Radioactivity distribution in soil samples of the Baba Gurgur dome of Kirkuk oil field in Iraq

Abstract

ABSTRACT This work presents a study of radioactivity in soil samples from oil well sites of Baba Gurgur dome of Kirkuk oil field using a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector and spectroscopy system. The activity concentration (Bq kg−1) of 226Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs varied between 26.4–98, 10.8–55.2, 239–729, and 2.40–7.20, respectively. The results have been compared with the average worldwide values. The hazard indices have also been calculated. The radium equivalent activity (Raeq) was 131.04 Bq kg−1, the absorbed gamma dose rate (D) was 62.04 nGy h−1, the annual effective dose rate (AEDE) outdoor and indoor were 0.08 mSv y−1 and 0.30 mSv y−1, respectively, the external hazard (Hex) was 0.35, the internal hazard (Hin) was 0.51, the Gamma radiation representative level Index (Iγ) was 0.96, and excess lifetime cancer risk was 0.30 × 10−3. Our results of some sites were found to be higher than the allowable worldwide values. Statistical data including: Mean, Median, Std. Deviation, kurtosis, skewness, box plot, frequency distribution, Quantile-quantile (Q-Q) plots, Pearson’s correlation coefficient analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis were calculated and carried out to explain our results.