https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06541-4
Regular Article
Assessment of radiological hazards in soil of Sinjar district, Nineveh Governorate, Iraq
Department of Medical Physics, College of Science, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq
Received:
5
April
2025
Accepted:
7
June
2025
Published online:
25
June
2025
The activity concentration of natural radionuclides in soil samples from the Sinjar district in Nineveh Governorate, Iraq, was assessed using a gamma-ray spectrometer equipped with an NaI(Tl) detector. The measured activity concentration in the soil samples was found to vary between 9.1 ± 1.1 Bq kg−1 and 34 ± 4 Bq kg−1 for 226Ra, 8.1 ± 2.2 Bq kg−1, and 27.9 ± 5.4 Bq kg−1 for 232Th, and 119 ± 3 Bq kg−1 and 420 ± 20 Bq kg−1 for 40K. The average activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K fell within the globally recommended values. Additionally, the average radium equivalent was calculated to be 63.76 Bq kg−1, which is within the recommended value of 370 Bq kg−1. The average absorbed dose rate was calculated to be 30.04 nGy h−1, which is above the recommended safe value of 59 nGy h−1. The annual effective doses from external exposures were estimated to be 36.85 µSv a−1, and the average gonadal equivalent dose was noted to be 212.52 µSv a−1, which was within safe limits. The mean values calculated for the internal hazard index, external hazard index, and gamma index were 0.222, 0.172, and 0.236, respectively, which are all below the recommended safety limit of one, indicating that the intensity of radiation exposure was within acceptable safety parameters. This study, therefore, provides a basis for further investigations, toward realistic regulatory and policy formulation. The study’s statistical investigation included thorough evaluations of Sinjar soil’s radionuclide activity. Calculated for 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K were key metrics including mean, median, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis. While Pearson’s correlation study found relationships between variables, box graphs shown data distribution. Emphasizing important correlations, especially between 2⁶Ra and 212Th, principal component analysis compiled variable associations, so capturing 89% of the data variance. This thorough study helps one to grasp radiological hazards and patterns in the soil samples.
Copyright comment Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
