title: Transfer of radioactivity from soil to vegetation in Rechna Doab, Pakistan.
abstract: In Rechna Doab, samples of the most common vegetation, perennial grass Desmostachya bipinnata (dab), were collected along with soil samples from 29 sites. Natural radioactivity of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th/²²⁸Ac and ⁴⁰K was measured by using high purity germanium-based gamma ray spectrometer. Activity concentration levels of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th/²²⁸Ac and ⁴⁰K in soil were found to be 46.8 ± 6.2 (36.0-57.6), 61.4 ± 5.9 (48.2-73.2) and 644.8 ± 73.9 (537.7-868.4) Bq kg⁻¹ (dry mass), respectively, and those in vegetation were 2.74 ± 1.70 (1.00-6.39), 2.24 ± 0.59 (1.56-2.61) and 172.72±113.37 (53.14-469.24) Bq kg⁻¹ (dry mass), respectively. The measured values of the activity concentration in vegetation are comparable with some other international data. Calculated soil to vegetation transfer factors of ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ac and ⁴⁰K were 0.06 ± 0.03 (0.02-0.14), 0.04 ± 0.01 (0.03-0.04) and 0.26 ± 0.16 (0.09-0.69). The mean outdoor absorbed dose rate in air for the area under study was determined as 8.22 nGy h⁻¹ and the mean indoor absorbed dose rate in air was 11.52 nGy h⁻¹. The total annual effective dose to the general public from the vegetation was found to be (0.02-0.16) mSv, which is below the recommended limit value of 1 mSv y⁻¹ for the general public. The dab vegetation under study was found to be radiologically safe for the population and environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan. mand_tegha@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Abdul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jabbar
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tufail
authors.forename: Waheed
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Arshed
authors.forename: Arshed Salem
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Bhatti
authors.forename: Syed Salman
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: Perveen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Akhter
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dilband
mesh_terms: D057230:Limit of Detection; D010154:Pakistan; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D011874:Radiometry; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive