Radioactivity of some natural and artificial radionuclides in coastal seawater at Ninh Thuan, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Ca Mau provinces in 2018

Nguyen Dinh Tung1, Le Nhu Sieu1, Nguyen Van Phuc1, Nguyen Van Phu1, Tran Dinh Khoa1, Vuong Thi Thu Hang1, Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga1, Le Thi Minh Tuyen1
1 Nuclear Research Institute. 01 Nguyen Tu Luc Str., Dalat City, Lamdong Province, Vietnam

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Abstract

Radioactivities of some natural (Ra-226, Th-232, U-238, Po-210) and artificial (Cs-137, Sr-90 and Pu-239,240) radionuclides in coastal seawater at monitoring points of Ninh Thuan, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Ca Mau provinces were analyzed quarterly in the year of 2018. Radioactivities of Ra-226, Th-232, U-238, and Cs-137 had been determined by simultaneous precipitation method and measured on low-level background gamma spectrometer; the radioactivities of Po-210 and Pu- 239,240 had been analyzed by radiochemical separation method and measured on alpha spectrometer; the radioactivity of Sr-90 had been analyzed by radiochemical separation method and measured on low-level background beta counting system. The ranges of radioactivities of Ra-226, Th-232, U-238, Po-210, Cs-137, Sr-90, and Pu-239,240 were 2.71 ÷ 15.91, 3.45 ÷ 35.93, 3.02 ÷ 21.47, 1.51÷ 6.74, 0.88 ÷ 1.68, 1.08 ÷ 1.86 and 0.0026 ÷ 0.0062 mBq/L, with the average values of 6.37, 12.67, 8.34, 3.29, 1.36, 1.46 and 0.0043 mBq/L, respectively. The results shown that the radioactivities of the above-mentioned radionuclides varied between the seawaters at Ninh Thuan, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Ca Mau seawater. Additionally, physicochemical parameters in seawater were also surveyed to assess their impact on the fluctuations of the above radionuclides.

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References

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