Tracking and Evaluating the Concentrations of Natural
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minerals Article Tracking and Evaluating the Concentrations of Natural Radioactivity According to Chemical Composition in the Precambrian and Mesozoic Granitic Rocks in the Jangsu-gun Area, Central Southwestern South Korea Sung Won Kim 1, Weon-Seo Kee 1,*, Saro Lee 2 , Byung Choon Lee 1 and Uk Hwan Byun 1 1 Geology Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, 124, Gwahak-ro Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34132, Korea; [email protected] (S.W.K.); [email protected] (B.C.L.); [email protected] (U.H.B.) 2 Geoscience Platform Research Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, 124, Gwahak-ro Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34132, Korea; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: The Jangsu-gun area in the central Southwestern South Korea consists of a well-preserved Middle Paleoproterozoic gneissic basement, as well as the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic granitic rocks. Here, we present the detailed zircon U-Pb age data and whole-rock chemical compositions, including radioactive elements (e.g., U and Th) and activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K for the Middle Paleoproterozoic gneisses, and Late Triassic and Early Jurassic granitic rocks of the Jangsu-gun area. The Middle Paleoproterozoic gneissic basement, and the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic granitic rocks have ages of ca. 1988 Ma and 1824 Ma, 230 Ma and 187–189 Ma, respectively. Citation: Kim, S.W.; Kee, W.-S.; Lee, Geochemically, the Middle Paleoproterozoic orthogneiss, Late Triassic granites and Early Jurassic S.; Lee, B.C.; Byun, U.H. Tracking and granitic rocks show typical arc-related metaluminous to weakly peraluminous fractionated granite Evaluating the Concentrations of Natural Radioactivity According to features with ASI (aluminum saturation index) values of 0.92 to 1.40. The mean values of U (ppm) Chemical Composition in the and Th (ppm) of the Middle Paleoproterozoic orthogneisses (6.4 and 20.5, respectively), Late Triassic Precambrian and Mesozoic Granitic granites (1.5 and 10.9), and Early Jurassic granites (3.5 and 16.5) were similar to those (5 and 15) 226 232 40 Rocks in the Jangsu-gun Area, of the granitic rocks in the Earth’s crust. The mean Ra (Bq/kg), Th (Bq/kg), and K (Bq/kg) Central Southwestern South Korea. activity concentrations and radioactivity concentration index (RCI) are 62, 71, 1,214 and 0.96 for Minerals 2021, 11, 684. https:// the Middle Paleoproterozoic orthogneisses; 16, 39, 1,614 and 0.78 for the Late Triassic granites; and doi.org/10.3390/min11070684 56, 70, 1031 and 0.88 for the Early Jurassic granitic rocks, respectively. The U, Th, 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, and RCI of the Middle Paleoproterozoic biotite paragneisses are similar to those of the Middle Academic Editor: Jean-Michel Lafon Paleoproterozoic orthogneisses. The trend of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K activity concentrations, and the composition of U and Th from the Precambrian and Mesozoic rocks in the Jangsu-gun area indicates Received: 25 April 2021 that monazite is the main accessory mineral controlling the concentration of natural radioactivity. Accepted: 22 June 2021 Based on a detailed examination of the natural radioactivity in the rocks of the Jangsu-gun area, Published: 25 June 2021 the Middle Paleoproterozoic orthogneisses and paragneisses, and Late Triassic and Early Jurassic − Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral granitic rocks show average high mean RCI values of 0.88 0.96, such that 32% of the rocks exceeded with regard to jurisdictional claims in the recommended value of one in the guidelines for the RCI in South Korea. Especially, the RCI is published maps and institutional affil- closely related to the radon levels in the rocks. As a result, the Jangsu-gun area in South Korea is a iations. relatively high radiological risk area, which exhibits higher indoor radon levels in the residences, compared with residences in the other areas in South Korea. Keywords: Middle Paleoproterozoic; Late Triassic; Early Jurassic; granitic rock; central Southwestern Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. South Korea; natural radioactivity Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons 1. Introduction Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// All minerals and raw materials in the rocks present on Earth commonly contain creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ natural radioactive elements with radionuclides, but natural radioactivity exposures to 4.0/). Minerals 2021, 11, 684. https://doi.org/10.3390/min11070684 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/minerals Minerals 2021, 11, 684 2 of 17 humans are substantially lower than the normal background levels in