Experimental investigation of uranium content in urine samples of cancer patients in Al-Diwaniyah Governorate, Iraq

Abstract

Abstract In the current study, the neutron activation technique of the nuclear track detectors (CR-39) has been applied to determine the content of uranium in human urine samples. This study involved two groups of male and female subjects, the first group is cancer patients and the second group is healthy subjects. The urine samples of cancer patients and healthy subjects have been collected from Al- Diwaniyah governorate, southern Iraq. The maximum concentration of uranium for cancer patients was 5.52 μg/l to male, 35 years old, from AL-Hamzah, infected with leukemia, and the minimum concentration was 2.34 μg/l to male, 56 years old, from Al-Sudair, infected with the stomach cancer. In the healthy subjects, the maximum uranium content was 4.63 μg/l to male, 35 years, from Shamiya, and the lower uranium content was 1.02 μg/l to female, 43 years, from Sumer. Uranium content has been found to be significantly higher in cancer patients than those of the healthy subjects. The influence between the concentration of uranium and gender, smoking habit was studied.