Spatial distribution and risk assessment of radionuclides in soils around a coal-fired power plant: A case study from the city of Baoji, China

Coal burning may enhance human exposure to the natural radionuclides that occur around coal-fired power plants (CFPP). In this study, the spatial distribution and hazard assessment of radionuclides found in soils around a CFPP were investigated using statistics, geostatistics, and geographic informa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental research 2007-06, Vol.104 (2), p.201-208
Main Authors: Dai, Lijun, Wei, Haiyan, Wang, Lingqing
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
Biological and medical sciences
CHINA
Cities
COAL
Demography
Environmental pollutants toxicology
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
General aspects
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Geostatistics
GIS
Medical sciences
NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY
POTASSIUM 40
Power Plants - standards
Radiation Monitoring
RADIOISOTOPES
Radioisotopes - analysis
Radionuclides
RADIUM 226
RISK ASSESSMENT
Soil Pollutants, Radioactive - analysis
SOILS
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
Spatial variability
STATISTICS
THORIUM 232
Toxicology
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Summary:Coal burning may enhance human exposure to the natural radionuclides that occur around coal-fired power plants (CFPP). In this study, the spatial distribution and hazard assessment of radionuclides found in soils around a CFPP were investigated using statistics, geostatistics, and geographic information system (GIS) techniques. The concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in soils range from 12.54 to 40.18, 38.02 to 72.55, and 498.02 to 1126.98 Bq kg −1, respectively. Ordinary kriging was carried out to map the spatial patterns of radionuclides, and disjunctive kriging was used to quantify the probability of radium equivalent activity (Ra eq) higher than the threshold. The maps show that the spatial variability of the natural radionuclide concentrations in soils was apparent. The results of this study could provide valuable information for risk assessment of environmental pollution and decision support.
ISSN:0013-9351
1096-0953
DOI:10.1016/j.envres.2006.11.005