Analysis of Potassium-40 (⁴⁰K) in Soil Samples from Dhahran City, Saudi Arabia, Using Gamma Spectrometer

This study presents the results of an analysis of ⁴⁰K in soil samples from the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Gamma-ray spectrometry was used to measure the radioactivity of the 8 soil samples. The activity concentration, the absorbed dose, and the annual effective dose were calculated. The activity concentration of ⁴⁰K ranged between 216.37 ± 3.66 and 258.12 ± 3.59 Bq kg⁻¹ with an average of 229.38 ± 3.67 Bq kg⁻¹. The average absorbed dose was found to be 9.57 ± 0.15 nGy h⁻¹, while the annual effective dose ranged from 11.10 ± 0.19 to 13.20 ± 0.19 μSv with an average of 11.73 ± 0.19 μSv. These results are lower than world average values of activity concentration, absorbed dose, and annual effective dose which are 400 Bq kg⁻¹, 16.68 nGy h⁻¹, and 170 μSv y⁻¹, respectively. All the obtained results are within the safety limit; therefore, there is no radiation hazard and life on the campus of KFUPM is safe.