Study of natural radioactivity in riverbank soils along the Chao Phraya river basin in Thailand

Levels of naturally occurring radioactivity in surface soils along the Chao Phraya river have been investigated. The activity concentrations of radionuclides in the 238U and 232Th decay chains and from 40K were determined through gamma-ray spectrometry measurements made using a hyperpure germanium detector in a low background configuration. Activity concentrations of 238U, 232Th and 40K were found to be 55.3±1.2↔65.2±1.4, 60.7±1.2↔69.1±1.3 and 393±13↔478±16 Bq/kg, respectively. Concerning radiological risk, the absorbed gamma dose rate in air from those soils was estimated to lie in the range 81.6±1.9↔90.4±2.1 nGy/h; the outdoor annual effective dose equivalent was calculated to be 100.1±2.3↔110.8±2.5 μSv/yr. These results are compared with radioactivity measurements with world mean values.