An assessment of natural radioactivity of soils and its external radiological impact

kavin submitted, created time 7 months 2 weeks (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

Soil samples collected from five states in the southwestern part of Nigeria have been analyzed for activity concentration of gamma-ray emitters. And they found that the calculated collective dose equivalent values for the five states ranged from 87,000 person-Sv to 600,000 person-Sv. The estimated annual outdoor effective values were considerably higher than the world soil average value of 70 muSv y.

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Fungi can stabilize uranium pollutants!

Darkfrog submitted, created time 8 months 1 day (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

U.S. military equipment uses depleted uranium. Its density makes it very useful for armor and munitions. However, even though it is less radioactive than regular uranium, the tiny particles that are released on contact can still leave soil and water supplies dangeously polluted. Researchers have foudn a naturally occuring mycorrhizal fungus that can convert uranium particles into a stable form that will not enter the food chain.

3 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: polluted water water pollution uranium radioactivity pollution fungi mycorrhizal fungi warfare