title: Measurement of radioactivity in the soil of Bahawalpur division, Pakistan.
abstract: Bahawalpur is the largest division of the Punjab province in Pakistan. It is larger than many countries of the world. Gamma activity from the naturally occurring radionuclides namely 226Ra, 232Th, the primordial radionuclide 40K and the artificial radionuclide 137Cs was measured in the soil of the Bahawalpur division using gamma spectrometry technique. The mean activity of 226Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs were found to be 32.9 +/- 0.9, 53.6 +/- 1.4, 647.4 +/- 14.1 and 1.5 +/- 0.2 Bq kg(-1), respectively. The mean radium equivalent activity Raeq, external hazard index, internal hazard index and terrestrial absorbed dose rate for the area under study are 158.5 +/- 4.1 Bq kg(-1), 0.4, 0.5 and 77.32 nGy h(-1), respectively. The annual effective dose equivalent to the public was found to be 0.5 mSv.
authors.affiliation: Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), Nilore, Islamabad, Pakistan. matiullah@pieas.edu.pk
authors.lastname: Matiullah
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahad
authors.forename: Shakeel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: ur Rehman
authors.forename: Shafi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: ur Rehman
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Faheem
mesh_terms: D001417:Background Radiation; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000378:metabolism; D002980:Climate; D005720:Gamma Rays; D006801:Humans; D010154:Pakistan; D011197:Potassium Radioisotopes; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011848:Radioactive Pollutants; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*; D011883:Radium / Q000378:metabolism*; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma; D013910:Thorium / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D011197:Potassium Radioisotopes; D011848:Radioactive Pollutants; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D013910:Thorium; D011883:Radium