| dc.description.abstract | This study aims to ob tain data on ter res trial ra dio ac tiv ity com ing from nat u rally oc cur ring
(40K, 226Ra, 232Th, and 238U) and artificial (137Cs) radionuclides in sur face soil (0-10 cm) of
se lected eigh teen pub lic-ac cess ur ban ar eas in Kruševac city, Ser bia, and to as sess the cor re -
spond ing health ef fects for cit i zens us ing those ar eas for rec re ational pur poses. The spe cific
activities of investigated radionuclides were analyzed using HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry.
The mean spe cific ac tiv ity of 40K, 226Ra, 232Th, 238U, and 137Cs was found to be 353, 39.8,
38.9, 41.0, and 5.9, re spec tively, in com pli ance with their val ues in other parts of Ser bia and
neigh bor ing coun tries re ported in sim i lar re searches. To eval u ate the hu man health risk as so -
ciated with radionuclides, con serva tive exposure assump tions and models recommended by
the United States En vi ron men tal Pro tec tion Agency were em ployed tak ing into ac count
three exposure routes: ingestion, inhalation of soil, and exter nal irradiation. The absorbed
gamma dose rate in the air due to nat u ral radionuclides in soil was cal cu lated. The cal cu lated
indices suggested that the radiation risk arising from natu ral and artificial radionuclides was
not sig nif i cant. The to tal ex cess life time can cer based on the 95 % up per con fi dence limit of
the spe cific ac tiv i ties mean was cal cu lated to be 5.89×10–6, lower than the tol er a ble risk for
regulatory purposes (10–4). Among investigated radia tion exposure pathways, exter nal expo -
sure was the most con trib ut ing one for the health risk. The re sults ob tained for the city's parks
and play grounds sug gested their safe use for rec re ational pur poses from the radioecological
point of view. | en_US |
