International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—The levels of radionuclides of natural origin, represented by (238U, 232Th, 40K), were evaluated for 15 samples from the surface sediments of the Euphrates River in the city of Diwaniyah in Al-Qadisiyah Governorate - Iraq. In this study, I am using gamma-ray spectroscopy with a sodium iodide detector NaI(Tl) to measure the concentrations of natural radionuclides 238U, 232Th, and 40K in surface sediment samples and to evaluate the radioactive risks of these samples. The present study showed that the specific radioactivity rate of the sediment samples in units of (Bq/Kg) for isotopes (238U, 232Th, 40K) were (17.3,15.5,302.3) Bq/Kg respectively. These values have been compared with some local and international studies, as well as with the global average recommended by the World Health Organization and UNSCEAR. The effects of radioactive hazards of gamma rays were also calculated for sediment samples. They were all less than the internationally permissible limit. according to these values, all the results of the current study are within the internationally permissible values mentioned in the reports of the international committees concerned with radiation and its protection, and this indicates that the sediments of the Euphrates River in the city of Diwaniyah-Qadisiyah Governorate do not have radioactive risks.

Keywords—radionuclides, AL-Diwaniyah Province, NaI(Tl), Sediment, Euphrates River, Iraq

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Cite: Kawthar Hassan Obayes, "Evaluation of Radioactivity Levels and Cancer Risk of Sediment Samples from the Euphrates River (AL-Diwaniyah Province, Iraq)," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 310-314, 2024.

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