Radiological hazard assessment due to natural radioactivity content in cement material used in Iraqi Kurdistan region

Abstract

An investigation was conducted to determine radon concentrations, radon exhalation rate, and potential radiological hazard parameters associated with cement collected from five factories in Sulaymaniyah city, Kurdistan region, Iraq. Using solid-state nuclear track detectors such as CR39, the samples were analyzed by etching processes. The average radon concentration, radium concentration, and radon exhalation rate were 138.16 \({\text{Bq}}\,{\text{m}}^{ - 3}\), 0.254 \({\text{Bq}}\,{\text{kg}}^{ - 1}\), and 0.317 \({\text{Bq}}\,{\text{m}}^{ - 2} \,{\text{h}}^{ - 1}\), respectively. In sample 14, radon concentrations were within the suggested range of 200–600 \({\text{Bq}}\,{\text{m}}^{ - 3}\), and the radon exhalation rate was well below the global average of 57.600 \({\text{Bq}}\,{\text{m}}^{ - 2} \,{\text{h}}^{ - 1}\). In addition, parameters related to potential radiological hazards were calculated for cement samples, the average annual effective dose indoor and outdoor were 3.49 and 1.31 \({\text{mSv}}\,{\text{y}}^{ - 1}\), so this study's value was within the global average limitations (1–5 \({\text{mSv}}\,{\text{y}}^{ - 1}\)). Also, the excess lifetime cancer risk indoor and outdoor were 12.5 × 10⁻³ and 4.69 × 10⁻³ greater than the world value of 0.29 × 10⁻³.