Assessment of background radiation levels in the southeast of Iran

Background: Measuring background radiation (BR) is highly important from different perspectives, especially from that of human health. This study was conducted to measure BR in the southeast of Iran. Methods: BR was measured in Hormozgan and Sistan-Bluchestan provinces using portable Environmental Radiation Meter Type 6- 80 detector. The average value was used to calculate the absorbed dose rate and indoor annual effective dose (AED) from BR. In addition, excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) was evaluated. Results: The results showed that the maximum and minimum absorbed dose rates were 71.9 and 34.2 nGy.h-1 in Abomoosa and Minab in Hormozgan province and 90.0 and 47.8 nGy.h-1 in Zahedan and Chabahar in Sistan-Bluchestan province, respectively. Data indicated that these areas had a lower BR level compared with the worldwide level. The ELCR from indoor AED was larger compared with the worldwide average of 0.29 × 10-3. Conclusion: This study provided a reference for designing and developing specific regional surveys associated with the measurement of natural BR in the southeast of Iran.