Open AccessRadon and uranium concentration in ground water of nineveh plain region in iraq
Author(s) -
Malik H. Kheder,
Aymen M Ahmad,
Hanaa N. Azeez,
Muna Y. Slewa,
Ban A. Badr,
Sleeman Y. Sleeman
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/1234/1/012033
Subject(s) - uranium , radon , environmental science , effective dose (radiation) , groundwater , environmental chemistry , ingestion , surface water , radiochemistry , hydrology (agriculture) , zoology , toxicology , nuclear medicine , chemistry , environmental engineering , medicine , geology , physics , geotechnical engineering , quantum mechanics , nuclear physics , biology
The track registration technique with a CR-39 detector was used to measure radon concentrations, and uranium contents in ground water samples from the Nineveh plain region wells. Samples were selected from 20 locations for measurements. This research aimed to assess radiological risks from uranium ingestion, and measure annual effective dose AED resulting from the intake of radon in the ingested water. Radon concentrations in these water samples were found to vary from 0.362 to 1.485 BqL−1, which were below the safety recommended limits 4 to 40 BqL−1 based on the Scientific Committee of United Nations on Atomic Radiation Effects. AED was found to vary from 1.32 to 5.42 µSv/y. Uranium activity concentrations ranged from 0.356 to 1.488 BqL−1, and the corresponding uranium concentrations in water samples were found to vary from 28.76 to 120 μgL−1. Uranium concentrations were over the safety recommended limits when, compared with recommended limits of of 30 μgL−1 for drinking water based on the US environmental protection agency. The excess cancer risk varied from 0.398 to 1.666 x10-4 with a mean value of 0.9 x10-4, indicating that 9/100,000 people in these areas haves a cancer risk from the water.