RESUMO
Activity concentrations of main terrestrial radioisotopes (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K were measured in geological samples collected in Libya's Jabal Eghei area, in order to contribute to the establishment of a baseline map of the environmental radioactivity levels and to estimate the associated environmental risk to the population. Activity concentrations ranged from 22 to 5256 Bq kg(-1) for (226)Ra, from 11 to 221 Bq kg(-1) for (232)Th and from 132.0 to 2304 Bq kg(-1) for (40)K. Using these results, representative risk factors were calculated: the total absorbed gamma dose rate in air (ranged from 25.5 to 2434.3 nGy h(-1) with a mean value of 251.8 nGy h(-1)), the radium equivalent activity (55-5281 Bq kg(-1), with the mean value of 537 Bq kg(-1)), external hazard index (0.149-14.24, with a mean value of 1.451) and annual outdoor effective dose (31.3-2985.4 µSv, with a mean value of 308.9 µSv). Accordingly, the radiation risk is above the world average, mainly as the consequence of discovered uranium anomalies.
