Background: An amount of artificial radionuclide
has been released into the environment as fallout,
resulting from atmospheric nuclear weapon tests,
nuclear accidents such as Chernobyl and together
with air currents have polluted the world. Materials
and Methods: 37 surface soil samples of Tehran
province were collected in the period between June
and September 2008, by implementing methods and
standard instruments. The concentration of the
artificial radionuclides (137Cs) in the soils of Tehran
province were determined by gamma spectroscopy
(HPGe), and the data were analyzed both quantitatively
and qualitatively. The results have been
compared with other radioactivity measurements.
Results: The concentration of 137Cs found in top soils
(0-5 cm), in the depth of (12.5-17.5 cm) and in the
depth of (27.5- 32.5 cm), ranged from 0.29-28.82
Bq.kg-1, 0.3-19.81 Bq.kg-1, 0.8-7.43 Bq.kg-1,
respectively. The total average of 137Cs activity, in the
above depths was, 11.30, 4.87 and 1.8 Bq.kg-1,
respectively. Conclusion: Considering the obtained
results from high average values of 137Cs in Europe
and its relation to Chernobyl accident, and the higher
average concentration of 137Cs in Tehran province,
can also be attributed to Chernobyl accident due to
the proximity of Iran to the place of the accident's
occurrence. Iran. J. Radiat. Res., 2009 7 (3): 141-149
Osouli A, Abbasi F, Naseri M. Measurement of 137Cs in soils of Tehran province. Int J Radiat Res 2009; 7 (3) :141-149 URL: http://ijrr.com/article-1-566-en.html