Radiological significance of beach sand used for climatotherapy from Safaga, Egypt

Abstract

As a part of national survey to evaluate natural radioactivity in the environment, concentration levels of radioactivity were analysed for sand samples from Safaga, Egypt, which is an ideal area for climatotherapy of psoriasis. Gamma dose rates of three beaches in Safaga were measured. The values ranged from 195.1 to 210.7 nGy h⁻¹. The activity concentrations (Bq kg⁻¹) of radionuclides ²³⁸U series, ²³²Th series and ⁴⁰K in three different sand profiles (0–5, 5–10, 10–15, 15–25 and 25 − 40 cm) were measured using gamma-ray spectrometry. The annual effective doses were 259 µSv y⁻¹ for Minveila, 255 µSv y⁻¹ for Ganet Safaga and 239 µSv y⁻¹ for Masab El-Ghazel beaches. The dose rates, radium equivalent activities and external hazard indices were evaluated and compared with the international data. These results may contribute to the determination of absorbed dose rate reference levels in Red Sea Coast at Safaga city.