Mineralogy,geochemistry, radioactivity and environmental impacts of Gabal Marwa granites,southeastern Sinai,Egypt

The Gabal Marwa area is located in the southeastern part of Sinai,Egypt.It comprises gneisses and migmatites,granodiorites and monzogranites.Field,petrographic,mineralogic and chemical investigations indicated that the Gabal Marwa granites are classified as granodiorites and monzogranites.The monzogranites constitute the most predominant rock unit exposed in the study area.They have been subjected to hydrothermal alterations,especially along the shear zones.Sericitization,desilicification,nametasomatism and development of spotty or dendritic manganese oxides are the most pronounced alteration features.These alterations resulted in the increase of TiO2,Al2O3,FeOt,MnO,CaO,MgO,Na2O,K2O and Cr,Zr,Rb,Y and Sr and the decrease of SiO2,P2O5,Ni,Zn,Ba and Nb.Radiometric studies indicated that the altered granites belong to high thorium,high uranium granites.The U,Th,U and Th,Th/U,Th and U-K variation diagrams suggested that magmatic processes controlled the distribution of these elements but the effect of hydrothermal alteration processes were clearly distinct.The Scanning Electron Microscope and X-ray Diffraction analyses indicated that the most important radioactive minerals include uranothorite,thorite,zircon,monazite and samarskite.Cinnabar and Mn minerals were also found.From the U,Th,Ra and K activity concentrations obtained for all the studied granitic samples,radium equivalent activity(Raeq),external hazard index(Hex),and internal hazard index(Hin),were calculated to assess the radiation hazard to human beings living in dwellings made of the studied granites.Altered monzogranites have radioactivity above the proposed acceptable level and,therefore,caution must be taken when these granites are used as building materials.     

Airborne measurements of atmospheric electrical conductivities

Atmospheric electrical polar conductivities were measured using a Gerdien condenser mounted on an aircraft. These surveys, conducted over the western coast of South India, have detected enhanced conductivities associated with the placer deposits of the radioactive mineral monazite found in this region. The data reflect the variation in the level of surface radioactivity along the flight routes. In one flight that rose over the sea up to 1 km, the effect of radioactivity was seen to extend up to this point. Over land the influence of the surface radioactivity on electrical conductivity is mostly confined to the region of occurrence of the deposits. These studies also suggest the possibility of employing the Gerdien condenser in preliminary surveys to detect the presence of radioactivity.     

鉴江下游及其支流小东江和袂花江放射性研究

为了解鉴江放射性含量,分别在鉴江流域布设了5个水质和底泥监测点,取样进行总α和总β分析,并与省内本底调查资料比较,结果表明:鉴江水质中放射性含量上下游都比较低,而底泥的放射性含量则下游略高于上游;鉴江底泥放射性含量也低于省内各地土壤放射性含量的平均值;鉴江水质放射性总α和总β符合生活饮用水卫生标准。     

Radioactivity of the Earth and the Case for Potassium in the Earth’s Core

The radioactivity of the earth is an important parameter in understanding the dynamics of the planet and the evolution of the crust–mantle–core system but geochemical and geophysical approaches have had only a limited success in defining it. The opportunity of a direct estimate of the radioactivity of the earth by measurement of the geoneutrino flux takes on an added significance in this context. Such an independent new measurement will help resolve and/or clarify a number of questions about global scale processes in the earth and will help advance earth sciences.     

Tritium hydrology of the Mississippi River basin

In the early 1960s, the US Geological Survey began routinely analysing river water samples for tritium concentrations at locations within the Mississippi River basin. The sites included the main stem of the Mississippi River (at Luling Ferry, Louisiana), and three of its major tributaries, the Ohio River (at Markland Dam, Kentucky), the upper Missouri River (at Nebraska City, Nebraska) and the Arkansas River (near Van Buren, Arkansas). The measurements cover the period during the peak of the bomb‐produced tritium transient when tritium concentrations in precipitation rose above natural levels by two to three orders of magnitude. Using measurements of tritium concentrations in precipitation, a tritium input function was established for the river basins above the Ohio River, Missouri River and Arkansas River sampling locations. Owing to the extent of the basin above the Luling Ferry site, no input function was developed for that location. The input functions for the Ohio and Missouri Rivers were then used in a two‐component mixing model to estimate residence times of water within these two basins. (The Arkansas River was not modelled because of extremely large yearly variations in flow during the peak of the tritium transient.) The two components used were: (i) recent precipitation (prompt outflow) and (ii) waters derived from the long‐term groundwater reservoir of the basin. The tritium concentration of the second component is a function of the atmospheric input and the residence times of the groundwaters within the basin. Using yearly time periods, the parameters of the model were varied until a best fit was obtained between modelled and measured tritium data. The results from the model indicate that about 40% of the flow in the Ohio River was from prompt outflow, as compared with 10% for the Missouri River. Mean residence times of 10 years were calculated for the groundwater component of the Ohio River versus 4 years for the Missouri River. The mass flux of tritium through the Mississippi Basin and its tributaries was calculated during the years that tritium measurements were made. The cumulative fluxes, calculated in grams of ³H were: (i) 160 g for the Ohio (1961–1986), (ii) 98 g for the upper Missouri (1963–1997), (iii) 30 g for the Arkansas (1961–1997) and (iv) 780 g for the Mississippi (1961–1997). Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monte carlo simulation of in situ gamma-spectra recorded by NaI (Tl) detector in the marine environment

