Distribution pattern of 90Sr and 137Cs in the Nile delta and the adjacent regions after Chernobyl accident

Strontium and cesium contents in surface soil samples across the Nile Delta and the north coast of Egypt after the Chernobyl accident have been investigated. The concentration of 137Cs and 90Sr was determined using a high resolution gamma spectrometer based on hyperpure germanium detector (HPGe) and a liquid scintillation counter (LSC) respectively. 90Sr was determined through its decay product 90Y using Cerenkov counting. The determination of 90Sr was based on tributylphosphate (TBP) extraction of yttrium from nitric acid extract of ashed samples. The radioactivity of soils ranged between 18.5 and 2175 Bq/m2 with a mean of 652 Bq/m2 and 234 and 3129 Bq/m2 with a mean of 760 Bq/m2 for 137Cs and 90Sr respectively. An estimated absorbed dose equivalent due to the measured deposit of 137Cs was found to be 0.062 μrem/h.