Determination of Levels of Radioactivity of Uranium and Radium in Environmental Samples by Liquid Scintillation Counting and Alpha Spectroscopy

The present study aims to use the α-spectrometry using silicon
surface-barrier detector Si (Li), as a radiometric technique to
estimate U-isotopes and Ra-226 that were carried out for two
rock samples from Gabal Gattar, north-eastern desert area, Egypt
and two references soil samples of international atomic energy
agency, IAEA. A secular equilibrium between U-238 and U-234 and
disequilibrium between U-238 and Ra-226 were observed. There is
no significant change of radioactivity levels of U-238, U-234, and Ra-
226; this means that there is a secular equilibrium between U-238
and its relative daughters. Specific dose equivalent rate of sample
#1 equal about three times the corresponding value of sample #2
and doses equivalent rate for both two samples are negligible after
about 6 cm without a shield