High natural background at Ramsar

["Pickett, Bruce D" <Bruce.Pickett@PSS.Boeing.com>]

The January/February 1998 issue of RSO Magazine has an article entitled
"Radiation - What Is Important? Public Perception and Reaction" by Mark
Hart of Los Alamos National Lab. In the two charts in figures 2 & 3,
there is a very high dose rate of 48 rem/yr listed for Ramsar or
Ramsari, Iran (its listed both ways on the charts). I asked the author
for some references, and his reply was: "I have two references. One is
an IAEA document from a conference held in Ramsar in 1990. The other is
a text by Luckey. The 48 rem is from Luckey. The Ramsar IAEA document
refered to potential indoor and outdoor gamma doses of 9 mR per hour."  

Does anyone have more information on the dose rates in Ramsar (Ramsari),
Iran and the source of this high natural background?


Bruce Pickett
The Boeing Company, Seattle, WA
bruce.d.pickett@boeing.com