Mass Attenuation Coefficient of Soil Samples in Kurdistan Region of Iraq by Using Gamma Energy at 0.662 MeV

Abstract

Mass attenuation coefficient of various soil samples (density ranges between 2.22 and 2.3gcm -3) collected from three sites distributed in Kurdistan Region of Iraq land have been determined for gamma energy 0.662MeV using gamma spectrometry. The average mass attenuation coefficients for the studied samples were found to be 0.0487, 0.0492 and 0.0493cm 2 g -1 . The results have shown that Fe content of the samples has a strong effect on the mass attenuation coefficient. In general, mass attenuation coefficients determined in this study can be used for determination of gamma emitters in any soil samples.