human activity; thus, there are no concerns regarding protection from radiation [1]. However, the natural radioactivity in some rocks can also cause high radiation exposure [1–7]. These rocks have been referred to as naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs). Among the NORMs, radionuclides of the 238U and 232Th decay series, and 40K, which potentially occur in the environment, are of the greatest interest. In addition, various social problems have arisen because of long-lived radioactive elements (e.g., uranium [U], thorium [Th] and potassium [K]) and their decay products (e.g., radium [Ra] and radon [Rn]) in household goods and construction materials. In South Korea, NORMs, such as U and Rn in soil or groundwater, have been investigated by the government for more than 20 years, and their origins have been closely connected with geological factors, such as rock chemical composition, deformation characteristics, and others [2–7]. In general, South Korea, in the southeastern part of the Asian continent (Figure1A,B ), is likely to have been located near a boundary of the continental plates during the Pre- cambrian to Phanerozoic, creating an environment in which various rocks (igneous rock, metamorphic rock, and sedimentary rock) could form easily and be disrupted by igneous activities [6,8–15]. The Precambrian to Phanerozoic granitic rocks generated by this igneous activity occupy more than 40% of the land area in South Korea (Figure1C) [ 11]. Consistent with NORMs, U and Th are enriched from the mantle to the lower continental crust and upper continental crust. Among the igneous rocks in the continental crust, U and Th are more enriched in the granitic rocks. This enrichment is caused by the processes of partial melting and fractional crystallization pertaining to granitic magma, which concentrate U and Th in the liquid phase and then into more silica-rich granitic rocks [5,16–19]. In South Korea, the granitic rocks comprise more than 90% of the domestic stone resources. Recently, natural rocks, in addition to building materials, have been presumed to affect overall radioactivity. Therefore, in South Korea, a standard guideline for reducing and managing radon in building materials has been applied since June of 2020, by a group of government ministries (Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Nuclear Safety Committee) [20]. The essence of this guideline is to control radon contamination from building materials, by introducing a standard value according to the ‘radiation concentration index’, which is based on the radiological protection principles pertaining to the natural radioactivity of building materials, established by the European Union [21]. The target of management is natural stone-based materials that used as interior materials for buildings and apartment houses. The radioactivity concentration index is the ratio of the measured value to the combined radioactivity reference values of radium (226Ra), thorium (232Th), and potassium (40K), which are natural radioactive nuclides included in building materials. When the three ratios are summed, the value is one or less. The recommended standards for 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K, which are natural radionuclides, are 300 Bq/kg for radium, 200 Bq/kg for thorium, and 3000 Bq/kg for potassium [20]. Recently, the Jangsu-gun area in central Southwestern South Korea has higher indoor radon levels in residential areas compared with other areas of South Korea. To understand natural radioactivity from the granitic rocks in the Jangsu-gun area, we report the concen- trations of radioactive elements, such as U, Th, and K, with the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K for different Middle Paleoproterozoic, Late Triassic and Early Jurassic granitic rock samples from the Jangsu-gun area. We also report the U-Pb zircon age and geochemical data of the Middle Paleoproterozoic, Late Triassic and Early Jurassic granitic rocks, to clarify the relationships between the concentration trends of natural radioactivity and rock chemical composition. Minerals 2021, 11, 684 3 of 17 Minerals 2021, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 17 FigureFigure 1. 1. (A(A)) LocationLocation mapmap in the East East Asian Asian countries countries including including South South Korea, Korea, (B ()B t)ectonic tectonic map map of South Korea, and (C) geological map of South Korea showing the distribution of the Middle Paleo- of South Korea, and (C) geological map of South Korea showing the distribution of the Middle proterozoic gneisses and Phanerozoic granitic rocks. HIB, Hongseong–Imjingang belt; GM, Paleoproterozoic gneisses and Phanerozoic granitic rocks. HIB, Hongseong–Imjingang belt; GM, Gyeonggi massif; OB, Okcheon belt; YM, Yeongnam massif; GB, Gyeongsang basin; YeB, Yeonil Gyeonggibasin; JVT, massif; Jeju v OB,olcanic Okcheon terrain. belt; YM, Yeongnam massif; GB, Gyeongsang