Environmental radioactivity assessment for Bayburt, Turkey.

This study assesses the results of environmental radioactivity measurements for Bayburt Province in the Eastern Black Sea area of Turkey. Using gamma-ray spectrometry, activity concentrations of the natural radionuclides (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K and a fission product (137)Cs were investigated in soil samples. The activity concentrations of (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K in various building materials such as sand, cement and marble and in drinking waters were determined. The activity concentrations vary from 16 to 54 Bq kg(-1) for (226)Ra, from 10 to 21 Bq kg(-1) for (232)Th and from 113 to 542 Bq kg(-1) for (40)K in building materials. The mean specific activity concentrations of (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K in drinking waters were 93, 30 and 504 mBq l(-1), respectively. The concentrations of gross alpha and beta radioactivity in drinking water samples collected from four different sampling stations have been determined. The results show that the gross alpha and beta activities are lower than the screening levels given by the World Health Organization (WHO), which are a maximum contaminant level of 0.5 Bq l(-1) and 1.0 Bq l(-1) gross alpha and beta radioactivity, respectively, in drinking water. Indoor radon measurements were made in 44 dwellings in Bayburt by using Cr-39 detectors. Radon concentrations in dwellings in Bayburt varied from 17 to 125 Bq m(-3) and the average value was 56 Bq m(-3). The results obtained in this study indicate that the region has a background radiation level that is within the typical natural range and shows no significant departures from other parts of the country.