Radiological monitoring in some coastal regions of the Saudi Arabian Gulf close to the Iranian Bushehr nuclear plant

We studied the concentrations of terrestrial and anthropogenic radionuclides in seawater and shore sediment/ sand of three selected regions; Khafji, Safaniyah and Menifah along the Saudi Arabian Gulf coast. The mean activity concentrations of the Ra-228, Ra-226, and K-40 in the analyzed sand samples are 5.9, 3.5 and 113.5 Bq/kg, and the respective values in seawater samples are 1.6, 0.8 and 10.4 Bq/L. All data show lower than the corresponding UNSCEAR (2000) reported world average values of 35, 30 and 400 Bq/kg for soil matrix. A few relevant radiological hazards were quantified by the estimation of the absorbed dose rate, and the results are compared with the prescribed limits set by international regulatory bodies. Measured data indicates that the studied coastal regions pose a negligible radiological hazards to the public, and show an insignificant radioactive loading to this coastal region by the Busher nuclear power plant.

Automated summary

This study measured the concentrations of terrestrial and anthropogenic radionuclides in seawater and shore sediment/sand along the Saudi Arabian Gulf coast. The results indicate that the radiological hazards in these coastal regions are negligible and the radioactive loading from the Busher nuclear power plant is insignificant.