Natural and artificial radioactivity levels and hazards of soils in the Kücük Menderes Basin, Turkey

In this study, natural and artificial radionuclide activity concentrations in surface soils of Kücük Menderes Basin have been measured using gamma spectroscopy. The soil samples were collected from agricultural lands in the Kücük Menderes Basin in Turkey. The activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs in the soils were found to be range of 12.63 ± 2.28–72.51 ± 11.23, 11.45 ± 2.4–58.12 ± 4.76, 234.8 ± 14.85–1058.52 ± 24 Bq kg⁻¹ dw and 2.31 ± 0.18–7.75 ± 1.14 Bq kg⁻¹, respectively. The natural gamma radioactivity of the terrestrial radionuclides in soil samples and the gamma absorbed dose rate, the annual effective dose equivalent, the radium equivalent activity, the external hazard index, were calculated and compared with the international recommended values.