Abstract

The levels of radionuclides of natural origin,represented by (238U, 232Th, 40K), were evaluated for 15 samplesfrom the surface sediments of the Euphrates River in the city ofDiwaniyah in Al-Qadisiyah Governorate - Iraq. In this study, Iam using gamma-ray spectroscopy with a sodium iodidedetector NaI(Tl) to measure the concentrations of naturalradionuclides 238U, 232Th, and 40K in surface sediment samplesand to evaluate the radioactive risks of these samples. Thepresent study showed that the specific radioactivity rate of thesediment samples in units of (Bq/Kg) for isotopes (238U, 232Th,40K) were (17.3,15.5,302.3) Bq/Kg respectively. These valueshave been compared with some local and international studies,as well as with the global average recommended by the WorldHealth Organization and UNSCEAR. The effects of radioactivehazards of gamma rays were also calculated for sedimentsamples. They were all less than the internationally permissiblelimit. according to these values, all the results of the currentstudy are within the internationally permissible valuesmentioned in the reports of the international committeesconcerned with radiation and its protection, and this indicatesthat the sediments of the Euphrates River in the city ofDiwaniyah-Qadisiyah Governorate do not have radioactiverisks.