Radioactivity Levels in Water Samples of Tigris River in Baghdad City, Iraq

Akram A.  Mohammed; Nada F.  Tawfiq

doi:10.24996/ijs.2022.63.6.21

Authors

Akram A. Mohammed Physics Department, College of Science, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq
Nada F. Tawfiq Physics Department, College of Science, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24996/ijs.2022.63.6.21

Keywords:

specific activity, radionuclides, gamma-ray spectrometer, River water Annual effective dose

Abstract

The natural radioactivity levels in water samples along the Tigris river (one of the major rivers of the world) within Baghdad city were investigated to determine and evaluate the radioactivity risks in the water of the river. The specific activity of the radionuclides (²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K, and ¹³⁷Cs) for thirty different water samples from Tigris river within Baghdad city were measured using gamma-ray spectrometer, employing a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. The results showed that the average value of the specific activity for ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K, and ¹³⁷Cs were (24.20, 16.70, 329.22, and 19.40) Bq/l, respectively. The calculated average annual effective doses for different age groups were found to be (3.80, 6.57, and 5.59) mSv/y for infants, children, and adults, respectively, which are much higher than the globally allowed annual limits of the dose (0.26, 0.2 and 0.1) mSv/y for infants, children and adults, respectively, and it has harmful effects on health.