https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06841-9
Regular Article
Cancer risk assessment of natural radioactivity in some areas at Al-Anbar Governorate, Iraq
1
Department of Physics, College of Sciences, Al-Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
2
Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Kufa, Al-Najaf, Iraq
a
ali.alhameedawi@uokufa.edu.iq
Received:
31
July
2025
Accepted:
8
September
2025
Published online:
19
September
2025
Humans have been exposed to natural radioactivity from soil since the beginning of their existence on Earth. Making it a serious risk to human health and the environment. This study aims to evaluate the specific activity of natural radionuclides (uranium-238, thorium-232, and potassium-40) and radiological hazard indexes in soil samples from nine regions in Al-Anbar Governorate, Iraq. The Geographic Information System (GIS) technique was used to map the results. The average specific activity of 238U ranged from 18.28 ± 7.98 Bq/kg in the Al-Karma region to 54.96 ± 27.89 Bq/kg in the Rawa region. The results for 232Th ranged from 9.83 ± 4.04 Bq/kg in the Anah region to 23.61 ± 8.26 Bq/kg in the Ramadi region, while the results for 40K ranged from 148.68 ± 71.42 Bq/kg in the Rawa region to 367.74 ± 45.97 Bq/kg in the Ramadi region. Additionally, the average values of Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) due to 238U, 232Th, and 40K in all regions were between 0.11 × 10−3 and 0.18 × 10−3, which is below the global average limit. The results of the specific activity of 238U in five regions were lower than the world level, while the results for 232Th and 40K were lower than the international level. Overall, the cancer risk results for the studied areas in Al-Anbar Governorate, Iraq, were within the safe limit.
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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.
