Research article
Investigation of natural effective gamma dose rates case study: Ardebil Province in Iran
1 Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Ardebil University of Medical Sciences, Ardebil, Iran
2 Department of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine, Ardebil University of Medical Sciences, Ardebil, Iran
3 School of Medicine, Ardebil University of Medical Sciences, Ardebil, Iran
4 Ardebil Province Health Center, Ardebil University of Medical Sciences, Ardebil, Iran
Iranian Journal of Environmental Health Science & Engineering 2012, 9:1 doi:10.1186/1735-2746-9-1
Published: 2 August 2012Abstract
Gamma rays pose enough energy to induce chemical changes that may be biologically important for the normal functioning of body cells. The external exposure of human beings to natural environmental gamma radiation normally exceeds that from all man-made sources combined. In this research natural background gamma dose rates and corresponding annual effective doses were determined for selected cities of Ardebil province. Outdoor gamma dose rates were measured using an Ion Chamber Survey Meter in 105 locations in selected districts. Average absorbed doses for Ardebil, Sar-Ein, Germy, Neer, Shourabil Recreational Lake, and Kosar were determined as 265, 219, 344, 233, 352, and 358 nSv/h, respectively. Although dose rates recorded for Germi and Kosar are comparable with some areas with high natural radiation background, however, the dose rates in other districts are well below the levels reported for such locations. Average annual effective dose due to indoor and outdoor gamma radiation for Ardebil province was estimated as 1.73 (1.35–2.39) mSv, which is on average 2 times higher than the world population weighted average.
