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This work presents the results of the absorbed dose rates and estimated effective doses of the surface soils samples collected from different factories in the industrial region of Suez City, Egypt using high resolution gamma spectrometry system (HpGe) detector. The average activity concentrations of 226Ra, 238U, 232Th and 40K in fertilizer factories were: 74.54 ± 3.7, 26.54 ± 1.3, 14.68 ± 0.73 and 233 ± 11.68 Bq kg−1, respectively, in Ceramic factories were: 75.91 ± 3.7, 31.35 ± 1.56, 20.34 ± 1.01 and 255 ± 12.76 Bq kg−1, respectively, in textile factories were: 121 ± 6.07, 36.22 ± 1.81, 25.80 ± 1.29 and 1076 ± 53.83 Bq kg−1, respectively, in oil factories were: 76.24 ± 3.81, 25.90 ± 1.29, 15.26 ± 0.7 and 266 ± 13.31 Bq kg−1, respectively, and in steel factory were: 79.72 ± 3.98, 35.22 ± 1.76, 11.95 ± 0.59 and 163 ± 8.16 Bq kg−1, respectively. The calculated absorbed dose rates in factories were: 31.13 ± 1.55, 37.86 ± 1.89, 79.04 ± 3.95, 32.64 ± 1.63 and 29.99 ± 1.49 nGy h−1, respectively. Also, the annual effective dose in the above factories were: 0.03 ± 0.001, 0.04 ± 0.002, 0.09 ± 0.004, 0.03 ± 0.001 and 0.036 ± 0.001 mSv y−1, respectively. Also, the exposure of workers to radon was studied using solid state nuclear track detectors (CR-39). The results indicate that feeding materials variably affect the radioactivity measurements of the surface soil in different factories.