Concentrations of environmental radioactivity in sediment cores from kulakcayiri lake

Abstract

This paper is about measurements of environmental radioactivity in samples taken from a lake bed and from different depths. The study is based on gamma spectrometric analysis of some radioisotopes encountered in sediment samples. For this purpose, sediments that have accumulated for thousands of years were used. Three core samples were taken from Kulakcayiri lake by drilling and taken from heights of 5-5.5 m, 10-10.5 m and 15-15.5 m at the same point and then moved to the laboratory. The analyses of the samples were carried out in the laboratory with the semiconductor HPGe detector. According to the results, the K-40 concentrations of the samples were 325 ± 18 Bq/kg, 353 ± 19 Bq/kg and 367 ± 19 Bq/kg, while their Th-232 concentrations were 38 ± 6 Bq/kg, 43 ± 6 Bq/kg and 42 ± 6 Bq/kg, respectively. Their concentrations of Ra-226 were calculated as 29 ± 5 Bq/kg, 26 ± 5 Bq/kg and 26 ± 5 Bq/kg, while the Cs-137 concentrations of the three samples were calculated as ?MDA (Minimum Detectable Activity) and existed at very low concentrations. The average activities of K-40, Th-232, Ra-226 and Cs-137 were found to be about 348 ± 186 Bq/kg, 41 ± 6.3 Bq/kg, 27 ± 5.1 Bq/kg and ?MDA, respectively. The results were compared with those of similar studies. These findings and assessments are expected to be an example for future studies and to be of reference quality. © 2018, Turkish Chemical Society. All rights reserved.