EVALUATION OF SOME CLAYS CONTAMINATION WITH URANIUM AND THORIUM IN FORMATIONS OF WESTERN DESERT FROM IRAQABBAS S.S. AL-WOTAIFYAbstract The research involved the diagnosis of the kaolinite, bentonite and attapulgite clays informations of Western Desert from Iraq by means of an X-Ray Diffraction device (XRD), and the irtotal content of uranium (U) and thorium(Th) by XRF. As well as contamination status assessment of these clays by U and Th by means of simple pollution index(PI) and Geo-accumulation index(Igeo). XRD showed the presence of kaolinite by 83% in the kaolinite clays and 15% bentonitewith75% montmorillonite in bentonite clays, as well as 55% of palygorskite and 30% sepioliteinattapulgite clays. XRF results appeared content of U and Th were 3.8, 26.6; 3.3, 7.2 and 7.0, 6.2 mgkg-1 in kaolinite, bentonite and attapulgite clays respectively. PI of U in kaolinite was 1.36,Bentonite: 1.18, attapulgite: 2.5 and in pollution levels ranged from low to moderate. While it was high pollution level of Th in the kaolinite clays (3.59). The results of Igeo indicated that there wasa role for human activity inputs in pollution of study clays, with values were 0.15, 0.24; 0.50, 0.73;0.20 and 0.17 of U and Th in kaolinite, bentonite and attapulgite respectively.
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