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Radon and radium activity concentration measurement in drinking water resources in Kurdistan Region-Iraq

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Abstract

In this present research, twenty-five drinking water samples were collected in Erbil Governorate in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and analyzed for radon and radium activity concentrations. The measurements have been carried out using RAD7 detector and NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. The obtained values of radon concentration in drinking water samples are below the maximum contamination level 11.1 Bq/l recommended by US-EPA, except the sample from Barcelen. The results for radium demonstrated that two drinkable well water from Barcelen and Debaga have higher than the maximum contamination level 555 mBq/l suggested by US-EPA, whereas other samples mostly from surface water were lower than 555 mBq/l.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Kurdistan Regional Government, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for their support to prepare this research work. Also, acknowledgment is extended to the dean of the college and Head of the Physics Department. Finally, our thanks to Dr. Ali Mahmoud Surdashy for giving us geological information about water sample sites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, College of Science, Salahaddin University-Erbil, Erbil, Iraq

    Saman Khabbat Ezzulddin

  2. Department of Physics, College of Education, Salahaddin University-Erbil, Erbil, Iraq

    Habeeb Hanna Mansour

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  1. Saman Khabbat Ezzulddin
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  2. Habeeb Hanna Mansour
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Correspondence to Saman Khabbat Ezzulddin.

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Ezzulddin, S.K., Mansour, H.H. Radon and radium activity concentration measurement in drinking water resources in Kurdistan Region-Iraq. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 324, 963–976 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-020-07177-7

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