TERRESTRIAL GAMMA DOSE RATE MAPPING OF UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to survey the terrestrial gamma radiation dose (TGRD) rate levels in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The measurement of the TGRD rate was carried out using an RDS-31 detector. Based on the survey of 60 locations in UTM, an isodose map was constructed by using ArcGIS online software version 9.3 to show the radiation level distribution. Color codes were used to reflect the radiation levels: green for relatively low TGRD rates of 0.05-0.12 μSv/h, yellow for readings from 0.13-0.20 μSv/h, and red indicates dose rates with 0.21-0.40 μSv/h. Areas of relatively high dose rates can be observed from the plotted isodose map. It was found that the average TGRD rate of UTM is 0.16 ± 0.035 μSv/h which is similar to Johor’s average of 0.163 μSv/h. It is also higher than the worldwide average of 0.059 μSv/h and Malaysia’s average of 0.092 μSv/h. A comparison of dose rates from other studies can also be found in this article.