Radon, Radium Concentrations and Radiological Parameters in Soil Samples of Amara at Maysan, Iraq

Abstract

Objective: Radon concentration and the radiological parameters were measured from the randomly collected soil samples of Amara in Maysan, Iraq. Materials and Methods: Using SSNTD (LR-115 type II), radon concentration for eighteen soil samples that collected from different locations at Maysan area in Iraq were measured. The study also included calculating radium concentrations, the exhalation rates, the effective dose equivalent and the annual effective dose in all the soil samples. Data statistically analyzed by using SPSS 20. Results: The results show that, radon concentrations values ranged from 53.18-2047.51 Bq mG3 with an average . 776.98±126.08 Bq mG3 , while the radium concentrations values ranged from 2.58-99.61 Bq kgG1 with an average 37.79±6.13 Bq kgG1 The average values of exhalation rates in term of area, the effective dose equivalent and the annual effective dose were 40.08±6.50 µBq mG2 h, 3.635±0.59 WLM/y and 24.50±3.97 mSv/y, respectively. Conclusion: It was concluded that the average value of radon concentrations, radium concentrations and radiological effect in the present study were within the safe limits as recommended by ICRP and WHO. The results showed that these areas are safe in terms of health hazard as far as the radon is concerned.