RADIATION PROTECTION ›› 2018, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (4): 287-291.

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Unusual low radiation area on the surface of the earth: coral reefs

LIN Wuhui1,2, YU Kefu1,2, WANG Yinghui1,2, LIU Xinming3, WANG Jianjun4, NING Qiuyun3, LI Yinghua3   

  1. 1. Guangxi Laboratory on the study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Nanning 530004;
    2. School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004;
    3. Guangxi Academy of Oceanography, Nanning 530022;
    4. Key Lab of Global Change and Marine-Atmospheric Chemistry, State Oceanic Administration, Fujian Xiamen 361005
  • Received:2017-10-18 Online:2018-07-20 Published:2020-07-28

Abstract: Radioactivity levels are rarely investigated in coral reefs compared to the land. In this study, the average radioactivity levels of 238U, 40K, 228Ra and 226Ra were measured by High Purified Germanium (HPGe) γ spectrometry and found to be 28.96 Bq/kg, 24.36 Bq/kg, 5.08 Bq/kg, 3.34 Bq/kg respectively in marine sediments collected from coral reefs of the South China Sea (SCS).The environmental radiation quality was assessed by several indexes which was found to be significantly lower than the international recommended values. A comparison with marine sediments from other sea areas of China, the average of China, and the world average indicated that radium equivalent activity of coral reefs was only ~10% and ~1‰ of the world average and the high background radiation area (HBRA), respectively. Coral reefs have a unique feature of extremely low radioactivity in the surface of the earth.

Key words: coral reefs, radionuclide, low radioactivity, South China Sea

CLC Number: 

  • X834