Radiological Impact of Phosphogypsum Application in Agriculture

Journal Article · Wed Aug 04 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3480230· OSTI ID:21410829

Dias, Nivea M. P.; Caires, Eduardo F; Pires, Luiz F ^[1]; Bacchi, Marcio A; Fernandes, Elisabete A. N. ^[2]

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1. State University of Ponta Grossa (UEPG), Ponta Grossa, PR, 84.030-900 (Brazil)
2. Nuclear Energy Center for Agriculture (CENA), Piracicaba, SP, 13.400-970 (Brazil)

Phosphogypsum (PG) contains radionuclides from {sup 238}U and {sup 232}Th decay series. Due to the presence of these radionuclides, many countries restricted the use of PG in agriculture, however there is not such restriction in Brazil. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of PG application on {sup 226}Ra ({sup 238}U) and {sup 228}Ra ({sup 232}Th) concentrations in soil. Gamma-spectrometry was carried out using HPGe detector. No increment of {sup 226}Ra and {sup 228}Ra was observed for increasing PG doses. Average values found for {sup 226}Ra and {sup 228}Ra were respectively 37 Bq kg{sup -1} and 57 Bq kg{sup -1}. The results showed that the increasing PG doses in the specific conditions of the experiment did not cause a significant increment of radionuclides.

• OSTI ID: 21410829
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1265, Issue 1; Conference: 8. Latin American symposium on nuclear physics and applications, Santiago (Chile), 15-19 Dec 2009; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3480230; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
AGRICULTURE
BRAZIL
GAMMA SPECTROSCOPY
HIGH-PURITY GE DETECTORS
NUCLEAR DECAY
RADIATION DOSES
RADIUM 226
RADIUM 228
SOILS
THORIUM 232
URANIUM 238
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CARBON 14 DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
DECAY
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DOSES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
GE SEMICONDUCTOR DETECTORS
HEAVY ION DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
HEAVY NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LATIN AMERICA
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NUCLEI
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIUM ISOTOPES
SEMICONDUCTOR DETECTORS
SOUTH AMERICA
SPECTROSCOPY
SPONTANEOUS FISSION RADIOISOTOPES
THORIUM ISOTOPES
URANIUM ISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES