Search

The main purpose of this study was to identify the concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides ( 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K) and some metals (Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) in tooth samples collected from humans living in the Rize province of Turkey. It was found that the activity concentrations ranged from 8.1 to 114.51 Bq kg -1 for 226 Ra, from 10.44 to 97.3 Bq kg -1 for 232 Th and from 14.53 to 489.27 Bq kg -1 for 40 K. The mean activity concentration values of 226 Ra and 232 Th in tooth samples were higher than the average world values for bones. Furthermore, when the metal concentrations were examined, there was no regular increase or decrease according to age or sex. The results of the metal analysis on the tooth samples were compared with the results of similar studies and were generally found to be consistent.

In the present study, the concentration levels of heavy metals such as Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As and Pb in soil samples collected from 88 sampling locations around Sinop Province, Turkey were measured using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (EDXRF). To interpret and to evaluate the pollution status and distribution of heavy metals in soil, metal pollution parameters such as enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (I geo ), pollution factor (CF) and pollution load index (PLI) and geo-spatial distribution patterns were used. The mean concentrations of Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, and Pb were found to be 194.73, 39,848.57, 85.02, 43.19, 65.10, 5.66, and 17.01 mg/kg, respectively. Results indicated that the mean concentrations of Cr, Ni, As, and Pb exceeded the world crustal average, with the exception of Fe, Cu, and As. Multivariate analysis results showed that Cr, Ni, Zn, As, and Pb levels in the investigated region were highly influenced by anthropogenic inputs such as agricultural practices. According to the health risk assessment model introduced by USEPA to evaluate the human health risks, the non-carcinogenic risk for children was above the threshold level, but low for adults. Total potential carcinogenic health risks for both children and adults in the study area were in acceptable range. Overall, when health risks are evaluated, it shows that children are more susceptible to non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health effects of trace metals compared to adults., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study makes a first attempt at a detailed estimation of the background radioactivity level and its distribution at the Sinop nuclear power plant site. The activity concentration levels of 226 Ra, 232 Th, 40 K and 137 Cs radionuclides in soil samples collected from 88 locations around Sinop Province, Turkey, in November 2016, were measured using gamma spectrometry. The distributions of radionuclide levels obtained from the results were evaluated using a geostatistical method, and the estimated radiation levels were determined using the ordinary kriging (OK) method, which is the best linear unbiased estimator (BLUE) for unmeasured points. Estimates of distribution results were evaluated using cross-validation diagrams, and it was shown that the OK method could predict radiological distributions for appropriate criteria. Finally, using the kriging parameters, distributions of radiation levels for the entire work area were mapped at a spatial resolution of 100 × 100 m 2 . These maps show that the natural radionuclides ( 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K) are distributed at higher levels to the southeast of Sinop than in the other regions, and the activity of an artificial radionuclide ( 137 Cs) is high in the interior and northern sections.

The aim of this study was to determine the activity concentrations and radiological hazard parameters of 137 Cs and 40 K in soft tissue samples of sea snails (Rapana venosa) collected from 12 different stations in the East Black Sea coastal area of Turkey. The values in soft tissues of sea snail samples with three different sizes were between 0.31 and 1.79 Bq kg -1 for 137 Cs and 163.9 and 269.4 Bq kg -1 for 40 K. The mean activity concentrations of 137 Cs and 40 K in tissues of small-sized sea snails were determined to be higher than those of 137 Cs and 40 K in soft tissues of the other sizes. The determined activity concentration values were lower than the concentrations reported in similar studies. Radiological hazard parameters such as the daily intake (D int ) of 137 Cs and 40 K, annual committed effective dose (E eff ), and lifetime cancer risk (LCR) were calculated and compared with the international recommended values., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)