Assessment of Natural Background Radiations from Shisha Smokes

Girum Kassa Alemu and Belay Sitotaw Goshu*
Department of Physics, Dire Dawa University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
*Corresponding Author: Belay Sitotaw Goshu, Department of Physics, Dire Dawa University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.

Published: June 06, 2024

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Abstract  

This study aims to assess the natural background radiation from shisha and evaluate the hazard level. The main part of this study was to estimate the annual effective dosage from inhalation, which will help to clarify the health hazards related to breathing in the radioactive materials included in shishas. The activity concentration of naturally occurring radionuclides was measured in six shisha samples using gamma spectroscopy using a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector. The specific activity of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K in shisha samples ranged from 1.29 ± 0.63 to 9.45 ± 4.5 Bq kg^-1 with an average of 6.76± 2.83, 2.436.76 ±2.83 to 12.46 + 13.5 Bq kg^-1 with an average of 7.96 ± 14.6 to 364.9 ± 0.0 Bq kg^-1, respectively. The radium equivalent activity for all samples ranged from 6.65 to 53.91 with an average of 33.92 ± 15, respectively below the world-recommended limit. The absorbed dose rate (DR) for all samples ranged from 3.09 to 26.47 nGyh^-1 with an average of 16.48 ±7.53 nGyh^-1 compared with the world average of 60 nGyh^-1. The value of the external hazard index, or yearly effective dosage equivalent, is less than the globally recognized limit, which is a unit. The AEDE was indoor and outdoor varied from 0.015 to 0.145 mSvy^--1 with an average of 0.090 mSvy^--1 and ranged from 0.04 to 0.036 with an average of 0.023 mSvy^-1, respectively. The value of ELCR ranged from 0.066 to 0.568(10^-3) with an average of 0.313(10^-3). According to these findings, the activities of radium equivalent in all the shisha samples are lesser than the limit (370 Bq kg^-1) recommended by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effect of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) report, and the annual effective dose was within the safe limit of 1 mSvy^-1.

Keywords: Ionizing radiation; specific activity; External index; Internal index; shisha; Dose rate

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