation of the activity of 238U, 40K, and 232Th in soil samples at Yanbu Al-Bahr City in KSA

Abstract

The activity of radionuclides Uranium-238, Thorium-232, and Potassium-40 in soil samples collected from different areas in Yanbu city were analyzed using Gamma Spectrometry based on the HPGe detector CANBERRA model, with a relative efficiency of 40%. The activity concentrations for these radionuclides were compared with the world average activity of the soil, it was found that the activity of 238U in samples ranged from (19.4 - 30.8) Bq/kg. And for 232Th, the activity in samples ranged from (8.7 – 26.6) Bq/kg. While the activity of 40K in samples ranged from (332.1 - 638.0) Bq/kg. In addition, the average dose rate in the air is 50.84 nGy/h. It can be said that the activity of 238U, 232Th, and 40K in the study areas and the dose rate in the air is within the average world limits, (UNSCEAR 2000).