Spatial Distribution and Ecological Risk Assessment of Natural Radionuclides and Trace Elements in Agricultural Soil of Northeastern Nile Valley, Egypt

Monged, Mohamed H. E.; Hassan, Hanan B.; El-Sayed, Salah A.

Spatial Distribution and Ecological Risk Assessment of Natural Radionuclides and Trace Elements in Agricultural Soil of Northeastern Nile Valley, Egypt

2020

Monged, Mohamed H. E. | Hassan, Hanan B. | El-Sayed, Salah A.

Being known with its agricultural fertility, the soil of the Nile Valley of Egypt was subjected to degradation due to fast urbanization and increased industrial activities in recent years. The quality of the agricultural soil and associated radiological health hazards to farm workers in the Northeastern Nile Valley was assessed based on the trace metal analyses (Hg, Cd, Zn, Pb, Cu, Mn, and Fe) and natural radionuclide measurements (²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K, and ²¹⁰Pb) of twenty soil samples. Results indicated that the agricultural soil has concentrations of trace elements below the soil world average. However, a significant enrichment in Cd and Cu content was observed in some soil sites. The enrichment in some trace elements contents, especially the Cd metal, was attributed to the effects of the natural and human factors, including the occurrence and distribution of silt and clay deposits, the extensive use of municipal wastewater and pesticide, the incineration of agricultural wastes, and the emission from bricks factories and mazut-fired thermal power plants around the area. The estimated contamination and ecologic risk indices revealed that some soils in the area are uncontaminated with trace elements; others are “moderately contaminated” soil to “contaminated.” Results from the radiological measurements revealed that the activity concentrations of the investigated radionuclides were also below the world median activities of soil. The total annual effective dose rates from the different exposure pathways were calculated. The estimated excess lifetime cancer risk values for farm workers were greatly higher than that of the soil world average. This implies a high probability of introducing cancer over the lifetime of farmers in the study area.

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