Natural radioactivity distribution of southern part of Jordan (Ma′an) Soil

• The radioactivity in Ma′an soil was estimated to evaluate the radiological hazard.
• The chemical composition of the soils was specified by XRF spectrometry.
• Gross alpha – beta activity measurements were made by liquid scintillation counter.
• A high purity germanium detector was used to measure the radionuclides activities.
• The mean absorbed dose rate and the annual effective dose were calculated.

The natural radioactivity in Ma′an soil has been estimated in order to complete the survey of the environmental radioactivity in Jordan areas and evaluate the radiological health hazard. Soils were collected from five main distributed sites. XRF spectrometry used to specify the chemical composition of the soils. Gross alpha and gross beta activity measurements were made using liquid scintillation counter (LSC) and their mean activities were 11.74 ± 5.90, 888.68 ± 76.16 Bq/kg, respectively. A high purity germanium detector was used to measure the activity concentration of gamma emitting radionuclides. The mean specific activities of 226Ra, 238U, 232Th and 40K were 57.7 ± 5.4, 44.9 ± 6.3, 18.1 ± 1.4, 138.1 ± 40.8 Bq/kg, respectively. The mean absorbed dose rate in air in this study was 37.15 ± 3.53 nGy/h and the annual effective dose equivalent was 45.59 ± 4.33 μSv/y.