Study of contents of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in fertilisers.
In this study concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K were measured in the fertiliser samples in Pakistan using a high-resolution and high-purity germanium detector. Samples were collected from main fertiliser depots located in 10 big cities in the Punjab province. Gamma spectrometric analysis revealed that concentrations of (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K existed in the ranges from 232 to 511 Bq kg(-1), 21 to 58 Bq kg(-1) and 556 to 1302 Bq kg(-1) with average values of 386 +/- 92, 38 +/- 14 and 885 +/- 220 Bq kg(-1), respectively. Average values of the three natural radionuclides measured in this study were within the range of reported values from some of the other countries of the world. Correlations drawn between measured concentrations were not significant.
Tahir
S N A
SN
Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries Department, Government of the Punjab, Poonch House, Multan Road, Lahore, Pakistan. snatahir@cyber.net.pk
Alaamer
A S
AS
Omer
R M
RM
D005308:Fertilizers / Q000032:analysis*; D010154:Pakistan; D011197:Potassium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011883:Radium / Q000032:analysis*; D013910:Thorium / Q000032:analysis*
D005308:Fertilizers; D011197:Potassium Radioisotopes; D013910:Thorium; D011883:Radium