Determination of radon concentrations in soil around al-Tuwaitha site using CR-39 detector

• Published in: Engineering and Technology Journal Vol. 36; no. 2C; pp. 108 - 112
• Main Authors: Ahmad, Ghazlan S., Sharif, Najla R., Subhi, Adi Tariq, Mahdi, Khalid H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Baghdad, Iraq University of Technology 07-10-2018; Unviversity of Technology- Iraq
• Subjects: area exhalation rate; cr_39 detector; mass exhalation rate; radium concentration; radon gas; soil
• DOI: 10.30684/etj.36.2C.2
• EISSN: 2412-0758
• ISSN: 1681-6900

In this work radon concentration in 37 soil samples collected from 17 regions surround the (Al Tuwaitha) were measured by using solid-state nuclear track detector (SSNTD.s) CR-39 with natural exposure of one month, and by comparison with standard samples. The radon concentration in the soil samples was about (9.583 ± 0.369
28.029 ± 0.631) Bq/m3 in locations one (Rotate Salman) and eight (An area agricultural near high-voltage towers) respectively, with rate of (20.939 ± 0.541) Bq/m3. The specific activity of radium (Ra) dissolved during generate radon were ranging between (9.857 – 3.37) Bq.kg-1, with rate of (7.393) Bq.kg-1, surface emission of radon gas rate in the soil was found between (0.144 – 0.422 Bq/m2.h) with rate of (0.314 Bq/m2.h) and their mass emission of radon gas rate has the highest value of (0.016 Bq / kg . h) and lower value (0.005 Bq / kg . h) with rate of (0.012 Bq / kg . h. These results are within the acceptable limit
that recorded by UNECEAR and ICRP.