Multi-Criteria Analysis of Soil Radioactivity in Čačak Basin, Serbia

Abstract

© 2014 Ed. Academiei Române. The paper looks at the method of presenting and comparing soil radioactivity on different locations. Activities of natural radionuclides 238U, 226Ra, 232Th, 40K and anthropogenic 137Cs in arable land of Čačak basin were measured. Some 30 soil samples collected from different locations, i.e. the vicinity of the West Morava river, both urban and industrial areas of the town and rural region were analysed. Samples were taken from 0–30 cm depth. According to the values of the Shapiro-Wilk’s test (0.05 significance level), contents of 238U, 232Th and 40K were within the limits of normal distribution, while 226Ra and 137Cs were not. As espected, statistically significant positive correlation (p<0.01) was found between all the natural radionuclides. The analysed sites were ranked using the PROMETHEE method, and the results were presented in graph using the GAIA plane. The ranking involved five criteria which represented the overall activities of each of the radionuclides. The ranking inferred that Ljubić Polje location was the one with the lowest radioactivity, while, in contrast, the location of Trnavska Baluga showed the highest radioactivity level. As regards presence of radionuclides in soil, the comparative study of urban (industrial) and rural areas did not imply any significant differences among the locations. The results of the present study were discussed and compared with related values from several sources found in the literature. Generally, the study infers that soil in Čačak basin has not showed increased levels of radioactivity.