Abstract
Radon, the heaviest among the noble gases in the periodic table of element is a radioactive nuclide that is naturally available in rocks, soil and water. It has become the subject of many research efforts in recent years due to its leading role in causing cancer. In this study, a total of 68 groundwater samples were collected and assayed using alpha spectrometry with RAD7 radon detector with RAD-H2O accessories manufactured by Durridge CO (USA). The 222Rn concentration measured were in the range of 0.6–36.2 Bq L−1 with an average of 13.33 Bq L−1, 7.0–41.5 Bq L−1 with mean value 23.3 Bq L−1 and 0.6–27.4 Bq L−1 with an average value of 7.4 Bq L−1 for hand dug wells (HDW), hand pumped boreholes (HPB) and motorized boreholes (MBH), respectively. About 54, 86 and 15% of samples from the HDW, HPB and MBH, respectively, exceeded the parametric reference level of 11.1 Bq L−1 suggested by United State of America Environmental Protection Agency but lower than the permissible limit of 100 Bq L−1 by World Health Organization (WHO) and European Union. The average annual effective doses resulting from inhalation and ingestion of radon in water obtained for the three groundwater sources are less than recommended limits by WHO and ICRP. The data obtained from this study are comparable with similar studies conducted in Nigeria and other parts of the world as reported in literature. Continuous radon monitoring in drinking water and indoor environment is however recommended for the study area.
Highlights
Radionuclides are natural constituents of rock, soil and water which make up our environment
The rooms are usually not well ventilated, which may lead to excessive accumulation of dissolved radon from groundwater used in showers into the indoor spaces of the dwellings
About 54% of the values were higher than the limit of 11.1 Bq L−1 specified by USEPA, but within the recommended range of the United Nations Scientific Committee on Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) and the European Union Commission (EU) of 4 – 40 Bq L−1 and 100 Bq L−1, respectively
Summary
Radionuclides are natural constituents of rock, soil and water which make up our environment. Man being the product of the environment gets radiation exposure through inhalation of both outdoor and indoor air, consumption of food and water and direct exposure from the ground or through dermal contact (Abd El-mageeb et al 2011; Moreno et al 2014). The largest fraction of the exposure of humans to radiation from natural sources comes from radon gas (WHO 2004). Radon is a highly radioactive noble gas which has no odor, color or taste, and it is of radiological concern because of the danger it poses when inhaled or ingested due to its immediate radioactive daughters which are alpha emitters
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