Measurement of Radioactivity Levels in Daily Intake Foods of Erbil City Inhabitants

Volume 16 , Issue 4 , October 2014 , Pages 111- 121

Authors

¹ Department of Physics, College of Science, Univ. of Salahaddin-Erbil

This work investigates the natural 226Ra,232Th,40K, 222Rn,220Rn and man-made137Cs radionuclides

in foodstuff elements consumed by Iraqi Kurdistan region population (Erbil).The measurements were

carried out by using a high efficiency NaI(TI) gamma-ray spectrometerandCR-39 solid state nuclear

track detectors. The estimated average activity concentrations in foodstuff were found to be0.17Bq kg-1

for 226Ra, 0.183 Bq.kg-1 for 232Th, 515.5Bq kg-1 for 40K, 0.11Bq.kg-1 for 137Cs and 108.46Bq.m-3

for 222Rn.The total annual internal dose resulting from ingestion of radioisotopes in foodstuff was ranged

from 0.01μSv.year-1 to 270.8μSv.year-1whichlies within the standard safety range of consumption.

Keywords: Radioactivity, gamma spectroscopy, CR-39, Foodstuff.

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