To develop a Na I(Tl) detector for in situ radioactivity monitoring in the marine environment and enhance the confidence of the probability of the gamma-spectrum analysis, Monte Carlo simulations using the Monte Carlo N-Particle( MNCP) code were performed to provide the response spectra of some interested radionuclides and the background spectra originating from the natural radionuclides in seawater recorded by a Na I(Tl) detector. A newly developed 75 mm × 75 mm Na I(Tl) detector was calibrated using four reference radioactive sources 137 Cs, 60 Co, 40 K and 54 Mn in the laboratory before the field measurements in seawater. A simulation model was established for the detector immersed in seawater. The simulated spectra were all broadened with Gaussian pulses to reflect the statistical fluctuations and electrical noise in the real measurement. The simulated spectra show that the single-energy photons into the detector are mostly scattering low-energy photons and the high background in the low energy region mainly originates from the Compton effect of the high energy γ-rays of natural radionuclides in seawater. The simulated background spectrum was compared with the experimental one recorded in field measurement and they seem to be in good agreement. The simulation method and spectra can be used for the accurate analysis of the filed measurement results of low concentration radioactivity in seawater.     

东北地区煤田地质环境放射性综合评价方法研究

通过筛查天然放射性测井资料获取地层连续的放射性数据,以异常层与煤层的位置关系确定煤层型、煤间型、煤上型、煤下型4种异常类型,建立了一套应用于煤田原生地质环境放射性综合评价方法.经过对评价方法和评价结果的分析,认为东北地区巴彦山煤田、呼和诺尔煤田、阜新煤田、平庄煤田等地质环境放射性明显,在开发中应注意放射性核素迁移造成的环境影响.     

Sources of the transuranic elements plutonium and neptunium in arctic marine sediments

We report here thermal ionization mass spectrometry measurements of ²³⁹Pu, ²⁴⁰Pu, ²⁴¹Pu, ²⁴²Pu, and ²³⁷Np isolated from oceanic, estuarine, and riverine sediments from the Arctic Ocean Basin. ²³⁸Pu/^239+240Pu activity ratios are also reported for alpha spectrometric analyses undertaken on a subset of these samples. Our results indicate that the Pu in sediments on the Alaskan shelf and slope, as well as that in the deep basins (Amerasian and Eurasian) of the Arctic Ocean, has its origin in stratospheric and tropospheric fallout. Sediments from the Ob and Yenisei Rivers show isotopic Pu signatures that are distinctly different from those of northern-hemisphere stratospheric fallout and indicate the presence of weapons-grade Pu originating from nuclear fuel reprocessing wastes generated at Russian facilities within these river catchments. Consequently, sediments of the Eurasian Arctic Ocean, particularly those in the Barents and Kara Seas, probably contain a mixture of Pu from stratospheric fallout, tropospheric fallout, and fuel-reprocessing wastes of riverine origin. In particular, the ²⁴¹Pu/²³⁹Pu ratios observed in these sediments are inconsistent with significant contributions of Pu to the arctic sediments studied from western European reprocessing facilities, principally Sellafield in the UK. Several other potential sources of Pu to arctic sediments can also be excluded as significant based upon the transuranic isotope ratios presented.     

含金破碎蚀变带地面伽玛能谱特征——以吉林伊通新家地区为例

放射性方法是重要的地球物理勘查方法之一.本文以吉林省中部伊通新家地区为例,讨论了一定地质条件下含金破碎蚀变带的地面伽玛能谱特征和放射性异常组合型式,提供了放射性方法应用于金矿勘查的一个实例     

天然石材的放射性评价

摘 要　 天然石材用作饰面材料时,应按 《天然石材放射防护分类控制标准》（犑犆５１８—９３） 进 行放射性评价。在石材矿山和石材产品放射性评价中,可采用核地球物理中地面 γ能谱和γ 总量 （照射量率） 检测方法,γ照射量率检出上限为５ ２狀犆／犽犵·犺。石材产品按内外照射限制 值 犆 犚犪 和 犆犲犚犪 的高低分为犃、犅、犆３大类。犆犲犚犪 超过１０００犅狇／犽犵的石材不可用作饰面材料。