This study aimed to evaluate the radiological impacts in Khanaqin, located in the Diyala Governorate, Iraq. The specific activities of natural radionuclides of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K in soil samples were investigated by collecting thirty composite soil samples from different locations in the area. Measurements were performed using a NaI(Tl) gamma-ray spectrometry system to acquire the data and analyses were conducted using the UCS-20 program. From the results, the average specific activities of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K were 25.15 ± 3.65 Bq kg⁻¹, 12.27 ± 2.28 Bq kg⁻¹, and 300.09 ± 14.50 Bq kg⁻¹, respectively. These results were lower than the global average recommended by UNSCEAR. The radiological risk criteria were estimated based on the specific activities of radionuclides to assess any radiological risks that may be associated with the soil of the study area under investigation. The radiological risk criteria included radium equivalent activity (Ra_eq), absorbed dose rate (D_R), annual effective dose (AEDE), annual gonadal equivalent dose (AGDE), excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR), external hazard index (H_ex), internal hazard index (H_in), representative gamma index (I _γ ) and effective dose rate to different body organs (D_organ). They were compared with the international safe limits. Overall, all the radiological risk criteria had values lower than the worldwide average recommended by UNSCEAR. This work employed statistical techniques to understand and explain the statistical characteristics of measured radionuclide-specific activities and the associated radiological risk criteria , including skewness, kurtosis, correlation coefficients, and K-means cluster analysis.

The main objective of this research is to determine the environmental health concerns associated with radon gas accumulation and compare quantities in various kinds of construction factories in Erbil city. For this purpose, 52 dosimeters were deployed throughout 13 industries by using CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detectors (SSNTD). These tests were conducted out in factories over a 60-day exposure period. The results show that the radon concentration values ranged from (21 to 190) $\mathrm{B}\mathrm{q}.{\mathrm{m}}^{-3}$, with an average of (86.36 ± 9) $\mathrm{B}\mathrm{q}.{\mathrm{m}}^{-3}$, different from the studied samples, red brick samples show radon concentration over the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended value of 148 $\mathrm{B}\mathrm{q}.{\mathrm{m}}^{-3}$. The mean value of the annual effective dose was found to be (2.179 ± 1) $\mathrm{m}\mathrm{S}\mathrm{v}.{\mathrm{y}}^{-1}$ below and within the range of the reference level of (3–10) $\mathrm{m}\mathrm{S}\mathrm{v}.{\mathrm{y}}^{-1}$ of ICRP. The average annual lung cancer rate per 10⁶ people was shown to be (94.125). The dose rate to lungs (D_Lungs) varied from (1.07 to 7.11) $\mathrm{n}\mathrm{G}\mathrm{y}.{\mathrm{h}}^{-1}$, with an average value of (3.454) $\mathrm{n}\mathrm{G}\mathrm{y}.{\mathrm{h}}^{-1}$. The annual effective dose equivalent for lung $\left(\mathrm{A}\mathrm{E}\mathrm{D}{\mathrm{E}}_{\left(\mathrm{l}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{g}\right)}\right)$ to tracheobronchial $\left(\mathrm{A}\mathrm{E}\mathrm{D}{\mathrm{E}}_{\left(\mathrm{T}-\mathrm{B}\right)}\right)$ and pulmonary/ pulmonary lymph region $\left(\mathrm{A}\mathrm{E}\mathrm{D}{\mathrm{E}}_{\left(\mathrm{P}+\mathrm{P}\mathrm{L}\right)}\right)$, varies from (1.62 to 10.76), with an average value of (5.23) $\mathrm{m}\mathrm{S}\mathrm{v}.{\mathrm{y}}^{-1}$ and from (0.81 to 5.38) $\mathrm{m}\mathrm{S}\mathrm{v}.{\mathrm{y}}^{-1}$, with an average value of (2.615) $\mathrm{m}\mathrm{S}\mathrm{v}.{\mathrm{y}}^{-1}$, respectively. The present results revealed the need for radon monitoring measurements because worker exposure in some factories can exceed permitted levels. Finally, owners should improve the factories ventilation systems to avoid the accumulation of ²²²Rn and its progeny.

Radon gas has long been connected with human public health risks. Building materials, one of the biggest producers of this gas in enclosed areas, are thought to be among the most important channels of this gas. The radon concentration, radon exhalation rate as well as the annual effective dose for 52 building material samples (granite, ceramic, marble, mosaic, building stones, gypsum, gypsum board, block, lightweight block, sand, aggregate, limestone, concrete, siporex, cement, white cement, brick and red brick) in Erbil city were assessed by applying a radon detection system consisting of a length-pipeline approach using CR-39 SSNTDs as an inactive mode and an electronic RAD7 solid-state detector as a can way. The outcomes of passive and active approaches were found to be very comparable. The highest values of radon exhalation rate, radon concentration and indoor yearly effective dosage were recorded, respectively, as 0.546 ± 0.032 Bq.m⁻².h ⁻¹, 290.2 ± 17 Bq.m⁻³ and 7.32 ± 0.43 mSv.y ⁻¹ for granite samples, while the lowest values were 0.057 ± 0.003 Bq.m⁻².h ⁻¹, 30.2 ± 1.8 Bq.m ⁻³ and 0.76 ± 0.05 mSv.y ⁻¹ for the gypsum board samples. The results also revealed that the radon exhalation rate was lower than the global average of 57.600 Bq.m ⁻².h ⁻¹, and the indoor annual effective dose for all samples except for granite samples was less than the allowed threshold of 1–5 mSv.y⁻¹. The annual effective dose for all samples was above the average world value of 1.2 mSv.y ⁻¹ reported by UNSCEAR and WHO except for gypsum board samples. The radon concentrations in granite samples were within the ICRP’s suggested activity ranges of 200 to 600 Bq.m⁻³.

Natural radioactivity is receiving a lot of attention worldwide due to its essential role in human health. Sugar is a generic term for sweet, soluble carbohydrates, many of which find their way into food. Therefore, measuring natural radioactivity is critical as it has a direct impact on human safety. This research analyzed natural radionuclide activity levels in 22 samples of commonly consumed sugar from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. High-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors are used in gamma-ray spectrometers. Measurements in this study showed that ²²⁶Ra activity concentrations ranged from below minimum detectable activity (BMDA) to 5.16 ± 2.55 Bq kg^-1 with an average value of 0.80 ± 0.15 Bq kg^-1. In contrast, ²³²Th radionuclide activity concentrations ranged from BMDA to 3.11 ± 1.67 Bq kg^-1 with an average value of 0.51 ± 0.10 Bq kg^-1. Also, the activity concentration of ⁴⁰K ranged from BMDA to 30.71 ± 10.77 Bq kg^-1 with a mean of 6.44 ± 2.54 Bq kg^-1. Based on these results, a radiation risk index associated with sugar intake was calculated. It was verified that the radiation exposure due to sugar consumption in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq was below the permissible level of 290 μSv y^-1, and did not pose a radiation risk to public health.