Environmental Assessment of the Background Radiation in Sediment Samples Selected from Euphrates River in Babil Province, Iraq
Received: 6 February 2025 | Revised: 28 February 2025 and 3 March 2025 | Accepted: 7 March 2025 | Online: 2 April 2025
Corresponding author: Mohammed Abdul Kadhim Hadi Al-Sadi
Abstract
This study investigated the natural radioactivity levels in sediment samples collected from the Euphrates River in Babylon Governorate, Iraq, to estimate the potential radiological hazards and environmental concerns. The activity concentration of three natural radionuclides was determined using a 3×3-inch NaI(Tl) gamma-ray spectrometer, including uranium (238
Keywords:
sediment radioactivity, external hazard index, NaI(Tl) detector, annual effective dose, absorbed dose, excess lifetime cancer riskDownloads
References
S. Harb, A. H. El-Kamel, A. I. Abd El-Mageed, A. Abbady, and W. Rashed, "Concentration of U-238, U-235, Ra-226, Th-232 And K- 40 for Some Granite Samples in Eastern Desert of Egypt," in Third Environmental Physics Conference, Aswan, Egypt, 2008, pp. 215–222.
H. M. Diab, S. A. Nouh, A. Hamdy, and S. A. El-Fiki, "Evaluation of natural radioactivity in a cultivated area around a fertilizer factory," Nuclear and Radiation Physics, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 53–62, 2008.
A. El-Taher and S. Makhluf, "Natural radioactivity levels in phosphate fertilizer and its environmental implications in Assuit governorate, Upper Egypt," Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Physics, vol. 48, pp. 697-702, 2010.
H. H. Hussain, R. O. Hussain, R. M. Yousef, and Q. Shamkhi, "Natural radioactivity of some local building materials in the middle Euphrates of Iraq," Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, vol. 284, no. 1, pp. 43–47, Apr. 2010.
M. Poschl and L. M. L. Nollet, Radionuclide Concentrations in Food and the Environment. Boca Raton, FL, USA: CRC Press, 2006.
Z. H. Joudah et al., "Effects of Waste Glass Bottle Nanoparticles and High Volume of Waste Ceramic Tiles on Concrete Performance When Exposed to Elevated Temperatures: Experimental and Theoretical Evaluations," Fire, vol. 7, no. 12, Dec. 2024, Art. no. 426.
R. F. Hasan, M. Seyedi, and R. Alsultani, "Assessment of Haditha Dam Surface Area and Catchment Volume and Its Capacity to Mitigate Flood Risks for Sustainable Development," Mathematical Modelling of Engineering Problems, vol. 11, no. 7, 2024.
D. Krstić, D. Nikezić, N. Stevanović, and D. Vučić, "Radioactivity of some domestic and imported building materials from South Eastern Europe," Radiation Measurements, vol. 42, no. 10, pp. 1731–1736, Nov. 2007.
E. Q. Shehab and R. Alsultani, "A new approach to sustainable environmental assessment for wastewater treatment plants-A case study in the central region of Iraq," Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology (EEET), vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 124–136, 2025.
S. M. El-Bahi, A. Sroor, G. Y. Mohamed, and N. S. El-Gendy, "Radiological impact of natural radioactivity in Egyptian phosphate rocks, phosphogypsum and phosphate fertilizers," Applied Radiation and Isotopes, vol. 123, pp. 121–127, May 2017.
Alamoudi, "The effect of grain size on the measurements of activity concentration of naturally occurring radioactive materials," M.S. Thesis, University of Surrey, Surrey, UK, 2010.
H. A. Afan et al., "Data-driven water quality prediction for wastewater treatment plants," Heliyon, vol. 10, no. 18, Sep. 2024.
P. Kessaratikoon and S. Awaekechi, "Natural radioactivity measurement in soil samples collected from municipal area of Hat Yai district in Songkhla province, Thailand," KMITL Science and Technology Journal, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 52–58, 2008.
R. Alsultani, I. R. Karim, and S. I. Khassaf, "Experimental and numerical investigation into pile spacing effects on the dynamic response of coastal pile foundation bridges considering current-wave-earthquake forces," Advances in Bridge Engineering, vol. 6, no. 1, Jan. 2025, Art. no. 1.
H. R. Saad and D. Al-Azmi, "Radioactivity concentrations in sediments and their correlation to the coastal structure in Kuwait," Applied Radiation and Isotopes, vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 991–997, Jun. 2002.
