Determination of radioactive contaminants in sediment and sand samples from the Black Sea by HPGe Gamma-ray spectrometry

Abstract

The radionuclide activities were measured in sea sediment and coastal sand samples taken from the Black Sea to improve the understanding on coastal pollution as sediments and sand act as a sink for inorganic contaminants from various sources. The core sediments were taken from the Black Sea near to Varna city and sand samples were collected from in the Black Sea Coastal of North Anatolia. Their radionuclide contents were measured using a high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry. The activity results are found to be on the average, 65 ± 9 Bq · kg for Pb, 13 ± 1 Bq · kg for Cs, 36 ± 4 Bq · kg for Ra, 25 ± 3 Bq · kg for Th, and 403 ± 13 Bq · kg for K in slices from the sediment core. The radionuclide activities in sand samples collected from the Black Sea coastal are measured for Be (2.4 ± 0.4 to 5.8 ± 0.4 Bq · kg) and for Cs (2.0 ± 0.1 to 3.7 ± 0.2 Bq · kg). In sand samples, other natural occurring radionuclides Ra (6.8 ± 1.1 to 12.5 ± 1.3 Bq · kg), Th (6.5 ± 0.8 to 16.9 ± 1.4 Bq · kg) and K(139 ± 8 to 376 ± 16 Bq · kg) were also observed, as expected. The present results indicate that there is still noticeable radionuclide contamination in sediments and coastal sands due to mainly the Chernobyl nuclear accident and other conventional industrial wastes.