Radiological parameters due to radon-222 in soil samples at Baghdad governorate (Karakh),Iraq

Measurements of radon concentration,effective radium content,potential alpha energy concentration (paec) and annual effective dose (aed) were estimated for soil samples in fifteen locations of the baghdad governorate (karakh) in the central part of iraq. in this survey we used the can technique,containing nuclear track detector (cr-39). the obtained values of radon concentration measurements were generally low,ranging from 38.12±13.46 to 94.51±16.5 bq/m3,with an average 66.07 bq/m3,while the effective radium content varied from 5.80±0.21 bq/kg to 14.39±0.33 bq/kg with an average 10.09 bq/kg. the average of the paec and aed were assessed to be 7.14 mwl 1.66 msv/y,respectively. the results of the present study shows that the radium content are lower than the allowed limit reported by organization for economic cooperation and development (oecd) that is equal to 370 bq/kg. in general,it is seen that the aed limit was within the recommended reference level (3 msv/y to 10 msv/y) of the world health organization. also,it is found that there is a strong correlation (r2= 1) between radon concentrations and effective radium content. the results obtained from this study indicate that the locations of karakh has background radioactivity(radon concentrations) levels within the natural limits.