THE IMPACT OF URANIUM NEAR A PHOSPHATE MINING PORT ON THE ENVIRONMENT (GULF OF AQABA, JORDAN)

Uranium has three isotopes in nature, the 238 U, 235 U and 234 U. The presence of uranium isotopes in marine sediment at relatively high concentrations was the drive behind several studies to determine the radionuclides levels in marine ecosystems to assess the potentially negative effects on environment. By using alpha spectroscopy, this study determined the activity concentrations of uranium isotopes in marine sediment and seagrasses from the northern Gulf of Aqaba in Jordan. Samples were collected from a phosphate mining port located at the northern coastline Gulf of Aqaba in Jordan. In marine sediment of the phosphate port, the activity concentrations of alpha emitters were (783.47 - 836.17, 29.43 - 30.43, and 804.56 - 847.80 Bq kg -1 ) for 238 U, 235 U and 234 U, respectively, and (158.19 Bq kg -1 ) in seagrasses samples. Our results show that the determined levels of uranium radioactive isotopes are more than the internationally accepted limit by approximately two folds. In conclusion, raw phosphate dusts might be one of the main pollution sources for marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Aqaba.