Distribution of TENORM-contaminated soils in residential areas of Bangka Island, Indonesia
5 affiliations
- 1Research Center for Realizing Sustainable Societies, University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, Japan
- 2Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- 3Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculty of Information Technology, ISB Atma Luhur, Kota Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Belitung, Indonesia
- 4Physics Department, Nuclear Science and Engineering Department, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
- 5Faculty of Biology-Oriented Science and Technology, Kindai University, Kinokawa, Japan
Abstract
Radioactive contamination in residential areas of Bangka Island, Indonesia, a major tin- and rare earth-producing region, has rarely been studied, although material stored near mineral-processing workshops may pose a long-term health risk. We collected 46 soil samples around 9 mineral-processing workshops in the Selindung District, Pangkal Pinang City: residential soils from 20 locations at two depths (n = 40) and 6 workshop-related sediments. High-purity germanium detector analysis showed that 13 of the 40 residential soil samples exceeded the screening criteria of the IAEA Safety Standards Series No. RS-G-1.7 for naturally occurring radioactive material. Residential contamination was highly heterogeneous and was not explained by a simple monotonic distance relationship (Spearman’s ρ = −0.12, p = 0.61). Two upper outliers occurred at 5 and 10 m from the nearest workshops, including the maximum residential activity of 12,992 Bq/kg detected at 5 m, in areas frequently accessed by local residents. Five of 17 locations with quantifiable paired measurements (including 1 tied pair; n = 16 for the Wilcoxon signed-rank test) showed higher activity at 20 cm than at 10 cm, and the paired depth difference was not statistically significant (Wilcoxon p = 0.079), indicating an irregular rather than consistently surface-dominated vertical distribution. Screening-level outdoor annual effective doses for the quantifiable residential samples ranged from 0.051 to 8.46 mSv/y (median 0.42 mSv/y), with the maximum obtained 5 m from a workshop. Nuclide composition analysis further revealed that the activity concentrations of the 238U and 232Th series increased with total radioactivity, whereas 40K showed only a weak correlation. Maximum activities of 238U and 232Th approached levels reported by the IAEA for high-purity monazite sand (6,000–20,000 Bq/kg). These findings demonstrate spatial and vertical heterogeneity of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material in residential zones, indicating a need for site-specific assessment and long-term monitoring.
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BibTeX
@article{ishigaki2026distribution,
title = {{Distribution of TENORM-contaminated soils in residential areas of Bangka Island, Indonesia}},
author = {Yo Ishigaki and Katsumi Shozugawa and Ryo Ichimiya and Harrizki Arie Pradana and Sidik Permana and Kan Shimazaki and Kazunori Hayashi and Adi Rahmansyah Amir Abdullah and Cici Wulandari},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0348187},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348187},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Distribution of TENORM-contaminated soils in residential areas of Bangka Island, Indonesia
AU - Yo Ishigaki
AU - Katsumi Shozugawa
AU - Ryo Ichimiya
AU - Harrizki Arie Pradana
AU - Sidik Permana
AU - Kan Shimazaki
AU - Kazunori Hayashi
AU - Adi Rahmansyah Amir Abdullah
AU - Cici Wulandari
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0348187
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348187
AB - Radioactive contamination in residential areas of Bangka Island, Indonesia, a major tin- and rare earth-producing region, has rarely been studied, although material stored near mineral-processing workshops may pose a long-term health risk. We collected 46 soil samples around 9 mineral-processing workshops in the Selindung District, Pangkal Pinang City: residential soils from 20 locations at two depths (n = 40) and 6 workshop-related sediments. High-purity germanium detector analysis showed that 13 of the 40 residential soil samples exceeded the screening criteria of the IAEA Safety Standards Series No. RS-G-1.7 for naturally occurring radioactive material. Residential contamination was highly heterogeneous and was not explained by a simple monotonic distance relationship (Spearman’s ρ = −0.12, p = 0.61). Two upper outliers occurred at 5 and 10 m from the nearest workshops, including the maximum residential activity of 12,992 Bq/kg detected at 5 m, in areas frequently accessed by local residents. Five of 17 locations with quantifiable paired measurements (including 1 tied pair; n = 16 for the Wilcoxon signed-rank test) showed higher activity at 20 cm than at 10 cm, and the paired depth difference was not statistically significant (Wilcoxon p = 0.079), indicating an irregular rather than consistently surface-dominated vertical distribution. Screening-level outdoor annual effective doses for the quantifiable residential samples ranged from 0.051 to 8.46 mSv/y (median 0.42 mSv/y), with the maximum obtained 5 m from a workshop. Nuclide composition analysis further revealed that the activity concentrations of the 238U and 232Th series increased with total radioactivity, whereas 40K showed only a weak correlation. Maximum activities of 238U and 232Th approached levels reported by the IAEA for high-purity monazite sand (6,000–20,000 Bq/kg). These findings demonstrate spatial and vertical heterogeneity of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material in residential zones, indicating a need for site-specific assessment and long-term monitoring.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -