Investigation of Radiological and Chemical Contents of Bauxite Ore Extracted in Turkey

Abstract

In this study, which consists of two parts, the radiological and chemical content of bauxite ore was investigated. Gamma-ray spectrometry was used in the first part of the study to determine the activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in samples taken from bauxite deposits in Turkey. The measured activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K varied from 12.1 ± 2.5 to 132.6 ± 11.4 Bq kg-1 with a mean of 78.4 ± 8.3 Bq kg-1, 6.5 ± 0.5 to 97.3 ± 9.9 Bq kg-1 with a mean of 64.5 ± 5.9 Bq kg-1, and 5.1 ± 0.0 to 356.4 ± 40.1 Bq kg-1 with a mean of 52.6 ± 5 Bq kg-1, respectively. The calculated mean radium equivalent activity value is 177.4 Bq kg-1, the mean gamma dose rate absorbed in the air is 78.8 nGy h-1, the mean corresponding annual effective dose value is 96.6 μSv y-1, and the mean lifetime risk of cancer is 3.85 × 10-4. The chemical content of the bauxite samples was determined in the second part of the study using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF). For which sectors in the industry the existing bauxite deposits in Turkey can be used was investigated based on this information.