A study of the relationship between radioactive hazard and soil geology at the university of Kufa, college of science, Iraq

Abstract

Author(s): Ali Jaafar Azeez, Shaymaa Awad Kadhim*, Faris Nasir Murad, Hisham Abbas Hadi Alhoseni, Layth Yousif Jebur, Ali Anwar Abdul Amir, Haneen Fadel Hashem and Murtadha Hussain Hassan

Investigation of soil radioactivity levels for faculty science at the university of Kufa is a critical topic due to the importance of the fact that its employees are of different categories of people. Twenty samples of soils were picked up from the study area and the specific activity of the ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra and ⁴⁰K nuclei was measured by a gamma ray spectrometer system connected with the NaI detector. The values various from (23.851-3.863) Bq/kg with mean (12.598 Bq/kg) to ²²⁶Ra, (3.757-15.164) Bq/kg with average (7.884 Bq/kg) to ²³²Th and (152.125- 447.822) Bq/kg with mean (238.355 Bq/kg) to ⁴⁰K. The ⁴⁰K concentrations have a significant specific activity value more than uranium and thorium concentrations. The equivalent activity of radium, outdoor and indoor absorbed doses, and external and internal hazard indices are also calculated; their values, with the exception of one indoor absorbed dose value, were all below the allowed limits. Excess Life time Cancer Risk (ELCR) associated with the equivalent Effective Annual Dose (EADE) was also calculated, as its value was (0.554 × 10^-3) less than the internationally permissible limits (1.45 × 10^-3), which indicates that the studied area is healthy and as an indicator for future studies, the radioactive map of the activity of the three nuclides was also drawn with a program surfer 13.

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