Assessment of Radioactivity Levels in Soil Samples from Menge and Sherkole Destricts in Benishangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia

In this study, the activity concentration of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K in soil samples collected from Menge and Sherkole districts of Benishangul Gumuz region in Ethiopia were determined. The specific activity concentration of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K were measured using an HPGe detector. The measured mean activity concentrations of ²³⁸U, 232Th, and ⁴⁰K for Menge district were 24 ± 1.2 Bq kg^-1, 36.15 ± 2 Bq kg^-1, and 275.5 ± 13.3 Bq kg^-1, respectively, and for Sherkole district were 35.14 ± 1.77 Bq kg^-1, 47.3 ± 2.7 Bq kg^-1, and 146 ± 7.2 Bq kg^-1, respectively. The average specific activity concentration of ⁴⁰K for the two districts is below the recommended safe value of 400 Bq kg^-1. The radiation hazard indexes values for the soils are below one. From the result, the specific activity concentration of ²³⁸U and ²³²Th for Sherkole district soil exceeds the safe limits of 35 and 30 Bq kg^-1, respectively. For Menge district soil, only the activity concentrations of ²³²Th exceed the safe value. Therefore, Menge and Sherkole districts soil needs further investigations.