Excess lifetime cancer risk due to natural radioactivity in Gümüşhane Province, NE Turkey

Abstract

In this study, 162 in situ measurements of 238U, 232Th, and 40K radionuclide concentrations dataset taken by the gamma-rayspectrometer in Gümüşhane, Turkey are presented. The gamma ray measurements were performed by a 512-channel, three-windowgamma-ray spectrometry equipment made by GF Instruments. We first observed the radionuclides of the 238U, 232Th, and 40K values inGümüşhane. We then calculated the hazard indices of gamma radiation such as annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE), internal andexternal hazard index (Hin, Hex), and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) based on the radionuclide abundances of 238U, 232Th, and 40K forthe first time. In Gümüşhane, the average activity concentrations of radionuclides 238U, 232Th, and 40K were measured as 58.7 ± 34.3 Bqkg-1, 62.7 ± 37.2 Bq kg-1, and 1026.8 ± 486.0 Bq kg-1, respectively. The average outdoor annual effective dose equivalent and ELCR valueswere 132.2 ± 63.2 mSv yr-1 and 0.40 ± 0.19 × 10-3, respectively. Numerical results indicate that the radiological parameters (AEDE andELCR) obtained for Gümüşhane Province were greater than the world’s mean values.