https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06642-0
Regular Article
Measurement of radon activity concentration, estimating the annual effective dose, and the lifetime cancer risk in the soil of Kirkuk Province, Northern Iraq, using AlphaGUARD
1
Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq
2
Chemical, Biological and Radiological Safety and Security Division, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq
3
Department of Basic Science, College of Dentistry, University of Kirkuk, Kirkuk, Iraq
4
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Isra University, Amman, Jordan
5
Renewable Energy and Environmental Technology Center, University of Tabuk, 47913, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
6
Department of Environmental Protection and Improvement in the Northern Region, The Ministry of Environment, Kirkuk, Iraq
7
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Minia University, El-Minia, Egypt
8
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria
9
Reactor Physics Department, Nuclear Research Center, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Cairo, Egypt
10
Department of Physics, Faculty of Women for Arts, Science and Education, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
a
taha.yaseen93@uomosul.edu.iq
b
berivanfarooq@uokirkuk.edu.iq
c
mabualssayed@ut.edu.sa
Received:
10
April
2025
Accepted:
10
July
2025
Published online:
28
July
2025
Radon exposure poses a considerable public health risk owing to its correlation with lung cancer. This study examined radon-222 concentrations in 45 points in soil gathered from Kirkuk province, northern Iraq, an area likely to exhibit heightened radon levels due to oil development activity. Measurements were taken with a Genitron AlphaGUARD 2000 PRQ radon gas analyzer, keeping all climatic and environmental conditions constant so that external influences would be minimized. The range for the concentration of 222Rn in the soil was found to be between 1.00 ± 0.06 and 17.0 ± 1.0 Bq m−3, with an average value of 4.6 ± 0.3 Bq m−3. The results pointed out that the radon levels in the area are within the acceptable limits prescribed by the World Health Organization and International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The estimated annual effective dose, annual exposure to radon, and excess lifetime cancer risk due to exposure to radon have been computed as 0.099 mSv y−1, 0.025, and 0.346 × 10–3, respectively. In order to establish possible interdependence among radioactive variables, multivariate statistical methods have been applied. Cluster analysis has been used as a tool to find clusters of groups of variables having similar characteristics. A study attempts to explain relationships among radioactive variables while simultaneously attempting to find possible correlations between them. The analyses provide significant information regarding associations and forms existing in data; thus they clarify an understanding of radioactive variables and their possible consequences.
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© 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.
