Natural Radioactivity and Radiation Hazards in Coals Extracted in Amasya, Turkey

Radioactive nuclei were created at the beginning of the Universe and with a long half-life, are still present in Earth's crust. The radiations due to the radionuclides contribute to natural background radiation. This generally occurs in ground-source materials (stone, soil, rocks, etc.) in different concentrations. The levels of radiation are due to the uranium, thorium and potassium present in the material. In this study, the natural radioactivity concentrations of coals extracted in Suluova have been determined using a NaI(Tl) gamma-ray spectrometer system. The radium equivalent activities of the samples were all below the recommended limit values (370 Bq kg(-1)). The value of external hazard indices is less than unity.