Determination of natural radioactivity in beach sands from the Adriatic Sea Coastline, Albania

This study aims to determine the natural radioactivity concentration level in beach sand samples collected long the coastline of the Adriatic Sea in Albania. The activity concentrations of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th were measured by using high-resolution gamma ray spectrometry technique. The activity concentrations of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th in the beach sand vary from 43 to 458 Bq/kg, 8 to 67 Bq/kg and 5 to 91 Bq/kg, respectively. The measured data were compared against literature values, where it seems that the main contributor to radionuclide enrichment in beach sands are due to heavy minerals. Therefore, the investigation of elemental composition of beach sands can give a better understanding of the behavior of radionuclides in the coastline of the Adriatic Sea in Albania. The outdoor air absorbed dose rate and the corresponding annual effective dose rate in the investigated beaches varied from 15 to 98 nGy/h and 19 to 120 µSv/y, respectively. The Adriatic Sea beaches, generally, do not pose any significant radiological risk to the population and tourists.This study aims to determine the natural radioactivity concentration level in beach sand samples collected long the coastline of the Adriatic Sea in Albania. The activity concentrations of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th were measured by using high-resolution gamma ray spectrometry technique. The activity concentrations of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th in the beach sand vary from 43 to 458 Bq/kg, 8 to 67 Bq/kg and 5 to 91 Bq/kg, respectively. The measured data were compared against literature values, where it seems that the main contributor to radionuclide enrichment in beach sands are due to heavy minerals. Therefore, the investigation of elemental composition of beach sands can give a better understanding of the behavior of radionuclides in the coastline of the Adriatic Sea in Albania. The outdoor air absorbed dose rate and the corresponding annual effective dose rate in the investigated beaches varied from 15 to 98 nGy/h and 19 to 120 µSv/y, respectively. The Adriatic Sea beaches, generally, do not pose any significant ra...