Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) concentration and health risk assessment of aerosols dust in Nicosia, North Cyprus.

This study was carried out to evaluate the distribution of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and radiological risk indexes in aerosol dust in Nicosia, Cyprus utilizing a high-resolution HPGe gamma-spectrometry. The activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K in the selected aerosol dust samples ranged from 25.9–52.4, 21.7–46.3, to 471–1302 Bq kg⁻¹, respectively. The average activity concentrations of ⁴⁰K were found to be above the Earth's crust average. The internal and external hazard indexes are well below the acceptable limit in most dust samples. All investigated samples met the exemption dose limit of 0.3 mSv y⁻¹. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]