Co esponding au ho : Adekunle Job
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A case s udy o en i onmen al gamma adia ion measu emen s: Wes Ki by Beach,
Ri e Dee Es ua y
Adekunle Job *
Depa men o Physics Oli e Lodge Labo a o y, Uni e si y o Li e pool, Ox o d S ee Li e pool L69 7ZE Uni ed Kingdom.
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 26(01), 3837-3841
Publica ion his o y: Recei ed on 12 Ma ch 2025; e ised on 26 Ap il 2025; accep ed on 29 Ap il 2025
A icle DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.30574/wja .2025.26.1.1347
Abs ac
The cu en on-si e e alua ion o en i onmen al con amina ion is examined. This is achie ed by using soil samples
aken om h ee poin s a Wes Ki by beach in he Ri e Dee Es ua y. This si e is chosen because i is a idal a ea in
close p oximi y o he nuclea acili ies a Sella ield, Windscale, and Calde Hall (which a e all nea Seascale, Cumb ia).
Sella ield is a o me nuclea powe s a ion ha closed in 2004 and now a nuclea ep ocessing si e, whils Windscale
and Calde Hall a e bo h nuclea powe plan s unde going decommissioning. This case s udy examines whe he he e
is e idence o show ha possible wash o o adioac i e subs ances ia he neighbou ing i e s Calde and Ehen en e
he sea and may hen be washed along he nea by coas line. The samples collec ed we e analysed wi h he aid o gamma
spec ome y using high pu i y ge manium (HPGe) de ec o s, his included bo h BEGe, and N- ype de ec o s. Two
na u al occu ing decay chains we e obse ed, Th-232 and he U-238 se ies. Obse ed adionuclides included Ac-228,
Pb-212, Bi-212 and Tl-208 and Pb-214, Th-234 and Bi214 o Th-232 and U-238 espec i ely, al hough wi h a e y low
ac i i y le el in bo h cases which migh no be unconnec ed o hei sho hal -li es ha a e ei he in days o in minu es.
Two a i icial adionuclides (Am-241 and Cs-137) we e de ec ed in some o he collec ed samples. Am-241 was p esen
in only a ew o he samples and wi h e y low ac i i ies o ≤ 0.023Bq/kg. Cs-137 was p esen in almos all o he samples
i espec i e o he dep h o poin o collec ion, also wi h a low le el o ac i i y o ≤0.029Bq/kg. The mos ob ious ac i i y
de ec ed was ha o he na u ally occu ing adionuclide K- 40, wi h a eco ded ac i i y le el o abou 0.4Bq/kg. The
disco e y o K-40 may be due o i s p esence in ocks and om he use o e ilize s by a me s, which could ha e
subsequen ly washed o in o he i e sys em. Howe e , he e a e also o he adionuclides de ec ed which include, Eu-
152 wi h hal -li e 13.537 yea s, Y-88 wi h hal -li e o 106.65 days, e c., Eu-152 is a membe o he lan hanide se ies
which a e a e ea h me als ha can be ound in exploi able o e deposi whils he Y-88 is he mos s able adioiso ope
o na u al Y ium wi h Y-89 being he only iso ope, hough in hei lowes ac i i y le els.
Keywo ds: BEGe De ec o ; N-Type De ec o ; P-Type De ec o ; Fi z peaks; P ospec ; Soil Samples
1. In oduc ion
Radia ion is p esen in he en i onmen as a esul o bo h human ac i i ies and also by na u al occu ing phenomenon.
The elease o adioac i e ma e ial om nuclea acili ies o ins alla ions is one o he majo causes o man-made
adioac i e con amina ion o he en i onmen . Once discha ged in o he a mosphe e, long anged a mosphe ic
mechanical anspo p ocesses can lead o widesp ead con amina ion. Howe e , i can o igina e om a poin , as in he
case o an acciden , o om was e ha is washed by lood om a nuclea si e, pa icula ly in coas al egions. (Tai a e
al., 2013). Fu he mo e, Radionuclides a e mainly con eyed by a achmen o soil pa icles o ae osol pa icles and he
wea he condi ions, o ins ance snow, ain and wind a e mo e likely o play a majo ole in con eying adionuclides.
