Abstract
This study assessed the natural radioactivity and radiological health impact of thirty-eight (38) samples of soil, food and water in Fashina village, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria using portable survey meter with a Global Positioning System (GPS) and well-calibrated NaI(Tl) detector system The mean exposure rates in the study area were 0.14 μSv hr -1 and 0.12 μSv hr -1 in soil/food and water samples respectively. The mean radioactivity content obtained for 238 U, 232 Th and 40K were 12.14 ± 4.17Bq kg -1 , 23.23 ± 7.67 Bq kg -1 and 270.14 ± 61.79Bq kg -1 respectively in soil samples and 8.56 ± 2.80Bq kg -1 , 13.17 ± 4.48Bq kg -1 and 89.41 ± 24.15Bq L -1 respectively for 238 U, 232 Th and 40K in water samples. The mean values of 30.91, 15.64 and 12.47 nGy h -1 were obtained for the absorbed dose rate in soil, food and water, respectively, while 37.90, 178.79 and 1085.23 μSv y -1 were obtained for the Annual Effective Doses (AED). Similarly, the Radium equivalent (Raeq) were 66.16 Bq kg -1 , 34.28Bq kg -1 and 27.31BqL -1 , in soil, food and water, respectively. The external and internal radiation hazard indices were 0.18 and 0.21, 0.09 and 0.12, 0.07 and 0.09, respectively for soil, food and water. The values obtained for the Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) in (x 10 -3 ) were also 0.13, 0.63 and 3.80 for the soil, food and water samples, respectively. It was found that the values of some exposure rate, radioactivity contents and radiological impact parameters in the study area which were higher than those of the control area and the world average values poses a serious health risk to the environment and its inhabitants. Keywords : Radioactivity, Scrap Metal, Gamma Spectrometry, Radiological Impact Parameter
Highlights
Degrade the soil, vegetation and water, and increase the rate of occurrence of some common diseases in the populace (UNECE, 2006)
Radiological Impact Parameter in Soil: Absorbed Dose Rate ( ):The absorbed dose rate from soil samples collected from the study area and the control locations at 1 m above the ground level were calculated using equation (1); the results are presented in Table 5.The absorbed dose rate ranged between 17.79 to 46.36nGy h-1 with an average of 30.91 nGy h-1for the study area and ranged between 23.11 to 26.66 nGy h-1with an average of 24.88 nGy h-1for the control area
The radionuclides detected in the gamma spectrometry analysis belonged to the naturally-occurring series-decay 238U and 232Th as well as the non-series 40K. 238U and 232Th concentrations in some food and water samples were found to be higher than the world average value in the study area
Summary
Degrade the soil, vegetation and water, and increase the rate of occurrence of some common diseases in the populace (UNECE, 2006). The specific objective of this study is to assess the natural radioactivity and evaluate the radiation hazard parameters for the samples of soil, food crop and water collected from the areas around the iron and steel smelting area in Fashina Village, Ile-Ife, to ascertain the level to which the people living in and around the company are exposed to radiation hazard
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