Evaluation of total effective dose and excess lifetime cancer risk associated with tin mining activities in Nigeria using generic and resrad simulation methods

Abstract

Soil excavation in search of mineral ores serves as one of means of livelihood to many families in Nigeria. Even though the process was found to be associated with many concerns pertaining to radiological health, which many of the mining workers and dwellers around the sites are unaware of. In an effort to bridges this gap and provide a handful of information, the activity concentrations of 40K, 226Ra, and 232Th from typically well-known tin mining areas in Nigeria were evaluated using the higher purity germanium detector. The state-of-the-art software RESRAD-ONSITE and generic approaches were employed to evaluate the dose and cancer risk attributable to radiation exposure due to the measured radionuclides in soil. Depending on the thickness of contamination, the results obtained show dose and cancer risk value greater than the acceptable limit of 1 mSv/yr for members of the public as set by the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the International Committee on Radiological Protection's cancer risk threshold of 4.3 × 10−3. Therefore, sustainable mining practices should be implemented across the tin mining areas in Nigeria to avert the perceived radiation related effects.