AccScience Publishing / AJWEP / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/AJWEP025060032
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Natural radioactivity and radiation risks of soils in Ali Al-Sharqi and Kumait, Iraq

Zahraa A. Ismail AL-Sudani1* ,  Sawsan Sherif2 ,  Mazin Mohammed3
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1 Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Misan, Misan, Iraq
2 Department of Physics, College of Education for Pure Sciences, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq
3 Radiation Protection Center, Ministry of Environment, Baghdad, Iraq
AJWEP, 025060032 https://doi.org/10.36922/AJWEP025060032
Submitted: 3 February 2025 | Revised: 30 March 2025 | Accepted: 31 March 2025 | Published: 16 April 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Humans are subjected to natural radiation from external sources, such as radionuclides on Earth and cosmic radiation, as well as internal radiation from radionuclides integrated into the body. Radionuclide intake occurs mostly through the ingestion of food and water, as well as inhalation. The natural radioactivity in the soils of Ali Al-Sharqi and Kumait, two cities in Misan province, Iraq, were measured. The soil samples were collected from 47 Ali Al-Sharqi and Kumait areas, and levels of natural radionuclide were analyzed using a high-purity germanium detector. The average activity concentrations of radionuclides, radium-226, thorium-232, and potassium-40, were found to be 15.1 ± 2.5, 14.7 ± 2.4, and 180.8 ± 7.9 Bq/kg, respectively, for Ali Al-Sharqi. In Kumait, the corresponding values were 13.6 ± 2.1, 17.2 ± 2.4, and 193.6 ± 8.6 Bq/kg, respectively. Radiation risk parameters were also evaluated for both cities. The average radium equivalent activities for Ali Al-Sharqi and Kumait were 50.2 Bq/kg and 53.2 Bq/kg, respectively. Internal and external hazard indices were 0.2 and 0.1, while the gamma level index was 0.2 in both cities. In Ali Al-Sharqi, the absorbed gamma dose rates in the air (Din, Dout, and Dtot) were 44.8, 23.5, and 68.3 nGy/h, the annual effective dose equivalents (AEDEin, AEDEout, and AEDEtot) were 0.2, 0.02, and 0.2 mSv/y, the excess lifetime cancer risks (ELCRin, ELCRout, and ELCRtot) were 0.8 × 10−3, 0.1 × 10−3, and 0.9 × 10−3, and the annual gonadal dose equivalent was 165.3 μSv/y. In Kumait, the corresponding values were 47.2, 24.8, and 72 nGy/h, 0.2, 0.03, and 0.3 mSv/y, 0.8 × 10−3, 0.1 × 10−3, and 0.9 × 10−3, and 175 μSv/y, respectively. These findings indicate that the measured levels of radioactivity and health hazard parameters in both cities were below the global average values reported by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. Therefore, the natural radioactivity in the soils of the investigated areas does not pose a health risk to the public.

Keywords
Soil
Radionuclides
High-purity germanium
Dose rate
Ali Al-Sharqi
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution, Electronic ISSN: 1875-8568 Print ISSN: 0972-9860, Published by AccScience Publishing
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