Iranian Journal of

Backgrounds and Objectives: Due to importance of ionizing radiation on human health, many studies have been performed to measure the background gamma radiation all around the world as well as some cities in lran. According to this fact that everybody spends almost 80% of his time in indoor areas, this study was carried out to measure the amount of background gamma radiation in indoor areas in Zanjan city located in northwest of Iran to determine the annual effective dose of the city residents.
Materials and Methods: To determine the dose rate of background gamma radiation in indoors, 30 dwelling (in the main geographical directions and in the downtown areas) were selected. All of them were one floor and iron roofed. A Geiger-Muller detector (RDS-110) calibrated by Cs-137 was used in each livings room of each dwellings that performed in one meter far from the earth. In 30 minute 30 values was recorded. The mean value was considered as indoor gamma dose rate in each dwelling.
Results: The mean value of dose rate in Zanajn indoor areas due to gamma background radiation was determined 146±25 nGy/h. According to the results and findings in our previous study about gamma background radiation in outdoor areas in Zanjan, the annual effective dose was determined and 0.87 mSv for Zanjan city residents.
Conclusion: The annual effective dose of Zanjan city residents due to the gamma background radiation is 0.87 mSv that in comparison with UNSCEAR-2000 report is higher than the mean value for the world (0.48 mSv).

Background and Objectives: Gamma rays, the most energetic photons within the any other wave in the electromagnetic spectrum, pose enough energy to form charged particles and adversely affect human health. Provided that the external exposure of human beings to natural environmental gamma radiation normally exceeds that from all man-made sources combined, environmental gamma dose rate and corresponding annual effective dose were determined in the cities of Ardabil and Sar Ein.
Materials and Methods: Outdoor environmental gamma dose rates were measured using an Ion Chamber Survey Meter in 48 selected locations (one in city center and the remaining in cardinal and ordinal directions) in Ardabil and Sar Ein. Ten more locations were monitored along the hot springs effluent in Sar Ein. Measurements of gamma radiation dose rate were performed at 20 and 100 cm above the ground for a period of one hour.
Results: Average outdoor environmental gamma dose rate were determined as 265, 219, and 208  for Ardabil, Sar Ein, and along the hot spring effluent, respectively. The annual affective dose for Ardabil and Sar Ein residents were estimated to be 1.45 and 1.39 mSv, respectively.
Conclusion: Calculated annual effective dose of 1.49 and 1.35 are appreciably higher than the population weighted average exposure to environmental gamma radiation worldwide and that analysis of soil content to different radionuclide is suggested.