Correlation of radon and thoron concentrations with natural radioactivity of soil in Zonguldak, Turkey

Abstract

Radon and thoron gases are produced by the decay of the radioactive elements those are radium and thorium in the soil. In this study, the correlations between soil radon and thoron concentration with their parent nuclide (Ra-226 and Th-232) concentrations in collected soil samples from the same locations were evaluated. The result of the measurement shows that the distribution of radon and thoron in soil showed the same tendency as Ra-226 and Th-232 distribution. It was found a weak correlation between the radon and the Ra-226 concentration (R =0.57), and between the thoron and the Th-232 concentration (R=0.64). No strong correlation was observed between soil-gas radon and thoron concentration (R=0.29).