Radiological hazard assessment of natural radionuclides and heavy metal pollution in deep mud samples of Van Lake, Turkey

In this study, the natural radioactivity levels were determined for the deep mud samples taken from Van Lake. 226Ra, 232Th and 40K natural radionuclides concentration analysis were performed using high-purity germanium detector and relevant radiological hazard parameters were also appraised. Furthermore, the concentrations of heavy metals were measured using ICP–OES device. While the average 226Ra, 232Th activity concentrations were higher than the world average values, the average 40K concentration was lower than the world average. The average metal concentrations were found to be higher than the highest effective levels reported in national and international quality guidelines (except Cr and Zn).