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.
