Determination of Ionizing Radiation Exposure Levels within Four Local Mining Sites Selected from Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State - Nigeria

Abstract

Miners and the people living close to mining sites are exposed to elevated levels of ionizing radiation with or without their consent. This study determined the background ionizing radiation of four mining sites from Sardauna local government area of Taraba state using an inspector alert nuclear radiation meter manufactured by S.E. International, Inc USA with serial number 35440. The meter has a halogen- quenched Geiger Muller tube with a ± 45 mm effective diameter and mica window density of 1.5- 2.0 mg/cm3. The Geiger tube in the meter generates a pulse of electrical current each time radiation is incident on the tube and causes ionization. The measured values ranged from 0.19 - 0.40 mSv/yr across all the mining sites and 500 m away from the sites. These results were found to be far less than the standard of 1.0 mSv/yr set by International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) for the general public and 20.0 mSv/yr set by the Nigeria Basic Ionization Radiation Regulation (NiBIRR) for the whole body of adult radiation protection workers which means that the miners and inhabitants of this areas are safe. Nevertheless, there could be long term variations in the consequences arising from the effects of ionizing radiation among the miners and even the inhabitants. Strong correlations were found between the equivalent doses at the excavating and the processing points of the sites which mean that the miners and people living close to these mining sites are subjected to uniform distribution of consequences arising from ionizing radiation. We do recommend that policy makers and regulatory bodies should apply mitigation measures to the effects by means of creating awareness to the miners at various mining sites and the use of modern mining strategies to protect other natural resources especially water.