Abstract
The aim of this present study was to assess natural radioactivity levels in selected groundwater (boreholes and wells) used as domestic purposes in particular and drinking as well in some communities in Adentan and Abokobi areas in Greater Accra region of Ghana. This was achieved by first measuring the activity concentration of $^{222}Rn, ^{40}K$ and $^{232}Th$ in groundwater samples using High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. These concentrations of $^{40}K, ^{222}Rn$ and $^{232}Th$ were used with their ingested dose conversion factors to estimate annual effective dose for Adult members of public due to consumption of the groundwater. The estimated average annual effective dose due to consumption of $^{40}K, ^{222}Rn$ and $^{232}Th$ in the water samples from Adentan and Abokobi were 113.007±3.940 and 76.568±2.321 μSv/y, respectively. These were compared with the estimated average annual dose due to ingestion of nuclides in water by the WHO (100 μSv/y) and the estimated average dose due to ingestion of radionuclides in food and water (290 μSv/y) by UNSCEAR (2000). They are found within the range even though Adentan value is slightly higher than the WHO average value. The results show that consumption of groundwater may not pose any radiological health hazard to the public.
Highlights
Natural radioactivity origins are from the decay of natural radionuclides and their products in the earth’s crust and cosmic radionuclide from outer space (UNSCEAR, 1988, 2000)
The annual effective dose due to ingestion of selected radionuclides in the water sample is depicted in Table 3 and 4
The activity concentrations of 222Rn, 40K and 232Th in the groundwater samples from Adentan and Abokobi areas are depicted in Table 3 and 4
Summary
Natural radioactivity origins are from the decay of natural radionuclides and their products in the earth’s crust and cosmic radionuclide from outer space (UNSCEAR, 1988, 2000). The presence of natural radionuclides in water depends on geological and geographical nature of the water’s origin (Isam Salih et al, 2002; El-Mageed et al, 2011; Shashikumar et al, 2011). For groundwater (boreholes and wells), it depends on their presence and contents in lithologic of solids aquifer where water is stored (Nour, 2004; El-Mageed et al, 2011). The dissolution and the amounts of these natural radionuclides in groundwater system during water/rocks-soils interaction depends on the geochemical characteristics of rocks and soil as well. Other factors that control their occurrence and distribution in groundwater are hydro-geological conditions of groundwater and geochemistry of each radionuclide (Shashikumar et al, 2011)
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