Abstract
Exposure to natural sources of radiation, especially 222 Rn and its short-lived daughter products has become an important issue throughout the world because sustained exposure of humans to indoor radon may cause lung cancer. Therefore, indoor radon concentration levels have been measured inside 8 government hospitals in three main regions (Erbil, Duhok and Sulaymaniya) in Iraqi Kurdistan region during summer season by using CR-39 nuclear track detector. The CR-39 detectors were placed in the all hospitals for three floors (ground, first and second). The highest average radon concentration value and annual effective dose was found to be in the Shaheed Dr. Aso hospital in Sulaymaniya city (52.89 ± 3.52 Bq. m-3 , 1.37 ± 0.09 mSv/y ) respectively and the lowest was found in the Erbil Teaching hospital in Erbil city (30.15 ± 2.85 Bq. m -3 , 0.81 mSv/y) respectively, This depended on the geological formation , type of building material, and the floor level. Therefore, the results showed that the average radon concentration and annual effective dose decreases gradually as the floor level increases The highest and lowest of annual effective dose was found in ground and second floor, respectively. Thus, according to the annual exposure dose data, the workers are safety in most of the hospitals.
Highlights
Radon (222Rn) is a radioactive noble gas emitted by the decay of 226Ra, an element of the 238U decay series
Average value of indoor radon concentration (CRn), potential alpha energy concentration (PAEC), equilibrium factor (F) and annual effective dose (HE) inside 8 Iraqi Kurdistan hospitals summarized in table 1, figure 3 and figure 4 shows the distribution of radon concentration and annual effective dose inside the hospitals
Indoor radon concentrations have been measured inside 8 government hospitals in Iraqi Kurdistan region in summer season
Summary
Radon (222Rn) is a radioactive noble gas emitted by the decay of 226Ra, an element of the 238U decay series. Radon-222 decays into a series of other radioactive elements, of which 214Po and 218Po are the most significant, as they contribute the majority of radiation dose when inhaled. Following a number of decay series, 218Po transforms into 210Po and it decays into stable 206Pb. The 222Rn and its decay products are reported as major causes of lung cancer [1,2] Assessment of health effects due to exposure to ionizing radiation from natural sources requires knowledge of its distribution in the environment. It is well established that the inhalation of radon (222Rn) and mainly its radioactive decay products, contributes more than 50% of the total radiation dose to the world population from natural sources [4]
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