Determination of the Specific Activity of Cs137 and K40 in Environmental Nineveh Governorate

The background radioactivity of environmental Nineveh governorate was determined by measuring the radioactivity for each one of cesium Cs137 and potassium K40 in soil, plant and milk using highly parity germanium (HPGe) detector with crystal volume (76 cc) and energy resolution (2.2 keV) at the gamma line (1332 keV) of Co60 radioactive calibration source. The measurements and sampling procedure cover (41) positions from different parts of Nineveh governorate, the results shows that Cs137 specific activity range is: (15.89 70.97) Bq/kg in soil, (1.1 3.73) Bq/kg in plant and (o.63 2.1) Bq/kg in milk. While the K40 specific activity range is: (323.86 1025.0) Bq/kg in soil, (210.51 599.134) Bq/kg in plant and (200.25 480.1) Bq/kg in milk. It is noted that the results in this work shows good agreement with other literatures and the activity levels are within the reasonable values denoted by authorized agency, as well as the fluctuations in results may be due to the geological and geographical differences.