An evaluation of the natural radioactivity in Andaman beach sand samples of Thailand after the 2004 tsunami

D. Malain; P. H. Regan; D. A. Bradley; M. Matthews; H. A. Al-Sulaiti; T. Santawamaitre

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2012.04.017

An evaluation of the natural radioactivity in Andaman beach sand samples of Thailand after the 2004 tsunami

D. Malain^*, P. H. Regan, D. A. Bradley, M. Matthews, H. A. Al-Sulaiti, T. Santawamaitre

^*Corresponding author for this work

University of Surrey

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

74 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Following the 2004 'Boxing day' tsunami, a determination has been made of the activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in beach sand samples which have been collected from various locations along the Andaman coast of the Thai peninsula. Use has been made of a HPGe detector-based, low-background gamma-ray counting system. The natural radioactivity levels of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K measured from these samples was found to lie in the range 1.6-52.5, 0.3-73.9and 2.8-1111.9Bq/kg respectively for the west coast and 3.5-83.1, 4.5-42.0, and 9.6-1376Bq/kg respectively for the east coast. The radioactivity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K along the Andaman coast are comparable to that of the east coast, which was not exposed to the tsunami. The corresponding annual effective dose varies from 1.6-105.9μSv/y with a mean value of 59.1±0.3μSv/y, significantly lower than the worldwide average as reported by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) (2000).

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1467-1474
Number of pages	8
Journal	Applied Radiation and Isotopes
Volume	70
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2012.04.017
Publication status	Published - Aug 2012
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Gamma-ray intensities
Gamma-ray spectroscopy
Hyper-pure germanium detector
Naturally occurring radioactive materials
Secular equilibrium

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10.1016/j.apradiso.2012.04.017

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title = "An evaluation of the natural radioactivity in Andaman beach sand samples of Thailand after the 2004 tsunami",

abstract = "Following the 2004 'Boxing day' tsunami, a determination has been made of the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in beach sand samples which have been collected from various locations along the Andaman coast of the Thai peninsula. Use has been made of a HPGe detector-based, low-background gamma-ray counting system. The natural radioactivity levels of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K measured from these samples was found to lie in the range 1.6-52.5, 0.3-73.9and 2.8-1111.9Bq/kg respectively for the west coast and 3.5-83.1, 4.5-42.0, and 9.6-1376Bq/kg respectively for the east coast. The radioactivity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K along the Andaman coast are comparable to that of the east coast, which was not exposed to the tsunami. The corresponding annual effective dose varies from 1.6-105.9μSv/y with a mean value of 59.1±0.3μSv/y, significantly lower than the worldwide average as reported by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) (2000).",

keywords = "Gamma-ray intensities, Gamma-ray spectroscopy, Hyper-pure germanium detector, Naturally occurring radioactive materials, Secular equilibrium",

author = "D. Malain and Regan, \{P. H.\} and Bradley, \{D. A.\} and M. Matthews and Al-Sulaiti, \{H. A.\} and T. Santawamaitre",

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T1 - An evaluation of the natural radioactivity in Andaman beach sand samples of Thailand after the 2004 tsunami

AU - Malain, D.

AU - Regan, P. H.

AU - Bradley, D. A.

AU - Matthews, M.

AU - Al-Sulaiti, H. A.

AU - Santawamaitre, T.

PY - 2012/8

Y1 - 2012/8

N2 - Following the 2004 'Boxing day' tsunami, a determination has been made of the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in beach sand samples which have been collected from various locations along the Andaman coast of the Thai peninsula. Use has been made of a HPGe detector-based, low-background gamma-ray counting system. The natural radioactivity levels of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K measured from these samples was found to lie in the range 1.6-52.5, 0.3-73.9and 2.8-1111.9Bq/kg respectively for the west coast and 3.5-83.1, 4.5-42.0, and 9.6-1376Bq/kg respectively for the east coast. The radioactivity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K along the Andaman coast are comparable to that of the east coast, which was not exposed to the tsunami. The corresponding annual effective dose varies from 1.6-105.9μSv/y with a mean value of 59.1±0.3μSv/y, significantly lower than the worldwide average as reported by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) (2000).

AB - Following the 2004 'Boxing day' tsunami, a determination has been made of the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in beach sand samples which have been collected from various locations along the Andaman coast of the Thai peninsula. Use has been made of a HPGe detector-based, low-background gamma-ray counting system. The natural radioactivity levels of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K measured from these samples was found to lie in the range 1.6-52.5, 0.3-73.9and 2.8-1111.9Bq/kg respectively for the west coast and 3.5-83.1, 4.5-42.0, and 9.6-1376Bq/kg respectively for the east coast. The radioactivity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K along the Andaman coast are comparable to that of the east coast, which was not exposed to the tsunami. The corresponding annual effective dose varies from 1.6-105.9μSv/y with a mean value of 59.1±0.3μSv/y, significantly lower than the worldwide average as reported by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) (2000).

KW - Gamma-ray intensities

KW - Gamma-ray spectroscopy

KW - Hyper-pure germanium detector

KW - Naturally occurring radioactive materials

KW - Secular equilibrium

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M3 - Article

C2 - 22728129

AN - SCOPUS:84862333745

SN - 0969-8043

VL - 70

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JO - Applied Radiation and Isotopes

JF - Applied Radiation and Isotopes

IS - 8

ER -

An evaluation of the natural radioactivity in Andaman beach sand samples of Thailand after the 2004 tsunami

Abstract

Keywords

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