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The natural radioactivity level of heavy oil, ash and soil samples around Assiut Thermal Power Plant (ATPP) in Egypt was determined using gamma ray spectrometry. The average concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in fly ash were found to be 2307±143, 1281±80 and 1218±129 Bq kg-1, respectively, while the corresponding values in soil samples were 2670±107, 1401±78 and 1495±100 Bq kg-1, respectively. These are extremely high and higher by several orders of magnitude than the worldwide population-weighted average values in soil. The radium equivalent activity, the air absorbed dose rate, external hazard index and the annual effective dose rate were calculated and compared with the international recommended values. All averages of these parameters are much higher by several orders of magnitude than the international recommended values, indicating significant radiological health hazards around ATPP due to the radionuclides in the soil. Moreover, the water samples investigated have high activity concentrations indicating that the water is highly contaminated with radioactive materials. The results of the current study highlight the severity of this radioactive pollution on the population in the vicinity of ATPP.

The Nubian Aquifer System (NAS) is the world´s largest fossil water aquifer system which has been non-renewable source and in a transient condition. And even groundwater has been identified as the biggest future source of water to meet growing demands and development goals in each country. And although, is found in very huge amounts and very good quality within the area of interest, but in the same time it is also found at great depths and can be un-economic. This was the motivation or the trigger to initiate this work. Water scarcity increases globally with increasing world population and decreasing of fresh water resources. This problem is magnified in the arid and semi-arid regions like the area under investigation. In Kharga Oasis,( the southeastern part of the Western Desert ,Egypt between latitudes 24° 20′ and 25° 40′ N and longitudes 30° 30′ and 30° 45′ E) surface water resources are not present and the rainfall is virtually zero. Therefore, the oasis depends exclusively on the water supply from the wells, which tap the NAS. Groundwater is the primary and the sole source of water supply in this area. Along with this comes the over-extraction of existing water resources to sustain water supply for the ever increasing demand. The basic objective of this present issue is trying to make evaluation for the NAS in Kharga oasis by the estimation of the hydraulic parameters (The coefficient of storage and Transmissivity) from the field data. This approach was proposed to 1) evaluate the geological and hydrogeological data and information which has accumulated in the past decades in the study area, in order to define the geological and hydro-geological framework, 2) Give a particular picture on the groundwater availability and extraction stresses, 3) examine the effects of development activities on groundwater resources, 4) Give solutions and scenarios for the proposed groundwater utilization in the future based on the groundwater availability and demand. This research is an attempt to investigate and evaluate the potentiality and properties of the NAS within Kharga oasis. Several pumping tests were used for this purpose. The quality of the groundwater of the Nubian Aquifer System in the area of interest was investigated and the proper chemical analysis for all purposes was achieved.