الفهرس 
Radioactive EquilibriuOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The present work divided into two parts. The first part is natural radioactivity measurements and the second part is the elemental study using neutron activation analysis technique for different soil samples along Ismailia canal. The area under investigation (Ismailia canal) has many sources of pollution which affect water quality and led to problems in the human health and environment. The first source is the factories on its banks such as Fertilizers Company, Petroleum Activities, and Aluminum Sulfate Company. The second source is the population waste. The third source is the waste water due to water treatment plants. Therefore, it was important to estimate and study the natural radionuclides concentration and elemental concentration to know the amount of radioactivity and elemental composition which affect population health.
Twenty-two soil samples were collected from different locations along Ismailia Canal. Natural radioactivity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K have been determined for all samples using a high resolution gamma ray spectrometer based on coaxial HpGe detector. The average activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were 24, 21 and 323.8 Bq/Kg, respectively. The parameters which are used to assess the radiological hazard from exposure to these soil samples are estimated. The average absorbed dose rate of all measured samples is 37.75 nGy/h, while the average annual effective dose in air outdoors and indoors due to gamma radioactivity are calculated and found to be 46.30 and 185.20 μSv/y, respectively. The average values for radium equivalent activities, the external and internal hazard indices, and radiation level index are evaluated and found to be 78.27 Bq/kg, 0.21, 0.28 and 0.58, respectively.
The elemental concentrations for the same twenty-two soil samples were determined using instrumental neutron activation analysis. A total of 34 elements ( Al, Fe, Ca, Mg, K, Na, Ti, Mn, Ba, Sr, V, Cr, Zn, Ni, Ce, Rb, Nd, La, Co, Sc, As, Hf, Sm, Th,, U, Br, Yb, Eu, Mo, Cs, Tb, Sb, Tm, Au) were determined. The irradiation and analysis process were done at the IBR-2 pulsed reactor in Dubna, Russia. Multivariate statistical methods such as correlation matrix, factor analysis and factor scores were applied for identification of the relationship between the results obtained. All the concentrations were compared with the recommended worldwide published values. It was shown that the concentration in soil samples does not exceed the maximum permissible levels. The obtained data could be used to construct radiological map of Ismailia canal within the framework of the big project between Academy of Science and Technology – Egypt and Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR)-Russia entitled:
“Assessment of the Environmental Situation in the Delta of the Nile River Using Nuclear and Related Analytical Techniques”