Measurements of indoor gamma radiation and radon concentrations in dwellings of Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia

Indoor gamma radiation measurement at dwellings of Riyadh city in Saudi Arabia using TLD has been performed. Measurements were carried out from October 2004 to June 2005. The city was divided into five sectors, for four categories of bed rooms, living rooms, bathrooms and kitchens. The indoor gamma annual absorbed dose of Riyadh city is in the range from 303±57 to 700±38 μGy y−1 with an average value of 455.1±45 μGy y−1. The calculated corresponding annual effective dose to the adult population of the locations will vary from 212±40 to 490±27 μSv y−1 with an average value of 318.57±31 μSv y−1.222Rn concentration was measured at dwellings of Riyadh city in Saudi Arabia to estimate effective annual dose to the public from 222Rn and its progeny. The 222Rn concentrations were measured using CR-39 detector. The range of annual mean 222Rn concentrations for all sites was 2–69 Bq m−3 with an average of 18.4 Bq m−3. The effective annual dose was estimated to be 0.46 mSv y–1.