Assignment of a radiological map of the city of Borujerd in Iran

The specific activity of radionuclides in the soil of the Borujerd region using high purity Germanium detector (HPGe) was measured and the associated radiological hazards were calculated. The mean specific activity of radionuclides of Ra-226, Th-232, K-40, and Cs-137 in soil was obtained at 10.99±5.11, 35.36±4.44, 324.20±10.24, and 2.93±0.60 Bq.kg-1. These values were below the global average. Also, the value of basic radiological risk parameters, such as Raeq, AEDout, AEDint, Hex, Hin, and Iγ, ranged from 52.02 to 139.54 in Bq.kg-1, from 24.98 to 68.27 and from 42.90 to 117.22 in mSv.y-1, 122.57 to 334.93, 0.14 to 0.37, 0.16 to 0.40, and 0.27 to 1.04, respectively. The range of excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) value for the surrounding soil samples varied from 0.15×10-3 to 0.41×10-3, in which samples S4, S14, S24, S27, S28, S29, and S30 exceeded the global average of 0.29×10-3. A radiological map of the city of Borujerd was prepared using the GIS program. The study showed that the level of radioactivity in the Borujerd area did not exceed the critical value and is in line with the global results.