Author(s)

Jamilah Al-Zahrani^*

Physics Department, Girls Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, KSA.

Solid wastes are generated from common manufacturing and industrial processes, and can also be caused by disposing commerce products. The natural radionuclide (²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K) concentrations in various solid waste samples were determined by using a high pure germanium detector. The obtained average concentration values of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K in various solid wastes were: Iron (173.29, 141.99 and 32.68 Bq·kg^-1), Copper (2.63, 0.60 and 30 Bq·kg^-1), Aluminum (3.97, 4.89 and 41.67 Bq·kg^-1) and in Wood (4.22, 3.11 and 30.20 Bq·kg^-1), respectively. The total average values of radium equivalent and the absorbed dose rate were 95.87 Bq·kg^-1 and 44.56 nGyh^-1, respectively. The effective dose rates in outdoor and indoor average values were 0.05 and 0.20 mSvy^-1, respectively. These health hazard parameters were considered to be below the safe limit of UNSCEAR 2000. The presented results show no significant radiological health risks for the workers in the industrial workshops and inhabitance health.

Gamma Ray spectrometry, Waste, Effective Dose, Risk

Al-Zahrani, J. (2017) Gamma Radiation Hazards and Risks Associated with Industrial Wastes Materials. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 5, 24-30. doi: 10.4236/gep.2017.54003.