Natural radionuclide survey in the coastal strip of the 290 Ramsar site, Uruguay

An initial on-going survey of the activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K for sand samples collected within the coastal strip of 290 Ramsar site evaluated the external hazard index, the outdoor annual effective dose equivalent and the radium equivalent activity, to elucidate potential risks for the resident inhabitants. The range of mean activity concentrations in the whole area for ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were between 4.12 ± 0.26 and 48.3 ± 1.4, 5.47 ± 0.55 and 194 ± 13, 77.7 ± 4.2 and 445 ± 18 Bq kg⁻¹, respectively. The Barra de Valizas–Aguas Dulces region had the highest activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra and ²³²Th. The annual effective dose equivalent for this region was higher than the mean worldwide value, whereas it is lower than the recommended values for public exposure.