Radiological hazards produced by Assiut Thermal Power Plant

The naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) are present in all human environments: the earth crust, water, air, food, etc. depend primarily on the geological and geographical conditions. Human activities such as oil and gas exploration , uranium and phosphate mining and milling and through fired power plant may lead to what is known as 'Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material' often called (TENORM). The existence of TENORM results in an increased risk for human exposure to radioactivity by making it more accessible to human contact. The main objective of the present study is to measure the effect of radionuclide emission from ATPP on the environment by estimating the concentrations of natural radionuclides such as 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in raw oil and ash samples from the plant, as well as the concentrations of the same radionuclides in surface soil from different places in Assiut e.g. areas around ATTP, landfill areas and areas adjacent to the factories. Also the concentrations of these radionuclides are measured in groundwater samples in the vicinity of ATTP.