Measurement of indoor radon levels in Erbil capital by using solid state nuclear track detectors

Radon alpha activity concentration has been measured in 28 homes in the Erbil Capital-Iraqi Kurdistan region during the autumn season by using time-integrated passive radon dosimeters containing CR-39 solid state nuclear track detectors “SSNTDs”. The radon activity concentrations in these homes range from (10.33-90.34) Bqm-3 with an average of 44±23Bqm-3. The average absorption effective dose equivalent for a person living in homes for which the investigation were done was found to be 1.3±0.65mSvy-1, obtained by using an equilibrium factor of 0.5 and an occupancy factor of 0.8. The average lung cancer cases per year per 106 person was found to be 23±12.