Assessment of tracheobronchial and lung dose due to radon and thoron inhalation

The main sources of natural background radiation are radon, thoron and their progeny, which may cause health risks to humans. Keeping in mind the importance of the subject, three samples each from 10 selected residential areas, including the centre of Babylon Governorate, Iraq, and its districts, w...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shatha Farhan Alhous, Ansam Fadil Showard, Shaymaa Awad Kadhim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pakistan Medical Association 2024-09-01
Series:Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
Online Access:https://jpma.org.pk/index.php/public_html/article/view/21918
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850095338402086912
author Shatha Farhan Alhous
Ansam Fadil Showard
Shaymaa Awad Kadhim
author_facet Shatha Farhan Alhous
Ansam Fadil Showard
Shaymaa Awad Kadhim
author_sort Shatha Farhan Alhous
collection DOAJ
description The main sources of natural background radiation are radon, thoron and their progeny, which may cause health risks to humans. Keeping in mind the importance of the subject, three samples each from 10 selected residential areas, including the centre of Babylon Governorate, Iraq, and its districts, were collected. Concentration of radon and thoron was measured using solid-state track detectors (CR-39). The arithmetic means of the concentration of radon and thoron were 47.367±19.56 and 133.246±16.585 Bqm-3, respectively; these values are considered safe when compared with the upper reference level of 200-600 Bqm-3 recommended by the International Commission for Radiological Protection (ICRP). The value of the inhalation equivalent dose from radon gas discovered in these areas with rate 37.893 nSv is less than the value of the global average of 1.15 mSv. This indicates that the risks related to inhalation of radon are low as the lung dose rate (DLung), tracheobronchial region (DT-B), annual effective dose (AED) and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) is (1.894 nGyh-1, 22.736 nSv, 0.236 mSvy-1 and 0.835 x10-3), respectively. While the value of the inhalation equivalent dose (IED) from thoron as effective dose to lung DLung, AED and ELCR are equal to (0.133 nSv, 0.167 mSvy-1 and 0.587 x 10-3), respectively. To conclude, the rates in the study area are less than the ICRP recommended level of 3 mSv; therefore, the studied areas are safe from the health risks of inhalation of radon and thoron. Key Words: Radiation, Radon, Lung,
format Article
id doaj-art-9e7beda3e5cd42c1b8187840b80b3752
institution DOAJ
issn 0030-9982
language English
publishDate 2024-09-01
publisher Pakistan Medical Association
record_format Article
series Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
spelling doaj-art-9e7beda3e5cd42c1b8187840b80b37522025-08-20T02:41:27ZengPakistan Medical AssociationJournal of the Pakistan Medical Association0030-99822024-09-017410 (Supple-08)10.47391/JPMA-BAGH-16-83Assessment of tracheobronchial and lung dose due to radon and thoron inhalationShatha Farhan Alhous0Ansam Fadil Showard1Shaymaa Awad Kadhim2Department of Physics, University of Kufa, Iraq.Department of Radiological Techniques, Al-Mustaqbal University College, Hilla, IraqDepartment of Physics, University of Kufa, Iraq. The main sources of natural background radiation are radon, thoron and their progeny, which may cause health risks to humans. Keeping in mind the importance of the subject, three samples each from 10 selected residential areas, including the centre of Babylon Governorate, Iraq, and its districts, were collected. Concentration of radon and thoron was measured using solid-state track detectors (CR-39). The arithmetic means of the concentration of radon and thoron were 47.367±19.56 and 133.246±16.585 Bqm-3, respectively; these values are considered safe when compared with the upper reference level of 200-600 Bqm-3 recommended by the International Commission for Radiological Protection (ICRP). The value of the inhalation equivalent dose from radon gas discovered in these areas with rate 37.893 nSv is less than the value of the global average of 1.15 mSv. This indicates that the risks related to inhalation of radon are low as the lung dose rate (DLung), tracheobronchial region (DT-B), annual effective dose (AED) and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) is (1.894 nGyh-1, 22.736 nSv, 0.236 mSvy-1 and 0.835 x10-3), respectively. While the value of the inhalation equivalent dose (IED) from thoron as effective dose to lung DLung, AED and ELCR are equal to (0.133 nSv, 0.167 mSvy-1 and 0.587 x 10-3), respectively. To conclude, the rates in the study area are less than the ICRP recommended level of 3 mSv; therefore, the studied areas are safe from the health risks of inhalation of radon and thoron. Key Words: Radiation, Radon, Lung, https://jpma.org.pk/index.php/public_html/article/view/21918
spellingShingle Shatha Farhan Alhous
Ansam Fadil Showard
Shaymaa Awad Kadhim
Assessment of tracheobronchial and lung dose due to radon and thoron inhalation
Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
title Assessment of tracheobronchial and lung dose due to radon and thoron inhalation
title_full Assessment of tracheobronchial and lung dose due to radon and thoron inhalation
title_fullStr Assessment of tracheobronchial and lung dose due to radon and thoron inhalation
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of tracheobronchial and lung dose due to radon and thoron inhalation
title_short Assessment of tracheobronchial and lung dose due to radon and thoron inhalation
title_sort assessment of tracheobronchial and lung dose due to radon and thoron inhalation
url https://jpma.org.pk/index.php/public_html/article/view/21918
work_keys_str_mv AT shathafarhanalhous assessmentoftracheobronchialandlungdoseduetoradonandthoroninhalation
AT ansamfadilshoward assessmentoftracheobronchialandlungdoseduetoradonandthoroninhalation
AT shaymaaawadkadhim assessmentoftracheobronchialandlungdoseduetoradonandthoroninhalation