https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-026-07598-5
Regular Article
Radiological health risk assessment of NORMs, 7Be and 137Cs in dust storm fallout from Kirkuk, Northern Iraq
1
Oncology Department, Medical Research and Care Centers, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq
2
Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq
3
Renewable Energy Research Center, University of Anber, Anber, Iraq
4
Department of Basic Science, College of Dentistry, University of Kirkuk, Kirkuk, Iraq
5
Department of Physiotherapy, Erbil Technical Health and Medical College, Erbil Polytechnic University, Erbil, Kurdistan-Region, Iraq
6
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
7
Department of Environmental Protection and Improvement in the Northern Region, The Ministry of Environment, Kirkuk, Iraq
8
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Isra University, Amman, Jordan
9
Department of Physics, Dogus University, Dudullu-Ümraniye, 34775, Istanbul, Türkiye
10
Physics Department, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
11
Department of Physics, Faculty of Physical Sciences, Ekiti Satat University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria
a
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Received:
3
December
2025
Accepted:
20
March
2026
Published online:
2
April
2026
Abstract
Dust storms are recurrent environmental phenomena in Iraq, which constantly impact air quality and public health. In this study, the activity concentrations and potential radiological health hazards associated with naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs), atmospheric radionuclides (7Be) and 137Cs in dust storm fallout from Kirkuk, northern Iraq were assessed. Samples were collected following the major dust events in May and June 2022. Dust samples were collected from multiple locations across the study area and analyzed for the activity concentrations of the selected radionuclides using a well shielded NaI(Tl) gamma spectrometer. The results show that the activity concentrations of 238U, 232Th, 40K, ⁷Be and 137Cs ranged from 10.5 ± 3.38 to 45.3 ± 4.72, 0.67 ± 1.31 to 19.8 ± 3.30, 10.0 ± 9.62 to 121.8 ± 13.63, 46.6 ± 7.93 to 106.8 ± 8.39, and 0.36 ± 0.38 to 5.18 ± 0.57 Bq/kg, respectively. The measured activity concentrations of all radionuclides were below their corresponding global average values reported by the United Nation Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). Radiological hazard indices such as radium equivalent activity, absorbed dose rate, annual effective dose and excess lifetime cancer risk were calculated to evaluate the potential exposure risks to the local population. The results show that all the values were within the permissible range, which indicate that the immediate radiological risk to the population is low. However, prolonged exposure from recurrent dust storms may pose long-term health concerns. The study suggests the need for systematic monitoring of NORMs and fallout radionuclides in atmospheric environment of Iraq and other arid and semi-arid regions of the Arabian Pennisula.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2026
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.