This is mainly along he coas al a eas whe e nuclea acili ies a e buil . In his sense, i is assumed ha ce ain pa s o
adionuclide deposi on he su ace soil whils o he s a e con eyed benea h he g ound. The e o e, Radionuclide
analysis o en i onmen al samples is e y ele an o he judgmen o ecen en i onmen al adioac i i y le els
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 26(01), 3837-3841
3838
(Shimu a e al., 2012). Two no able examples a e he cases o Che nobyl and Fukushima. Amids manmade
adionuclides, mainly 90S and 137Cs a e agged as a main dange o o ganisms, as a esul om he uncommon
combina ion o ela i e hal -li es o 29.12y s o S -90 and 30.14y s o Cs-137 and hei me abolic and chemical
p ope ies which closely esemble calcium and po assium espec i ely (F anic e al., 2007).
This epo will equally show how he sample analysis is ca ied ou ; om he sampling s age, which has o do wi h
sample collec ion p ocedu e, he p epa a ion (pu i ica ion) s age o he analysis s age, using de ec ion means such as
high pu e ge manium (HPGe) de ec o . I also demons a es how samples we e analyzed, ha is he ones wi h non-
backg ound sub ac ion and hose wi h backg ound sub ac ion using manual p ocedu es.
This expe imen al wo k was ca ied ou o de e mine he le el o ac i i y o adionuclides, especially he long-li ed
nuclides, o sa e y pu poses in he No hwes o England aking Wes Ki by beach as a case s udy because o i s coas al
link wi h i e s a ound a o me Nuclea si e (Sella ield l d).
2. S udy A ea and Sample Desc ip ion
The samples we e collec ed om a pa icula poin , Wes Ki by beach on he i e Dee es ua y, which is a idal coas al
a ea in he No hwes o England. F om he beginning o he beach owa d he main i e , I coun ed 295 o 300 paces
whils walking; his was agged as he high-wa e ma k a ea and he si e sample labeled SAMPLE. sample was collec ed
wi h a 50 cm long and 10cm diame e cylind ical plas ic pipe wi h he help o a sledgehamme o d i e in he pipe in o
he soil and digging ou wi h a sho el. The pipe o he SAMPLE was damaged by bed ock in he soil, as a esul o his
only samples om 0cm o 30cm we e collec ed.
2.1. Samples P epa a ion
The e o e, in o de o emo e any possible a ia ion ha migh be due o e apo a ing mois u e, he samples we e d ied
ho oughly in an elec ic o en o one week, a e i s pu ing hem in pape ilms. Thei sample label and dep h we e
insc ibed on each. The ea e , he sample was g inned in a mug mo a wi h pes le be o e pu ing hem in a Ma inelli
beake , hese beake s p o ide a mo e easonable symme ical sample de ec o geome y. In addi ion, all Ma inelli
beake s we e weighed be o e and a e adding con en .
3. Sample Resul
The a e age ac i i ies (Bq/kg) o each nuclide ound in each spo we e calcula ed manually as shown in able 1 (a and
b) and igu e 1 (a and b), o sample.
Table 1 (a and b) and igu e 1 (a and b), below gi es he a ia ions in speci ic ac i i y wi h dep h o he de ec ed and
measu ed adionuclides o he sample . The mos conspicuous le el measu ed in his a ea was om a na u ally
occu ing singly nuclide, K-40. O he s measu ed a e na u ally occu ing chains o Th-232 and U-238.
