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The Distribution of Natural Radionuclides in Native Soils of Southern Saskatchewan, Canada

Saskatchewan Dep. of Agric., Soils and Crops Branch, Walter Scott Bldg., 3085 Albert St., Regina, Sask. S4S 0B1 Canada (formerly Dep. of Soil Science, Univ. of Sask., Saskatoon, Sask. S7N 0W0 Canada)

E. de Jong and J. R. Bettany

Sask. Inst. of Pedology, Saskatoon, Sask. S7N 0W0 Canada.

^* Corresponding author.

ABSTRACT

Little information is available on the regional distribution of natural radionuclides in agricultural environments. Surface soil samples were collected from uncultivated, unfertilized sites in the agricultural area of Saskatchewan, Canada, and analyzed for ⁴⁰K, and daughters of ²³⁸U and ²³²Th. Activities of ⁴⁰K, ²¹⁴Bi (²³⁸U daughter), and ²⁰⁸Tl (²³²Th daughter) were normally distributed with means of 480, 19, and 8 Bq kg^–1, respectively. Overall, the activities of all three radionuclides decreased as soil texture became coarser, while distinct geographic areas with elevated levels were probably due to local parent material composition. Natural radionuclide levels were significantly correlated to one another and the average ratio of ²¹⁴Bi/²⁰⁸Tl/⁴⁰K in native, unfertilized Saskatchewan surface soils was 1:0.45:26.

Publication R554 of the Sask. Inst. of Pedology.

Received for publication September 23, 1987.