Étude de la répartition de radionucléides présents dans les lacs de barrages artificiels.

Abstract

Since its creation, the earth has always been bathed in a cocktail of natural radioactivity. Its content varies from location to another and from depth to another. Radiations arisen from these radionuclides constitutes hazard to human health. Therefore the radioactivity measurement is necessary to evaluate the effects of these radiations. In the recent years, many studies give an importance to activity concentration measurements of natural radionuclides in sediment which plays an important role in aquatic ecosystems. It is considered the main source of continuous radiation exposure of human and as considered a medium of migration for the transfer of radionuclides to the biological systems. The aim of the present work is to study the distribution of natural radioactivity in Beni Haroun dam; the largest dam in Algeria. For this reason, sediment samples collected from different locations in this dam and from rivers feeding it. Activity concentration measurements of natural radionuclides in these samples were carried out using a high purity germanium detector (HPGe). The 226Ra, 232Th and 40K mean activity were found to be 23.48 ± 3.85, 23.48±14.03 and 196.28± 31.00 Bq/kg, respectively. Also, radiological hazard parameters due to these sediment samples were estimated based on these specific activities. Finally, the results of the present study were discussed and compared with internationally recommended values.