Distributions of 210 Pb around a uraniferous coal-fired power plant in Western Turkey A. Uğur & B. Özden & G. Yener & M. M. Saç & Y. Kurucu & Ü. Altınbaş & M. Bolca Received: 13 August 2007 / Accepted: 14 January 2008 / Published online: 27 February 2008 # Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2008 Abstract In the present study the spatial and the vertical distributions of 210 Pb were investigated in the soils around a uranifereous coal fired power plant (CPP) in Yatagan Basin, in Western Turkey. The variation of 226 Ra activity along the soil profiles was studied to assess the unsupported 210 Pb distribution in the same samples. 226 Ra was measured by gamma spectroscopy and 210 Pb activities were determined from 210 Po activities using radiochemical deposition and alpha spectroscopy. The total 210 Pb activity concentrations in bulk core samples varied in the range of 38–250 Bq kg -1 in the study sites and of 22– 78 Bq kg -1 in reference site. In the sectioned cores sampled from the study areas the ranges for activity concentrations of 226 Ra, total 210 Pb and unsupported 210 Pb are 24–77; 39–344 and 4–313 Bq kg -1 , respectively. Corresponding ranges for reference site are 37–39; 39–122 and 1–83 Bq kg -1 . Keywords Total 210 Pb . Unsupported 210 Pb . CPPs Introduction Energy production from coal is one of the major sources of increased natural radioactivity in the atmosphere. Coal contains natural radionuclides and their daughter products in trace quantities. The amounts of natural radionuclides discharged to the atmosphere from a power plant depend on a number of factors such as the concentrations in coal, the ash content, the temperature of the combustion, the partitioning between bottom ash and fly ash and the efficiency of the emission control device. Despite stack filtration and other trapping methods, soils in the environment of coal-fired power plants are often found to be enriched in such ash-borne particles (Flues et al. 2002; Ugur et al. 2003a). 210 Pb (t 1/2 =22.26 years) is a naturally occuring radionuclide, product of the 238 U decay series, derived via a series of other short-lived radionuclides from the decay of gaseous 222 Rn (t 1/2 =3.8 days), the daughter of 226 Ra (t 1/2 =1,622 years). 210 Pb is derived naturally from the lithogenic minerals in subsoil and also from the atmosphere as a result of combustion of fossil fuel (Fujiyoshi 2004). 210 Pb content of soil produced by the natural in situ decay of 226 Ra is termed ‘supported’ 210 Pb because it is in equilibrium with its parent. On the other hand, upward diffusion of a small portion of the 222 Rn produced naturally in soils and rocks releases 222 Rn to the atmosphere and the subsequent fallout of 210 Pb provides an input to Environ Monit Assess (2009) 149:195–200 DOI 10.1007/s10661-008-0193-x A. Uğur (*) : B. Özden : G. Yener : M. M. Saç Institute of Nuclear Science, Ege University, 35100 Bornova, İzmir, Turkey e-mail: aysun.ugur@ege.edu.tr Y. Kurucu : Ü. Altınbaş : M. Bolca Faculty of Agriculture, Soil Science Department, Ege University, 35100 Bornova, İzmir, Turkey