Radiation Hazard Assessment by Measuring of Soil Radioactivity Levels in Al-anbar (Al-fallujah District) and Wasit Governorate in Iraq

Soil samples were collected from two region Al-anbar (Al-fallujah district) and Wasit of Iraq with an aim to determine the activity concentration using a coaxial high purity germanium (HPGe) detector based on high-resolution gamma spectrometry system. 226Ra, 232Th, the primordial radionuclide 40K, and the artificial radionuclide 137Cs were measured in the soil of the study area. The mean radioactivity concentration in Al-anbar (Al-fallujah district) and Wasit region due to 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs was (20.36, 11.08, 226.97, and 1.01Bq kg -1) and (23.01, 14.45, 290.64, and 2.22 Bq kg -1), respectively. Radium equivalent activity (Ra eq), representative level index (I γ), absorbed gamma dose rate (D) in air, total annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE) from the terrestrial gamma radiation, the external and internal hazard index were estimated. The mean of six hazard index values came out to be (53.67Bq kg -1, 0.38Bq kg -1, 24.78Bq kg -1, 0.15mSv y -1, 0.14Bq kg -1, and 0.19Bq kg -1) in Al-anbar (Al-fallujah district) and (66.17Bq kg-1, 0.49 Bq kg -1, 32.08 Bq kg -1, 0.2mSv y -1, 0.18 Bq kg -1, and 0.24 Bq kg -1) in Wasit, respectively. Present data have been compared with the published data for other regions of the world near from the study area and found to be safe for public and environment.