Measurement of radon concentrations and their annual effective doses in soils and rocks of Jaintiapur and its adjacent areas, Sylhet, North-east Bangladesh

The study investigates the measurement of radon concentration in soils and rocks as a natural tracer for exploring uranium mineralization, first of its kind in Bangladesh. The range of radon concentration was measured as 8–4360 Bq/m 3 with an average of 851.41 Bq/m 3 . Among the measured values, 212...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of radioanalytical and nuclear chemistry 2021-07, Vol.329 (1), p.265-277
Main Authors: Majumder, Ratan Kumar, Das, Sudeb Chandra, Rasul, Md. Golam, Khalil, Mohammad Ibrahim, Dina, Nafisa Tamannaya, Kabir, Mohammad Zafrul, Deeba, Farah, Rajib, Mohammad
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alluvial deposits
Alluvial soils
Alluvium
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Diagnostic Radiology
Flooding
Hadrons
Heavy Ions
Inorganic Chemistry
Measurement
Mineral exploration
Mineralization
Nuclear Chemistry
Nuclear energy
Nuclear Physics
Physical Chemistry
Radon levels
Rocks
Sediments
Sediments (Geology)
Soil investigations
Soil porosity
Soils
Tracers (Chemistry)
Uranium
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Summary:The study investigates the measurement of radon concentration in soils and rocks as a natural tracer for exploring uranium mineralization, first of its kind in Bangladesh. The range of radon concentration was measured as 8–4360 Bq/m 3 with an average of 851.41 Bq/m 3 . Among the measured values, 2120–4360 Bq/m 3 was observed in the Tertiary sediments whereas 8–584 Bq/m 3 was found in the Recent alluvial soil of different bils and haors. These high radon concentrations are explained by geogenic factors such as mineral content in rocks, alluvium cover, sufficient porosity, probable subsurface fault, and flooding by water streamed through adjacent uranium-rich areas in India. The radon values indicate that the rock formations are promising for uranium mineralization. The radon concentration in rocks and soils are well comparable to the similar studies of the other parts of the world. The results are in good agreement with the previous radiometric survey results, suggestive to extensive exploration activities to confirm uranium mineralization in the area. Moreover, the average annual effective dose of 0.008092 mSv/y in the region calculated from the radon values is within the WHO and ICRP safety limits.
ISSN:0236-5731
1588-2780
DOI:10.1007/s10967-021-07771-3