Assessment of natural radioactivity, heavy metals and partic-ulate matter in air and soil around a coal-fired power plant—an integrated approach

Abstract

A comprehensive study of the environmental radioactivity covered in a distance up to 20 km from a point source—two stacks of a coal-fired power plant. Airborne particulate matter was collected, and the element composition on the 30 cm soil profile was determined. The range of activity concentrations of226Ra,232Th and40K from the studied areas varies from 8 Bq/kg to 41 Bq/kg, 5 to 72 Bq/kg and 62 to 795 Bq/kg, respectively. The activities values are increased by 44% for226Ra, 37% for40K, and 75% for232Th in the prevailing wind direction. For some elements, the respective concentration in the soil is above the maximum permissible level for all types of soil use, particularly for the arsenic concentration. The deposition flux ranged from 0.36 to 5.70 (g m−2 per month) in the first sampling campaign and from 0.02 to 3.10 (g m−2 per month) for the second sampling campaign. Maps on the spatial distribution of gamma dose rates, radionuclides activity concentrations, deposition flux and trace metals in topsoil were developed for the study region. These maps are in ac-cordance with higher values in specific locations in the vicinity of the coal-fired power plant, show-ing the influence of point sources, and for locations within 6 and 20 km from the stacks, particularly in the prevailing wind direction.