Natural radioactivity & associated radiological health hazards in soil around Van Eck Power plant, Windhoek, Namibia

TL;DR

This study measures natural radioactivity levels in soil around Namibia's Van Eck Power Plant, assessing potential health risks and finding that radiation doses are within international safety limits.

Contribution

It provides specific activity concentration data of radionuclides in soil near a coal-fired power plant in Namibia, filling a regional knowledge gap.

Findings

Radionuclide levels slightly above background values.

Radiation doses within international safety standards.

No significant radiological health hazards detected.

Abstract

Primordial radionuclides such as uranium (U-238), thorium (Th-232), and potassium (K-40) and their progenies contained in coal can be a source of concern to the environment in a thermal coal-powered plant. In this study, the average activity concentrations of Ra-226, Th-232, and K-40 in the soil around the Van Eck coal-fired power plant in Namibia were determined by the means of the gamma-ray spectrometry technique. The obtained average activity concentrations in the studied soil samples range from 7.74 to 20.04, 8.59 to 31.74, and 108.8 to 484.9 Bq/kg with an average of 13.33, 17.73, and 269.6 Bq/kg for Ra-226, Th-232, and K-40, respectively, which were slightly higher than the Windhoek background values. The estimated radiological health hazards were within the prescribed international reference values. The dose rates to which the residents within the 15 km radius are subjected due to combustion activities at the power plant were within the public exposure limits.