The activity concentration of soil samples of Bureti sub-county was measured using thallium-activated sodium iodide detector. To ascertain the level of radiation hazard to the public, gamma radiation dose rates were also estimated. The average activity concentration due to 40K, 226Ra and 232Th for soil samples are 1164 ± 70, 106 ± 8 and 79 ± 5 Bqkg-1, respectively. An average dose rate of 145 ± 10 nGyh-1 was recorded, which is about 2.5 times higher than the world average value of 60 nGyh-1(UNSCEAR). On the other hand, an average outdoor effective dose of 0.35 ± 0.02 mSvy-1 was measured, which is lower than the ICRP safety limit of 1 mSvy-1. This shows that the radiation hazards from naturally occurring terrestrial radionuclides in Bureti is low and therefore human radiation exposure is within the accepted limits.
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