Radioactivity Concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, 137Cs and 40K, Radionuclides for Soil and Moss Samples Around Gumushane, Turkey

The concentrations of natural radionuclides .in soil and moss samples around Gumushane, Turkey were determined by a well-calibrated high-purity germanium detector. It was found that activity concentrations ranged from 16.15 to 151.80 Bq kg-1 for 226Ra, from 9.10 to 35.84 Bqkg-1 for 232Th and from 236.83 to 1059.11 Bq kg-1 for 40K. Besides naturally occurring radionuclides, 232Th activity concentration was measured in soil and moss samples and it was found that 137Cs activity concentration ranged from from 7.17 to 40.04 Bq kg-1 with for soil, and from 12.42 to 496.89 Bq kg-1 for moss samples. Obtained values shows that the mean radium equivalent activity for soil and moss samples were 92 Bq.kg-1 and 165 Bq.kg-1, respectively. Raeq values of the measured samples are lower than the limit value of 370 Bq kg-1, equivalent to a gamma dose of 1.5 mSvxy-1