NORM and hazard indices in soil and dates of palms groves in Baghdad Governorate, Iraq

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is one of the world’s oldest cultivated fruit crops and belongs to the Arecaceae family. It originated in Mesopotamia (Iraq) in 4000 BC. Large areas of palm groves in Iraq produce various types of dates for internal consumption and export. Their cultivation has spread and has become a significant crop in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, and the Middle East. Date fruits are widely consumed in Iraq, and radiological monitoring of this crop is necessary as activity concentrations of 238 U, 232 Th, 40 K, and 137 Cs were measured in 12 soil samples and 12 date samples from 12 palm groves on the AL-Karkh side, west of Baghdad governorate, Iraq. Using gamma spectrometry HPGe detector, it was found that the average activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in the soil samples for 238 U, 232 Th, 40 K, and 137 Cs were 34 ± 1, 26 ± 7, 653 ± 121, and 4 ± 2 Bq kg −1 , respectively. And on the date fruits sample were 1 ± 1, 1 ± 1, 310 ± 39, and 1 ± 1 Bq kg −1 , respectively. Also, radiation hazard indicators were calculated. All results were within the recommended approximate values for UNSCEAR and below the safety standards of the IAEA.