Natural radioactivity assessment in soil samples from Kirkuk city of Iraq using HPGe detector

Background: Inspection of the level of radioactivity from radionuclides in soil is important for the assessment of the exposure to natural radiation. Materials and Methods: Ten samples from soil were collected from different sites of Kirkuk-IRAQ and the level of natural radioactivity was measured using gamma-ray spectrometry based on a high purity germanium (HPGe) detector. Results: It was found that the specific activity ranged from 27.4 to 57.0 Bq kg(-1) for Ra-226, from 11.0 to 25.4 Bq kg(-1) for Th-232, and from 207.4 to 516.0 Bq kg(-1) for K-40. The results have been compared with the average values worldwide. The hazard indices have also been calculated. In general certain average values were found to be lower than the world average values; these included the average value of the radium equivalent activity (Ra-eq), the absorbed gamma dose rate (D), the external and internal hazard H-ex and H-in, the gamma radiation representative level Index (I-gamma) and the outdoor and indoor annual effective dose rate (AEDE) Conclusion: In general there are no harmful radiations effects posed to the population who live in the study area; however there are some spots which have values higher than the internationally allowable values.