Article

Radiological hazard in the sediment of the Xining section of the Huangshui River, China

School of Tourism and Environment, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, P.R. China.

^* luxinwei@snnu.edu.cn

Received: 25 August 2015
Accepted: 27 October 2015

Abstract

Natural radioactivity was determined in sediment samples collected from the Xining section of the Huangshui River in northwest China. The activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in the sediment samples range from 15.8 to 65.3, 24.3 to 86.0 and 432.6 to 702.4 Bq.kg^-1 with an average of 32.4, 43.0 and 527.5 Bq.kg^-1, respectively. All investigated sediment samples have radium equivalent activity lower than the limit of 370 Bq.kg^-1 and an external hazard index less than unity. The mean outdoor air absorbed dose rate is 63.5 nGy.h^-1 and the corresponding outdoor annual effective dose rate is 0.078 mSv.y^-1. The radiation level of the studied location is safe, and the sediment can be safely used in construction according to the current norms.