Determinación de la radiación gamma en el suelo de la provincia del Azuay

Abstract

The research objective work was the elaboration of a radiometric map of gamma radiation in the soil of the province of Azuay, using ArcGIS software and geographic information, a 5 km grid between points was elaborated, then in situ monitoring was developed with the help of a multi-detector and a NaI scintillation gamma probe, taking into consideration a height of 1 m above the ground, 50 m distance from buildings and 10 m on roads, obtaining 10 measurements per point. Finally, descriptive statistics were performed for 217 monitored points, where it was found that the geological unit GGd (Granodiorite) presented the lowest effective dose level of 0.04 mSv/year, followed by the geological units QA (Blocks, boulders and sand) and L (Gneisses, deformed granite and schists), with an average of 0.07 mSv/year for KY (Lutites, limestones and volcano clasts), (Blocks, boulders and sand) and L (Gneisses, deformed granite and schists), with an average of 0.07 mSv/year, for KY (Lutites, limestones and volcano clasts) and JAa (Basic metallvas and green schists) the levels were found at 0.08 mSv/year, 08 mSv/year, the DD (Diorite) and QTM (Destuary marine clays) geologies presented averages of 0.09 mSv/year, for EOS (Pyroclastic rocks and andesitic to rhyolitic lavas) and MZ (Pyroclasts and intermediate to acid lavas) the averages were 0.10 mSv/year, while JAE (Graphitic schists) presented the highest level of effective dose with 0.11 mSv/year. From the results acquired, 68.7% of the measurements exceeded 0.07 mSv/year for exposure to external gamma rays of natural origin according to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). Using the Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation method, the results were loaded and a radiological map was obtained showing the highest radiation value of 0.36 mSv/year at the coordinates (X= 672532; Y= 9641448) belonging to the Pucará canton. It is recommended that the points to be monitored be greater than 3 in order to obtain good statistics.