MUTHANNA JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (MJET)
ASSESSMENT OF NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY LEVELS AND RADIATION HAZARDS FOR BUILDING MATERIALS USED IN SOME SELECTED PROVINCES IN IRAQ
Research Article:
Muhannad Kh. Mohammed
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Researches, Al-Mustansiriyh University, College of Basic Education
E-mail addresses: muhannad62@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
The radioactive properties of building materials used for the construction of habitable
structures in Iraq were investigated in this study. In the framework of this paper, ten samples
of commonly used building materials (bricks and rocks used for incasing) were collected
from ten Iraqi provinces for radiometric analysis. The activity concentrations of natural
radionuclides in the selected samples were determined by gamma ray spectrometry using
sodium iodide (NaI) detector. Based on the results of this study, the use of rocks for incasing
manufactured in Al-Rumadi is considered to be unsafe for human habitation from
radiological points of view due to relatively high background radioactivity. The radioactivity
levels for building materials for the remaining investigated areas were well within the
permissible limits.