Estimating the effective dose to human organs due to soil radon in southern Iraq

Radon and its decay products have significantly contributed to natural radiation exposure and pose a serious health hazard. This study aimed to assess the radon concentration and the related radiological health hazards in soil samples collected from selected sites in Basrah, southern Iraq. Eighteen soil samples were gathered from the Abu-Khasib, and Addayr districts at depths of surface, 30 cm, and 60 cm. The sealed-can technique was employed with CR-39 nuclear track detectors to assess radon concentrations in both air and soil. Additionally, radium and uranium concentrations were evaluated, along with the indoor annual effective dose (Hy), excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR), and lung cancer cases per million people (LCC). The results show that radon concentration ranged from 71.71 ± 0.67 Bq/m 3 to 286.85 ± 1.69 Bq/m 3 , whereas radium concentrations varied between 1.16 ± 0.01 Bq/kg and 4.66 ± 0.02 Bq/kg. Uranium levels changed from 14.56 ± 0.13 ppm to 58.27 ± 0.34 ppm. The evaluated indoor annual effective dose was 504.55 ± 2.97 mSv/year, with ELCR values varying from 0.44 to 1.76 and LCC values ranging from 2.27 × 10 −3 to 9.08 × 10 −3 per million individuals. The findings demonstrate elevated radon concentrations in many soil samples, specifically at a depth of 30 cm. Even with the acceptable effective doses in the body organs, the whole-body effective dose and related cancer risks suggest the need for additional monitoring and potential mitigation strategies in the examined areas.