Natural radioactivity distribution and gamma radiation exposure of beach sands close to Kavala pluton, Greece

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the activity concentrations of 238U, 226Ra, 232Th, 228Th and 40K along the beaches of Kavala being adjacent to the rock-types of the Kavala pluton. These ranged from 14-940, 16-1710, 26-4547, 27-4488 and 194-1307 Bq/kg respectively, representing the highest values of natural radioactivity measured in sediments of Greece. The (%wt.) heavy magnetic (HM) (allanite, amphibole, mica, clinopyroxene, magnetite and hematite) fraction, the heavy non-magnetic (HNM) (monazite, zircon, titanite and apatite) fraction and the total heavy fraction (TH), were correlated with the concentrations of the measured radionuclides in the bulk samples. The heavy fractions seem to control the activity concentrations of 238U and 232Th of all the samples, showing some local differences in the main 238U and 232Th mineral carrier. The measured radionuclides in the beach sands were normalized to the respective values measured in the granitic rocks, which are their most probable parental rocks, so as to provide data upon their enrichment or depletion. The annual equivalent dose varies between 0.01 and 0.35 mSv y-1 for tourists and from 0.03 to 1.48 mSv y-1 for local people working on the beach.