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Evaluation of soil radioactivity in the areas of underground nuclear explosions at the Pomuk gas field site in Uzbekistan

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Abstract

This study investigates soil radioactivity at the Pomuk gas field in Uzbekistan, a region with history of underground nuclear activity. Using a NaI (Tl) scintillation gamma spectrometer, soil samples were analyzed for concentrations of 232Th, 226Ra, 40K, and 137Cs. Concentrations were found to be in the range of 19.0–31.0 Bq/kg for 232Th, 12.0–32.0 Bq/kg for 226Ra, 450.0–634.0 Bq/kg for 40K, and 2.4–11.0 Bq/kg for 137Cs. Surface radon flux density was measured using a coal sorbent-based passive method, with values ranging from 26.1 to 79.0 mBq/m2s. Mean activity values for radium equivalent (Raeq) and gamma representative level index (Iγ) were calculated to be 75.2–96.5 Bq/kg and 0.3–0.4 Bq/kg, respectively. The absorbed airborne gamma dose rates (GDR) varied between 41.0 and 52.0 nGy/h, while annual effective dose rates (AEDR) were 0.3–0.4 μSv/year. The radiological risk assessment indicates the area is within safe limits for the population and environment, providing a foundation for future radiological monitoring programs.

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Acknowledgements

The findings presented in this article are dedicated to the esteemed memory of Academician Talib Musaevich Muminov from the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan. The authors would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments.

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  1. Shakhboz Khasanov and Ulugbek Tukhtaev equally contributed to the study.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Samarkand State University, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, 140104

    Shakhboz Khasanov, Guljahon Akhmedova, Ulugbek Tukhtaev & Askar Safarov

  2. Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Shakhboz Khasanov

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Shakhboz Khasanov & Ram Proshad

  4. Samarkand Branch of National Institute of Metrology of Uzbekistan, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, 140105

    Ulugbek Tukhtaev

  5. Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China

    Ram Proshad

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  1. Shakhboz Khasanov
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Contributions

Material preparation and data collection were performed by UT. Data analysis and review were performed by SK, GA, UT, and RP. The manuscript was written by SK and UT. The study was supervised by AS and GA. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Shakhboz Khasanov.

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Khasanov, S., Akhmedova, G., Tukhtaev, U. et al. Evaluation of soil radioactivity in the areas of underground nuclear explosions at the Pomuk gas field site in Uzbekistan. Environ Monit Assess 195, 1412 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-12018-7

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