Abstract
The activity level of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K radionuclides at selected locations of Tigris River and Rustumai water treatment plant (before and after treatment) has been determined by using NaI(Tl) gamma spectrometry. The results show that the total average activity values were 44.3Bq kg−1 and 789.6Bq kg−1 for 226Raand 40K, respectively. These values are higher than the world recommended values given by UNSCEAR, while the total activity concentration of 232Th was within the world recommended value of 30 Bq.kg-1. Radiological hazard indices such as: radium equivalent activity in Bq.kg−1, annual equivalent dose in Sv.y−1, external and internal hazard indexes, representative gamma index, dose rate in nGy.h−1 and annual effective dose equivalent (outdoor and indoor) in mSv.y−1 were calculated. The calculated indices were below the world recommended values, hence they have no serious effects on people health and environmental species and the Tigris River water can be considered un-harmful for the environment and humans as they are within the world median limits. In the case of Rustumai wastewater treatment plant samples for untreated and treated samples, the average activity concentrations of the three radionuclides were higher than the world recommended values. Â
Highlights
Water quality is a significant factor of ecological researches
The results appear that there are no significant differences in the levels of radioactive material concentrations through the five months of the study
Our results show that the average activity concentrations of 40 K in all water samples are higher than the worldwide concentrations reported by UNSCEAR [17]
Summary
Water quality is a significant factor of ecological researches. The presence of radioactivity in surface water is essentially due to the presence of limited amounts of radioactive isotopes in the earth's crust such as uranium, thorium and radium, besides potassium. Rivers can be polluted by surface overflow of rainwater which conveys radionuclides from urban communities, mine waste, soil weathering and agricultural areas [1]. Another type of water contamination is due to geological formation of soil containing radioactive components referred to as Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM). The seepage is released in the Diyala River which brings about the Tigris River The goal of this exploration is to quantify gamma activities in the region under investigation by utilizing NaI (Tl) gamma ray spectrometry and to estimate their potential hazardous impacts on the Baghdadi inhabitants
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