Environmental Assessment of Natural Radionuclides and Trace Elements Around Seyitömer Coal Fired Power Plant
Bildiriler > Özet Bildiri · 2022
Yazarlar: Banu YOHO, Erkan Güler, Buket CANBAZ ÖZTÜRK, Michael Duncan Yoho
INSTEC-2022 International Nuclear Sciences and Technologies Conference, Türkiye, Aydın, Uluslararası, Sözlü Sunum, Özet Bildiri, 2022-2022, ss 1-1
Özet
<p>Coal-fired power plants are widely used worldwide in order to generate electricity. Coal, residues, and waste produced by combustion contain naturally occurring radionuclides such as 238U, 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K and trace elements such as Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni, and Zn. These radionuclides and trace elements become enriched in ash fractions during combustion. During high-temperature processes in the furnace, volatile and semi-volatile elements and radionuclides are partially emitted to the environment, resulting in the redistribution of these elements, especially in the surface soil around coal-fired power plants. Metal pollution, which is one of the most important environmental problems for many parts of the world, can enter the food chain, affect the entire ecosystem and pose a risk for human health.</p><p>The focus of this study is therefore on the determination of the natural radionuclides and trace elements in soil samples which are collected by the grid method depending on the topographic variability. Trace elements concentrations and natural radionuclides were determined via inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS) and gamma spectrometry, respectively. The ranges of the activity concentrations were between ND - 134±7 Bq/kg for 238U, ND - 89±5 Bq/kg for 232Th, 33±18 - 529±24 Bq/kg for 40K. Natural radioactivity and terrestrial dose distribution maps of the study area were created by geostatistical methods, ArcGIS 10.7.1 software ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst module ordinary kriging method. While high levels were observed at 238U and 232Th concentrations in the</p><p>south of the power plant, lower levels were observed in the east side. This may be due to the topographic structure of the land area and the prevailing wind direction. Bubble maps were created to show spatial trace elements concentrations with ESRI ArcGIS 10.7.1 software for Windows. While the Cu, Zn, Ni, and Pb concentrations obtained in the soil samples were around the earth crust abundance ratios, an enrichment was detected in the Hg and As concentrations.</p><p><br></p><p>Acknowledgments: This work was supported by grants from The Scientific Research Committee of Ege</p><p>University, Contract No:FGA-2020-21865.</p>