Correlation between radionuclides associated with zircon and monazite in beach sand of Rosetta,Egypt

The study aims to evaluate the activity concentrations of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs along Rosetta beach, Egypt. Non-destructive assay techniques were carried out using HP-Ge spectrometer and binocular microscope. The results of this study serve as a database for radioactivity levels of the mineral sand deposits of Rosetta area. The activity concentrations of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K ranged from 5.39 to 134.2, 6.6 to 160.8 and 57.6 to 492 Bqkg⁻¹ respectively. The range of activity concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs is between 0.05 and 0.91 Bqkg⁻¹. The total gamma absorbed dose rates varied from 11.59 to 160.01 nGyh⁻¹ with a mean value of 50.53 nGyh⁻¹. These values correspond to an annual effective dose equivalent of 0.01–0.2 mSvy⁻¹ with a mean of 0.07 mSvy⁻¹, which is in agreement with the worldwide average. Also, a correlation between the calculated zircon and monazite radioactive mineral contents with the measured radioactive isotopes was carried out to determine the contribution of each mineral for radioactivity. These correlations predicted that both zircon and monazite minerals are the main contributors for radioactivity in the Egyptian beach black sands. Also the present study ensured that area under investigation is to be safe for public.