Radioactive disequilibrium in the different rock types in Wadi Wizr, the Eastern Desert of Egypt

Remote sensing and radiometric survey techniques in the area between Qusier and Mersa Alam show variation of content of natural radioactivity in Wadi Wizr area, Eastern Desert of Egypt Gamma-ray, and laser fluorimetry were applied to measure the natural radioactivity content in representative content in representative samples from Wadi Wizr. The concentration of 226Ra ranged from 36 to 661 Bq kg−1, while the radioactivity ratio between 226Ra/214Pb and 214Pb/214Bi ranged from 0.7 to 1.4. The activity ratio 238U/226Ra% was found to be in the range 6.4%–72.2%. A state of disequilibrium between the two radionuclides in the uranium series is clear. The trend of disequilibrium was obvious in all the investigated sites and correlating both radionuclides, 238U/226Ra demonstrated the site variation influence. Samples were also analyzed by XRD to reveal their mineral composition.