Assessment of the effects of physical-chemical parameters on 210Po and 210Pb concentrations in cultivated and uncultivated soil from different areas

In this study, a total of 144 bulk soil samples were collected in cultivated and uncultivated sites in different areas for evaluation of the activity concentrations of 210Po and 210Pb. Moreover, 4 core samples were collected from four distinct reference points in the Gediz Basin in Turkey and investigated organic matter content, 210Po and 210Pb concentrations depending on the depth. The activity concentrations of 210Po and 210Pb were measured by means of alpha spectrometry. While the activity concentrations of 210Po and 210Pb in cultivated sites are in the ranges of 12±3-86±4 Bq kg-1 dw and 17±3-36±3 Bq kg-1 dw, for uncultivated sites the ranges for 210Po and 210Pb are 10±4-134±21 Bq kg-1 dw and 23±3-78±5 Bq kg-1 dw, respectively. In general, it is observed that the mean 210Po and 210Pb activity concentrations in cultivated sites are lower than the uncultivated sites. The relationships between soil properties and the activity concentrations of the radionuclides indicate that 210Po and 210Pb adsorption to soil is strongly related to organic matter content of the soil. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.Energy Research and Development Center, Missouri University of Science and Technology 2007BİL021 106Y054This work was supported by grants from The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) contract no. 106Y054 and The Ege University Science and Technology Research Center (EBİLTEM) contract no. 2007BİL021 . Thanks are also extended to Mr. Ramazan Manav, Dr. Mutlu İçhedef and Dr. İlker Sert for assistance with fieldwork and sample processing. -

Natural radioactivity of fertilizers widely used in the agricultural lands of Ege region in Turkey

This is a preliminary study to determine the natural radionuclides of the commercial chemical fertilizers and rock phosphates which are widely used in the agricultural lands of Ege region in the west of Turkey. Mainly the fundamental raw materials of all phosphorous (P) containing fertilizers are examined. Gamma spectrometric measurements of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K activities were made on sixty-eight straight and compound commercial fertilizers, as well as on the nine phosphate rocks. The activity concentrations of 226Ra in the phosphate rocks were found to be in the range of 326 and 788 Bq kg-1 while those of 232Th and 40K were found to be much lower, ranging from 50 Bq kg-1 to levels so low that they were undetectable. Normal super phosphate (NSP) and triple super phosphate (TSP) exhibited relatively higher 226Ra activities than the rest of studied P based fertilizers. 40K activities in potassium sulfate and nitrate fertilizers w up to about 104 Bq kg-1. In particular, the activity concentrations of the 226Ra in NP and the majority of NPK fertilizers, which are the most widely used types in the cultivated soils of the Ege region, appeared much lower, and in some cases, were undetectable. These results are of great significance in terms of sustainable agriculture involving the use of phosphate-based fertilizers