Natural radioactivity levels of the Egyptian phosphate rocks using BGO detector based portable gamma-ray spectrometer

摘要

Gamma-ray surveys are used in geological, geochemical, and environmental mapping for mineral exploration. Natural radioactivity levels for forty phosphate sample localities on the Eastern Desert, Nile Valley, and Western Desert, Egypt, were measured using a gamma-ray spectrometer with high accuracy. From the obtained results, the average values of the annual effective dose were 0.19, 0.28, 0.29, and 0.15 mSv/year for Safaga, Abu-Tartur, El-Sebaeya, and Hamrawayn, respectively. The measured values of natural radionuclides in the studied samples are higher than the world average activity values. This study could be useful as baseline data for radiation exposure to phosphate and their impact on human health.