Assessment of radiological risk parameters associated with some selected rivers around oil mineral producing sites in Abia state, Nigeria due to gross alpha and beta radiations

Abstract

Context: The study of gross alpha and beta radiation in environmental components and water bodies in particular is very crucial to the environmental, radiation and medical Physicist as this helps to promote good water quality and environmental hygiene. Aim: This research work understudied the radiological risk parameters due to gross alpha and beta radiations associated with three selected rivers around crude oil production sites in Abia State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Gross alpha and beta activities were computed for the three rivers based on analytical measurements carried out using a well-calibrated IN-20 model gas-flow proportional counter. Radiological risk parameters were computed from the activity concentrations which included; annual effective dose equivalent of radiation from ingested water (AEDE), annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE), and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR). Results: The mean of the total AEDE due to the sum of alpha and beta radiations for the three rivers are 0.868 ± 0.221 mSv/y, 1.008 ± 0.156 mSv/y, and 0.917 ± 0.214 mSv/y; and are above the World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limit of 0.1 mSv/y. The mean of the total AGDE is 4.048 ± 1.063 mSv/y, 4.756 ± 0.739 mSv/y, and 4.295 ± 1.026 mSv/y; and are above the world average limit of 0.3 mSv/y. The mean of the total ELCR are (3.038 ± 0.774) × 10 −3 , (3.529 ± 0.547) × 10 −3 , and (3.210 ± 0.748) × 10 −3 , and are above the world average limit of 0.29 × 10 −3 . Conclusion: Most values of ELCR computed in this work are >6.0 × 10 −4 estimated to be the risk of fatal and weighted nonfatal health conditions over a lifetime (70 years) derived from the radiation dose of 0.1 mSv/y (WHO permissible limit for drinking water). Drinking water from these surveyed sources could impact negatively on the end users.