The study of radiation contamination in roodepoort gold mine tailings using HPGe gamma spectroscopy

In this study, a coaxial HPGe high-resolution (Formula presented.) -detector was used to measure the (Formula presented.) -signals in soil samples collected from the Roodepoort Gold Tailings. There have been complaints about dust from the gold tailings, and the study aims to determine the level of contamination. The activity concentration of ²³⁸U ranged from 132.88 (Formula presented.) 4.68 to 1,421.46 (Formula presented.) 13.38, with a mean of 464.96 (Formula presented.) 2.08 Bq/kg. The activity concentration of ²²⁶Ra ranged from 130.19 (Formula presented.) 4.48 to 1,359.27 (Formula presented.) 13.83, with a mean of 425.28 (Formula presented.) 8.02 Bq/kg. The range of ²³²Th was from 5.27 (Formula presented.) 0.67 to 19.37 (Formula presented.) 1.98, with a mean of 11.20 (Formula presented.) 1.03 Bq/kg, and ⁴⁰K activity ranged from 65.23 (Formula presented.) 15.29 to 264.11 (Formula presented.) 25.66, with a mean of 127.50 (Formula presented.) 21.85 Bq/kg. The findings showed that ²³⁸U and ²²⁶Ra activities exceeded the global average of 35 Bq/kg, while ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were below their respective limits. The radiological hazard indices exceeded recommended limits, making the tailings soil completely unsuitable for use as building materials, as this may have deleterious health effects on residents in the future.