DETERMINATION OF GAMMA-EMITTING RADIONUCLIDES IN DUHOK CITY, IRAQ
Abstract
The present study assesses for the first time, the level of background radiation and the environmental radioactivity concentration in Duhok city using both gamma spectroscopy and dosimetry. The objective is to establish a baseline radiation level of the region. The city is located in the northwest in Kurdistan region of Iraq. Using gamma scout radiation meter (dosimetry), the average outdoor dose rate found in the field is 0.16 µSvh-1. Using shielded well type NaI (TI) detector for 30000 sec, the calculated absorbed dose rate in air from terrestrial radiation and 137Cs ranges 21.09-72.14 nGyh-1 with an average of 44.05±1.34 nGyh-1 which is below the world average value. The corresponding average annual effective dose rate is 0.054±0.002 mSvy-1. The mean deposition activity concentration of 137Cs is 9.17±0.47 Bqkg-1 and 17.25 Bqkg-1 for the non-intervened locations. Taking the non-intervened value, the expected contamination of the 137Cs fallout from the Chernobyl accident in 1986 is 30.2 Bqkg-1. Regarding the depleted uranium (DU) it is found that there is no significant DU trace at 20 sampling locations. Compared with other measurements in different countries we can conclude that the environment of the city is clean and suitable for living.References
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