Excess lifetime cancer risk due to natural radioactivity in Gümüşhane Province, NE Turkey

Authors: NAFIZ MADEN, ENVER AKARYALI, MEHMET ALİ GÜCER

Abstract: In this study, 162 in situ measurements of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K radionuclide concentrations dataset taken by the gamma-ray spectrometer in Gümüşhane, Turkey are presented. The gamma ray measurements were performed by a 512-channel, three-window gamma-ray spectrometry equipment made by GF Instruments. We first observed the radionuclides of the ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K values in Gümüşhane. We then calculated the hazard indices of gamma radiation such as annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE), internal and external hazard index (H_in, H_ex), and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) based on the radionuclide abundances of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K for the first time. In Gümüşhane, the average activity concentrations of radionuclides ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K were measured as 58.7 ± 34.3 Bq kg^-1, 62.7 ± 37.2 Bq kg^-1, and 1026.8 ± 486.0 Bq kg^-1, respectively. The average outdoor annual effective dose equivalent and ELCR values were 132.2 ± 63.2 mSv yr^-1 and 0.40 ± 0.19 × 10^-3, respectively. Numerical results indicate that the radiological parameters (AEDE and ELCR) obtained for Gümüşhane Province were greater than the world's mean values.

Keywords: Annual effective dose equivalent, internal hazard index, excess lifetime cancer risk, Gümüşhane

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