Abstract
The γ radiation exposure due to radioactivity concentration of K, U and Th in soil samples from 250 different locations from 40 communities in the oil – producing region of Nigeria was carried out. The radioactivity concentrations of these radionuclides were used to determine the absorbed dose, annual effective dose equivalent, the health hazard indices and cancer risk using standard analytical methods. The range of values for the absorbed dose are 6.97 nGyh to 33.29 nGyh, annual effective dose equivalent Original Research Article British Journal of Medicine & Medical Research, 4(36): 5853-5865, 2014 5854 (outdoor) are 8.55 μSvy to 40.83 μSvy and (indoor) are 34.19 μSvy to 163.36 μSvy. The external hazard index ranges from 0.038 to 0.174 while the internal health hazard index is from 0.045 to 0.191. The cancer risk obtained for the communities ranges from 0.030 x 10 to 0.143 x 10. All these values are below the standard limits when compared to the world permissible United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effect of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) values for such environment. This shows that the exploration and exportation of crude oil in Nigeria did not pose a radioactive health hazard to the oil producing communities.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
