Determination of Radon Concentrations in Selected Soil Samples from the City of Mosul Using Nuclear Track Detector CR-39

Abstract

In this study, concentrations of radioactive radon gas were found in 24 soil samples for selected sites from Mosul (the center of Nineveh governorate) in northern Iraq, using the CR-39 nuclear track detector, to determine the extent of pollution in those sites and the extent of the danger of this gas to the health of individuals in these areas, where samples were collected from the areas under study and placed in irradiation chambers with reagents for 85 days to record the effects of alpha emitted from radon gas with optical microscope after the chemical etching process. The results showed that the highest concentration of radon gas at the study sites was at the Ibn Sina Hospital site (307.18 Bq/m3), and the lowest value was in the Qulayyat area, by an amount of (16.29 Bq/m3), and by an average of (99.85 Bq/m3), noting the recommended value of (200 Bq/m3) by (ICRP, 1993).