Published 2019 | Version v1
Journal article

Radiation map for King Abdulaziz University campus and surrounding areas

  • 1. Geohazards Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)
  • 2. National Research Instute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG), Cairo (Egypt)
  • 3. Department of Petrolum Geology and Sediments, Faculty of Earth Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)
  • 4. Nuclear Materials Authority, Cairo (Egypt)

Description

King Abdulaziz University (KAU) buildings are expanded to accept more students and research centers. Many of the new buildings were constructed using granitic rocks as building materials. Granitic rock contains radioactive elements (U, Th, K). These elements by time emit radiation which could affect human health. Surely, radiation dose depends on radioactive element percentage in the rock, open or closed area, radiation period, . . . . . . . .etc. When radiation occurs, gamma rays (or radon gas produced by the decay of U and Th) are detected every where causing damage in human body cells when being high. For the above-mentioned reasons, Geo hazards Research Center, KAU surveyed the whole university campus and surrounding areas using gamma ray spectrometer in order to map the radioactive elements and estimate the dose rate. Results indicate that most of all university buildings have low dose rate while the new buildings have little high dose rate (3.46 mSv/y). These high values are due to the new granitic building materials covering the walls, floors, columns, ponds of agriculture. As the university staff are not staying their lives within the university, fewer hazards occur, but more safety recommendations should be taken into consideration

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences
Journal Volume
12
Journal Issue
1
Journal Page Range
p. 260-268
ISSN
1687-8507