Gamma activity of soil samples, collected from agricultural lands of Chrsaddah district of North West Frontier Province (N.W.F.P., Pakistan), have been determined using gamma-ray spectrometry. The average values of the measured activities in Bq.kg(-1) were 57.1 +/- 9.2 (radium-226), 60.1 +/- 9.9 (thorium-232), 387.4 +/- 49.4 (potassium-40) and 7.1 +/- 2.0 (cesium-137). The common index of these radionuclides in terms of radium equivalent activity was 170.8 +/- 22.3 Bq.kg(-1), which is comparable with the values for other countries of the world. The external and internal hazards due to gamma-rays from radium-226, thorium-232 and potassium-40 were found to be less than unity and the concentration of cesium-137 was also very nominal. Thus these radioactivity levels in soil samples do not pose any environmental health problem, however, the presented data provide a general background of the detectable radionuclides for the surveyed area and call be helpful in any radiological emergency.
F JAN ,M A ATTA ,K KHAN ,H M KHAN ,
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