NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY IN SOIL SAMPLES FROM SELECTED AREAS IN NINEVEH GOVERNORATE, IRAQ.

Alsaedi, Jamal K.; Hasan, Nada M.; Abdulhasan, Ali A.

The activity distribution of natural radionuclides 232Th, 226Ra, 40K and 137Cs were determined in soil samples. The samples were collected from four different regions in Nineveh governorate north-west of Iraq (Tall Kayf, Badush, Al-Hamdaniya, Hammam Al-alil) and measured by the gamma-ray spectrometry with high purity germanium (HPGe) detector with relative efficiency 50 %. The specific radioactive activity of the samples was in the range of 1.75 - 45.56, 8.63 - 43.72, 147.92 - 502.49 and MDL - 69.32 Bq/kg, respectively, at the selected areas. The calculated hazard indices that estimate the potential radiological health risk such as radium equivalent activity (Raeq) were in the range 40.33 - 122.12 Bq/kg. The absorbed dose rate in the air was also calculated for the samples and it was in the range 20.51 - 56.72 nGy/h. External hazard index (Hex) is in the range 0.11 - 0.33, internal hazard index (Hin) is in the range 0.13 - 0.4 and gamma index was 0.32 - 0.89. The annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE), annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE), and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) were also calculated and their ranges were 25.15 - 69.56, 151.63 - 396.05 and 0.09∙10-3 - 0.24∙10-3 respectively. This study showed that there is no radiation hazard to the public due to natural radionuclides in the selected areas.

IRAQ; NATURAL radioactivity; SOIL sampling; ABSORBED dose; RADIOLOGICAL health risk; GERMANIUM radiation detectors; RADIOISOTOPES; CESIUM

Nuclear Physics & Atomic Energy, 2020, Vol 21, Issue 2, p187

1818-331X

Academic Journal

10.15407/jnpae2020.02.187