Radioactivity of coals and ashes from atalagzi coal-fired power plant in Turkey

The atalagzi coal-fired power plant (CFPP) is the Turkish CFPP that uses the hard coals produced in Zonguldak, located in the West Black Sea region of the country. Gamma-ray spectrometry was used to determine Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40 contents in pulverised coal, bottom ash and fly ash samples. The natural radionuclide concentrations in pulverised coal ranged from 29 to 61 Bq kg(1) for Ra-226, from 32 to 55 Bq kg(1) for Th-232 and from 229 to 414 Bq kg(1) for K-40. The fly ash fraction gave concentrations ranging from 80 to 98 Bq kg(1) for Ra-226, from 64 to 85 Bq kg(1) for Th and from 754 to 992 Bq kg(1) for K-40, respectively. The enrichment factors from coal to fly ashes are 1.7, 2.24 and 2.6 for Th-232, Ra-226 and K-40, respectively. Therefore, it is advisable to monitor the environmental impact of the power plant.