Natural Radiation in Byproducts of the Production of Phosphoric Acid

Natural radiation is the largest source of radiation exposure to which man is subject. It is formed basically by cosmic radiation and the radionuclides present in the Earth crust, as 40K and the elements of the decay series of 232Th and 238U. Phosphate ores, which constitutes the raw material for th...

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Main Authors: Marcilei Aparecida Guazzelli Silveira, L. L. Cardoso, N. H. Medina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Brazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR) 2015-05-01
Series:Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
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Online Access:https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/132
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author Marcilei Aparecida Guazzelli Silveira
L. L. Cardoso
N. H. Medina
author_facet Marcilei Aparecida Guazzelli Silveira
L. L. Cardoso
N. H. Medina
author_sort Marcilei Aparecida Guazzelli Silveira
collection DOAJ
description Natural radiation is the largest source of radiation exposure to which man is subject. It is formed basically by cosmic radiation and the radionuclides present in the Earth crust, as 40K and the elements of the decay series of 232Th and 238U. Phosphate ores, which constitutes the raw material for the production of phosphoric acid, have a high rate of natural radiation from the decay series of 232Th and 238U. Phosphogypsum, which is naturally radioactivity, is a by-product of the production of phosphoric acid by the wet method. For each ton of phosphoric acid it is produced about 4.5 tons of phosphogypsum. This work presents the analysis of samples collected in all stages of the manufacturing process of phosphoric acid, which generates the phosphogypsum.  Gamma-ray spectrometry was used to measure the concentration of the elements of the decay series of  232Th and 238U . All analyzed samples showed a high concentration of radionuclides, promoting the need for further steps in the process in order to reduce the presence of such radionuclides in the phosphogypsum. The results indicate the radionuclide 238U has higher contribution in some samples of the intermediate stages of the process.  All samples exceeded the international average range of human exposure to terrestrial gamma radiation, which is 0.3 to 1.0 mSv/year.
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publishDate 2015-05-01
publisher Brazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR)
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spelling doaj-art-e7c0afdb4e2a4f7ea6e75f8b831358042025-08-20T03:12:24ZengBrazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR)Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences2319-06122015-05-0131A (Suppl.)10.15392/bjrs.v3i1A.132105Natural Radiation in Byproducts of the Production of Phosphoric AcidMarcilei Aparecida Guazzelli Silveira0L. L. CardosoN. H. MedinaCentro Universitário da FEINatural radiation is the largest source of radiation exposure to which man is subject. It is formed basically by cosmic radiation and the radionuclides present in the Earth crust, as 40K and the elements of the decay series of 232Th and 238U. Phosphate ores, which constitutes the raw material for the production of phosphoric acid, have a high rate of natural radiation from the decay series of 232Th and 238U. Phosphogypsum, which is naturally radioactivity, is a by-product of the production of phosphoric acid by the wet method. For each ton of phosphoric acid it is produced about 4.5 tons of phosphogypsum. This work presents the analysis of samples collected in all stages of the manufacturing process of phosphoric acid, which generates the phosphogypsum.  Gamma-ray spectrometry was used to measure the concentration of the elements of the decay series of  232Th and 238U . All analyzed samples showed a high concentration of radionuclides, promoting the need for further steps in the process in order to reduce the presence of such radionuclides in the phosphogypsum. The results indicate the radionuclide 238U has higher contribution in some samples of the intermediate stages of the process.  All samples exceeded the international average range of human exposure to terrestrial gamma radiation, which is 0.3 to 1.0 mSv/year.https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/132radiação naturalespectrometria gamarelação dose
spellingShingle Marcilei Aparecida Guazzelli Silveira
L. L. Cardoso
N. H. Medina
Natural Radiation in Byproducts of the Production of Phosphoric Acid
Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
radiação natural
espectrometria gama
relação dose
title Natural Radiation in Byproducts of the Production of Phosphoric Acid
title_full Natural Radiation in Byproducts of the Production of Phosphoric Acid
title_fullStr Natural Radiation in Byproducts of the Production of Phosphoric Acid
title_full_unstemmed Natural Radiation in Byproducts of the Production of Phosphoric Acid
title_short Natural Radiation in Byproducts of the Production of Phosphoric Acid
title_sort natural radiation in byproducts of the production of phosphoric acid
topic radiação natural
espectrometria gama
relação dose
url https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/132
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