title: Outdoor natural background radiation in The Netherlands.
abstract: As part of the SAWORA-project the outdoor natural background radiation was investigated by the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Hygiene and by the Netherlands Energy Research Foundation. Measurements were carried out with an ionization detector at more than 1000 locations evenly distributed throughout the country. After correction for the contribution of the cosmic radiation, the exposure rates were plotted on a map. Results show that the gamma radiation originating from the soil in The Netherlands varies between 1.1 and 7.2 microR/h (79 and 516 fC/(kg.s)). Comparison of the radiation map with a geological one indicates that "high" values of the exposure rates correspond to areas with silty deposits. The "low" exposure rates correspond to areas with sandy deposits. Gamma spectrometric analysis of the radiation at some locations shows that the terrestrial radiation is mainly caused by natural radionuclides.
mesh_terms: D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005720:Gamma Rays; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D009426:Netherlands; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods