An Investigation of Natural Background Radiation Levels in Different Locations of Saudi Arabia

Ionizing natural background radiation (BR) has existed on Earth's surface since the beginning of biological life. The daily routine cannot be isolated from radiation exposure, particularly BR. This study aims to investigate natural BR in different areas of Saudi Arabia.

The study included 10 regions in Saudi Arabia, including the south, north, middle, west, and east of Riyadh, north and south of Jeddah, east and south of Najran, and the Dammam region. The study utilized a portable Environmental Radiation Meter Type GCA-07 series (Digital Geiger counter, images scientific instrument, Inc, Staten Island NY), calibrated by the standard radioactive source of Cs-137 in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to investigate BR across various regions. The BR was accessed by measuring the absorbed dose to estimate the annual effective dose (AED) indoors. It involved positioning the detector at least four meters away from any building or wall and maintaining it one meter above the ground surface to assess BR.

The absorbed dose rate of BR results revealed that the highest and lowest were 0.18 mSv/hr and 0.11 mSv/hr in south Jeddah and Dammam. The data indicate that these areas had higher mean indoor AED than the global BR average. Similarly, the excess life cancer risk (ELCR) shows the same results, with the highest and lowest being 3.69 x 10^-3 and 2.17x10^-3 in south Jeddah and Dammam. These values are higher than the world global average of ELCR.

The outcome shows that the indoor BR in Saudi Arabia is above the worldwide mean of AED. Similar studies with extensive data collection across all regions of Saudi Arabia may be required to get enough empirical data about natural BR in future research.