Health Risk Assessment of Natural Background Radiation in Residents of Khorramabad, Iran

Document Type : Original Paper

Authors

1 Department of Environmental Engineering, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Department of Environmental Sciences, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran

3 Department of Medical Physics, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran

4 Department of Public Health, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran

Abstract

Introduction
Radioactive materials naturally exist in the world. Indeed, approximately 82% of human-absorbed radiation doses, which are out of human control, arise from natural sources of radiation including cosmic, terrestrial, and exposure through inhalation or ingestion. Thus, the aim of the present study was to estimate health risk, as well as the effective and organ doses from naturally occurring background radiation in residents living in the vicinity of Khorramabad, Iran.
Materials and Methods
This cross-sectional study was carried out in Khorramabad, Iran. The measurements were performed using Geiger-Muller detector (RDS-110) during daylight from April to June, 2015. The natural gamma radiation measurements were made both indoor and outdoor across five regions of Khorramabad (north, south, west, east, and center).
Results
The estimated mean absorbed dose rate in outdoor and indoor zones were 0.09±0.024 and 0.117±0.032 mSvy-1, respectively. Additionally, the mean annual effective dose was calculated as 0.69±0.19 mSvy-1, while the estimated health risk probability was 0.0345%.
Conclusion
The average annual effective dose arising from gamma background radiation was higher than global values. Therefore, more studies are required to examine the relationship between radiation-induced effects and the natural background radiation level in Khorramabad.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Iranian Journal of Medical Physics
Volume 14, Issue 1
March and April 2017
Pages 23-28

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History

  • Receive Date: 22 October 2016
  • Revise Date: 06 March 2017
  • Accept Date: 18 December 2016

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