Variation of soil gas 222Rn/220Rn concentration ratios along the Pınarbaşı segment of İzmir fault

Measurements of 222Rn and 220Rn activity were carried out along the Pınarbaşı segment of the İzmir Fault (IF) to get new information on this fault and its seismicity. İzmir Fault is one of the most important active tectonic structures in Turkey's Active Fault Map. Due to very intense urbanization, there is not enough information about the fault. This study also discusses the usability of the 222Rn/220Rn ratio as a geodynamic precursor. © 2023, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary.This study was financially supported by the TUBITAK 1001 Scientific and Technological Research Projects Support Program: Earthquake Research Call and by Basic Science Research Program-Project No: 121Y404. The authors were also supported by the TUBITAK 2224b Grant Program to attend the INTEC-22 international congress.121Y40

Indoor radon levels of spas and dwellings located around BayIndIr geothermal region

Western part of Turkey is rich area in terms of geothermal sources. The one of these geothermal areas is BayIndIr-Dereköy/Ergenli located in Küçük Menderes Graben. In this study, indoor radon concentrations were determined in some places (spas and some dwellings) located on BayIndIr-Dereköy/Ergenli. Measurements were realized using LR-115 type 2 solid state nuclear track detectors in the course of 10 months. The indoor radon concentrations were found between 39.3 and 235.4 Bq m -3 for spas, 39.3 and 405 Bq m -3 for houses. Indoor radon concentrations were compared with reference levels determined by international agencies. Radon concentrations in this area were quite low than reference levels revised by international health agencies. © 2013 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary

Boron containing polyvinyl alcohol/ polyethylene oxide/polyvinyl pyrrolidone composites: Preparation, characterization, gamma radiation shielding and gamma radiation effect on it's thermal properties

The production of PVA/PEO/PVP-B4C and PVA/PEO/PVP-BN nanocomposites is presented in this study by adding certain proportions of boron nitride (BN) and boron carbide (B4C) to the polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)/polyethylene Oxide (PEO)/polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) blend. The percentages of BN and B4C nano powder in the PVA/PEO/PVP blend have been determined as 5%, 10% and 20%. Thermal characterizations were carried out with different techniques such as Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA), Thermogravimetry (TG). Surface, crystal structure and atomic percentage distribution analyzes of the obtained composites were performed by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), X-Ray Diffraction Analysis (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-Ray (SEM-EDX), and elemental analysis. 10 kGy gamma irradiation was performed on PVA/PEO/PVP-B4C and PVA/PEO/PVP-BN composites. The thermal behavior of the composites at this dose level was investigated. In addition, the radiation shielding properties of composite films obtained at 10 cm distances using Am-241 beam source were examined. © 2023 Elsevier LtdThis study was supported by project number 118C578 under the TÜBİTAK 2218-National Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program

Determination of radon and natural radioactivity concentration in some building materials used in Izmir, Turkey

The aim of this study is to determine the radon and natural radioactivity concentrations of some building materials and to assess the radiation hazard associated with those mortar materials when they are used in the construction of dwellings. Radon measurements were realized by using LR-115 Type 2 solid state nuclear track detectors. Radon activity concentrations of these materials were found to vary between 130.00 ± 11.40 and 1604.06 ± 40.5 Bq m–3. The natural radioactivity in selected mortar materials was analyzed by using scintillation gamma spectroscopy. The activity concentrations for226Ra,232Th and40K for the studied mortar materials ranged from ND to 48.5 ± 7.0 Bq kg–1, ND to 41.0 ± 6.4 Bq kg–1 and ND to 720.4 ± 26.8 Bq kg–1, respectively. Radium equivalent activities, external and internal hazard indexes, gamma and alpha indexes and absorbed gamma dose rates were calculated to assess the radiation hazard of the natural radioactivity in studied samples. The calculated Raeq values of all samples were found to be lower than the limit of 370 Bq kg–1 set for building materials. The estimated hazard index values were found to be under the unity and the absorbed dose rate values were also below the worldwide average of 84 nGy h–1. © 2020, College Publishing. All rights reserved.All experiments were completed in the Institute of Nuclear Sciences Laboratory of Ege University. The authors are thankful to Ms Tuğçe Karataş and Mr Zafer Özen for their help with sample preparation and experiments. This study was funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (Project number: 214M039).Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştirma Kurumu, TÜBITAK: 214M03