Natural radioelement concentrations in fertilizers and the soil of the Mila region of Algeria

International audienceThe addition of inorganic fertilizers to treat crop soil and increase its production has become a necessity and a tool used around the world. These fertilizers contain different quantities of uranium and thorium. Therefore, tons of radionuclides from natural radioactive series 238U, 235U and 232Th are dispersed in the environment due to a high use of fertilizer in agriculture. In this work, the radioactivity levels were determined in two fertilizers and in fertilized and unfertilized soil samples collected at various depths from the Algerian agricultural region of El-Athmania Mila, using high resolution gamma ray spectroscopy. The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K for fertilized and unfertilized soil samples were found unchanged as a function of depth and ranged from 23.72 ± 2.37 to 65.47 ± 5.06 Bq:Kg1; 32.48 ± 9.84 to 49.83 ± 5.31 Bq:Kg1 for 226Ra, from 26.45 ± 0.78 to 27.10 ± 0.80 Bq:Kg1; 27.56 ± 0.75 to 28.70 ± 0.90 Bq:Kg1 for 232Th and from 220.80 ± 10.01 to 260.70 ± 8.24 Bq:Kg1; 283.50 ± 8.41 to 290.10 ± 10.50 Bq:Kg1 for 40K respectively. The presence of 137Csis found in all measured samples and its average activity for all soil samples was 3.12 ± 0.13 Bq:Kg1. To assess the radiological hazard, the radiation equivalent activity (Raeq), the representative level index (Igr), the external hazard (Hex), the internal hazard (Hin) and the absorbed dose rate due to three primordial radionuclides for soil samples were calculated. The measured values were compared with the published data in different countries and were found to be safe for the public and the environmen