Analytical Study Of The Radioactivity Of Some Asphalt Springs In The Heet City, Anbar Governorate, Iraq

Abstract

This research aims to estimate pollution levels of the concentrations of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K in the soil, water, and asphalt for some Heet City in the west of Anbar Governorate - Iraq to find out the natural and industrial radioactivity contaminations. In this study, the gamma-ray spectroscopy technique was used with a Germanium detector to calculate the levels of radioactivity of natural radionuclides (²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K) in different samples of soil, water, and asphalt collected from (8) areas of Heet City and its nearby regions in Anbar Governorate - Iraq. Through the study results, it was shown that the range of concentration values for ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰k in soil samples ranged from (1.2, 2, and 26) Bq/kg to (810, 506.6, and 435.7) Bq/kg and at an average (147.2, 94,1, and 309.28), respectively. While in asphalt samples, the concentrations ranged between (17 and 48) Bq/kg for both ²³⁸U and ²³²Th, and for ⁴⁰k, they ranged between (220 and 326) Bq/kg. As for water samples, the study did not detect any concentrations of ²³⁸U and ²³²Th, and the detected concentrations of ⁴⁰k were very low. In general, from this study, we conclude that the Abu Al-Jeer region contains relatively high radioactivity levels, higher than the permissible global limit in some of its areas. Therefore, periodic and continuous monitoring must be conducted to verify radioactivity in these areas to avoid any potential danger to the population.