U. Rilwan et al., "Fertility cancer and hereditary risks in soil sample of Nasarawa, Nasarawa State, Nigeria," Journal of Oncology Research, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 22–27, 2021.
U. Rilwan, I. Umar, A. Z. Ngari, H. A. Abdullahi, and H. O. Aboh, "Assessment of Gamma Radiation 232Th, 226Ra and 40K in Nassarawa, Nigeria," Asian Journal of Research and Reviews in Physics, vol. 2, pp. 1–10, 2019.
U. Rilwan, M. Jafar, M. Musa, M. M. Idris, and J. Waida, "Transfer of natural radionuclides from soil to plants in Nasarawa, Nasarawa State, Nigeria," Journal of Radiation and Nuclear Applications, vol. 7, pp. 81–86, 2022.
J. Waida, U. Rilwan, M. Jafar, A. Alkasim, and H. Yuguda, "Contamination Factor of Radioactive Trace Elements (40K, 226Ra and 232Th) due to Mining Activities in Barkin Ladi and Mangu, Plateau State, Nigeria," Water, Energy, Food and Environment Journal, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1–12, 2022.
M. A. K. H. Al-Sadi and I. H. Kadhim, "The Background Radiation for the Soil Samples Selected from Al-Kafel Area-Babylon Governorate, Iraq," IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, vol. 1158, no. 3, Dec. 2023, Art. no. 032003.
K. H. F. Al-Sultani and M. A. K. H. Al-Sadi, "Risk Assessment of some Radioactive Nuclei in Al-Shomali Bricks Factories, Babil Governorate, Iraq," IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, vol. 1223, no. 1, Dec. 2023, Art. no. 012011.
M. A. K. H. Al–Sadi and D. A. Altbtbiey, "Concentrations Assessment Of Radon Gas and Some Radioactive Nuclei For Some Region In Basra Governorate By CR-39 Detector," IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, vol. 722, no. 1, Dec. 2021, Art. no. 012013.
M. A. K. H. Al–Sadi and I. H. Kadhim, "Concentrations Assessment Of Radon Gas and Some Radioactive Nuclei For Some Region In Basra Governorate By CR-39 Detector," Indian Journal of Environmental Protection, vol. 39, no. 10, pp. 905-911, Oct. 2019.
N. N. Mageed, R. Alsultani, and A. W. N. Abbas, "The Impact of Using Advanced Technologies in Sustainable Design to Enhance Usability and Achieve Optimal Architectural Design," International Journal of Sustainable Development & Planning, vol. 19, no. 11, 2024, Art. no. 4273.
V. Ramasamy, K. Paramasivam, G. Suresh, and M. T. Jose, "Role of sediment characteristics on natural radiation level of the Vaigai river sediment, Tamilnadu, India," Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, vol. 127, pp. 64–74, Jan. 2014.
T. Ikenoue et al., "Occurrence of highly radioactive microparticles in the seafloor sediment from the pacific coast 35 km northeast of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant," Chemosphere, vol. 267, Mar. 2021, Art. no. 128907.
H. T. Abd El-Hamid, D. A. El-Emam, H. S. Eissa, and M. A. El-Alfy, "Current evaluation of radiation hazards from sediments of Manzala Lake, Egypt," Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, vol. 334, no. 1, pp. 927–940, Jan. 2025.
S. Bramha, U. Pradhan, R. Sarangapani, S. Chandrasekaran, and M. Krishnaveni, "Distribution of natural radionuclides and associated geological properties in shelf sediment of Southwest (SW) Bay of Bengal: A multivariate statistical approach," Regional Studies in Marine Science, vol. 82, Feb. 2025, Art.n no. 104035.
A. A. Mahessar et al., "Sediment Transport Dynamics in the Upper Nara Canal Off-taking from Sukkur Barrage of Indus River," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 6563–6569, Dec. 2020.
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), Sources, effects and risks of ionizing radiation. New York, NY, USA: United Nations, 1993.
J. Waida et al., "Transfer of K40, Ra226 and Th232 from Soil to Plants and Water Resulting from Mining Activities in Bassa, Plateau State, Nigeria (Health Implications on the Inhabitants)," Journal of Ecology of Health & Environment, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 5–11, May 2022.
Downloads
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mohammed Abdul Kadhim Hadi Al-Sadi, Inaam H. Kadhim

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after its publication in ETASR with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.