Determination of Ra-226, Ra-228 and K-40 specific activities in samples of mineral fertilizers marketed in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Ricardo Washington Dutra Garcêz; José Marques Lopes; Marco Antônio Frota Lima; Ademir Xavier da Silva

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2018.04.013

Determination of Ra-226, Ra-228 and K-40 specific activities in samples of mineral fertilizers marketed in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Appl Radiat Isot. 2018 Nov:141:199-202. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2018.04.013. Epub 2018 Apr 6.

Authors

Ricardo Washington Dutra Garcêz¹, José Marques Lopes², Marco Antônio Frota Lima³, Ademir Xavier da Silva⁴

Affiliations

¹ Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Programa de Engenharia Nuclear, Av. Horácio Macedo, 2030 - CT, Fundão, 21945-970 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Programa de Engenharia Nuclear, Av. Horácio Macedo, 2030 - CT, Fundão, 21945-970 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
³ Universidade Federal Fluminense, Programa de Biologia, R. Mario Santos Braga, s/n - Centro, Niterói - RJ, 24020-141 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
⁴ Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Programa de Engenharia Nuclear, Av. Horácio Macedo, 2030 - CT, Fundão, 21945-970 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Escola Politécnica Av. Athos da Silveira Ramos, 149 - CT, Fundão, 21941-909 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.

PMID: 29653855
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2018.04.013

Abstract

Fertilizer samples were collected in the city of Rio de Janeiro and were analyzed using HPGe detector. The specific activities of Ra-226 ranged from 1.48 Bq/kg to 597 Bq/kg, of Ra-228 from 2.66 Bq/kg to 832 Bq/kg and of K-40 from 16 Bq/kg to 13941 Bq/kg. The risk to human health was found to be negligible.

Keywords: Fertilizers; HPGe; Specific activity.