Abstract:
The activity concentrations of naturally occurring radioactive materials such as 238U, 232Th and 40K were measured for 38 soil samples collected from diverse zones in the southern area of West Bank, Palestine using gamma-ray spectroscopy. The measured activities of 238U, 232Th and 40K were found to range from 32.9 to 104.7, 14.5 to 76.6 and 297 to 962 Bq kg−1 with averages value of 68.7, 48.0 and 630 Bq kg−1, respectively. The obtained values of activity concentrations are higher than the world average of 35, 30 and 500 Bq kg−1 for 238U, 232Th and 40K, respectively. The measured 137Cs activity concentration was found to range from 1.8 to 36.1 Bq kg−1 with an average value of 8.5 Bq kg−1. The detected activities were attributed to the fallout of 137Cs, which is the only man-made radionuclide. The calculated average of the total gamma-radiation dose rate of natural radionuclides, 137Cs and …