Table 1(a) A e age ac i i y (Bq/kg) o SAMPLE (Non-Backg ound Sub ac ion) BEGe De ec o
Nuclide
Dep h in cm
Ac i i y Concen a ion (Bq/kg)
SampleA1(0-10cm)
SampleA2(10-20cm)
SampleA3(20- 30cm)
Ac-228
1.31E-02
1.79E-02
2.29E-02
Am-241
5.34E-04
1.86E-03
*
Bi-212
1.39E-02
1.90E-02
3.44E-02
Bi-214
6.18E-02
6.48E-02
6.93E-02
Cs-137
8.34E-03
2.40E-02
1.44E-02
Eu-152
5.08E-03
5.60E-03
7.19E-03
K-40
3.71E-01
3.72E-01
3.71E-01
Pb-212
5.40E-03
1.11E-02
1.33E-02
Pb-214
1.19E-02
1.48E-02
1.54E-02
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3839
Th-234
*
*
3.45E-02
Tl-208
5.11E-03
1.64E-02
6.34E-03
U-235
*
*
*
*no de ec ed
Figu e 1 (a) Non-Bkg Sub a c ion
Table 1 (b) A e age ac i i y (Bq/kg) o SAMPLE (Wi h Backg ound Sub ac ion) BEGe De ec o
Nuclide
Dep h in cm
Ac i y Concen a ion (Bq/kg)
SampleA1(0-10cm)
SampleA2(10-20cm)
SampleA3(20- 30cm)
Ac-228
1.04E-02
1.47E-02
2.13E-02
Am-241
5.34E-04
1.86E-03
*
Bi-212
1.39E-02
1.90E-02
3.44E-02
Bi-214
1.18E-02
2.17E-02
2.34E-02
Cs-137
7.69E-03
2.34E-02
1.38E-02
Eu-152
5.08E-03
5.60E-03
7.19E-03
K-40
1.92E-01
2.04E-01
1.97E-01
Pb-212
5.40E-03
1.11E-02
1.33E-02
Pb-214
1.01E-02
1.32E-02
1.28E-02
Th-234
*
*
3.45E-02
Tl-208
1.41E-03
2.82E-03
2.75E-03
U-235
*
*
*
* no d ec ed
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Figu e 1 (b) Wi h Bkg Sub ac ion
4. Discussion
The sample spo in Wes Ki by beach, Ri e Dee es ua y spo A is abou 295 o 300 paces om he beginning o he
beach, and aken du ing he summe . The sample was collec ed wi h a 50cm long pipe, and each pipe was di ided in o
5 dep h sec ion making 10cm dep h o e e y sample, howe e we loss abou 20cm o he pipe due o he b oken pa
as a esul o s iking bed ock, in which only 3 sub samples we e collec ed ha is 0-10cm, 10-20cm and 20-30cm All
samples we e de ec ed and measu ed using high pu i y ge manium de ec o ((HPGe), lynx box and he compu e
so wa e called P ospec .
The sample was p ocessed in he de ec o s o abou 24hou s and da a collec ed a e calib a ion wi h a Eu opium-152-
poin sou ce and e iciency ca ied ou wi h a s anda d Ma inelli sou ce (NPRL 597) using bes i pa ame e s ob ained
o he shaping and ise ime using Cobal -60. The spec a ob ained om he de ec o o each sample we e analyzed
manually.
The majo i y o he nuclides ound we e na u ally occu ing nuclides o e es ial o igin ha occu singly, he nuclides
ha occu in chains and he man-made adionuclides. The nuclide ha occu s singly is he K-40 and he ones ha occu
in chains a e Th-232 and U-238 se ies, which includes Ac-228, Pb-212, Bi-1212, Tl-208 o Th-232 and Pb-214, Th-234
Bi-214 o U-238 espec i ely. K-40 wi h a e age ac i i y o a ound 0.3Bq/kg o 0.4Bq/kg has he mos signi ican
ac i i y which is much highe han o he s ha ha e a e age ac i i ies a less han 0.2Bq/kg. O he s wi h no oo
signi ican ac i i ies seen we e om bo h he U-238 and Th-232 se ies. The man-made nuclides, Cs-137 shows no oo
i al ac i i y. While Am-241 could be agged almos no p esen because o i s low p esence in ce ain dep hs
5. Conclusion
This esea ch o en i onmen al gamma using soil sample shows ha he le el o ac i i y o Cs-137 and Am-241 a e e y
low, gi en ha o public p o ec ion, he e is no hing o be a aid o going by he abo e disco e ed ac i i ies. In espec
o he U-238 and Th-232 se ies hey also show low ac i i ies. I should be no ed ha U anium in he soil h ough
phospha e e ilize does no signi ican ly a ec he dose ecei ed by he gene al popula ion. I hope his s udy will lead
o u he in es iga ion o his a ea in Wes Ki by o u he p o e he low le el o ac i i ies o possibly aken soil
samples mo e deepe in o he i e o e en a he island beyond he beach whe e people usually go o sigh seeing.
Compliance wi h e hical s anda ds
Disclosu e o con lic o in e es
This esea ch was conduc ed in acco dance wi h e hical s anda ds o en i onmen al sampling and adiological
moni o ing. All p ocedu es in ol ing he collec ion and handling o en i onmen al samples adhe ed o applicable
na ional and ins i u ional guidelines. No human o animal subjec s we e in ol ed in his s udy.
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 26(01), 3837-3841
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Disclosu e o Con lic o In e es
The au ho decla es ha he e is no con lic o in e es ega ding he publica ion o his manusc ip .
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