Natural radiation and radioactivity in soil and groundwater of Jos Plateau, Nigeria

This study aimed to establish baseline data on the natural environmental gamma radiation and radioactivity levels as well as to evaluate the corresponding radiological health impacts for Jos plateau, Nigeria. It employed the use of portable NaI(Tl) survey meter and hyper pure germanium spectrometer...

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Main Author:	Abba, Habu Tela
Format:	Thesis
Language:	English
Published:	2018
Subjects:	QC Physics
Online Access:	http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/81008/1/HabuTelaAbbaPFS2018.pdf
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id	my-utm-ep.81008
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spelling	my-utm-ep.810082019-07-24T00:14:03Z Natural radiation and radioactivity in soil and groundwater of Jos Plateau, Nigeria 2018-01 Abba, Habu Tela QC Physics This study aimed to establish baseline data on the natural environmental gamma radiation and radioactivity levels as well as to evaluate the corresponding radiological health impacts for Jos plateau, Nigeria. It employed the use of portable NaI(Tl) survey meter and hyper pure germanium spectrometer to measure external gamma dose rate and to determine the specific activity concentration of terrestrial radionuclides, 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in soil samples, respectively. External gamma dose rates were measured at 811 locations while activity concentration were determined for 102 soil samples. The mean value for the measured gamma dose rate was found to be approximately four times the world average value while the mean values for the activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were found to distinctly exceed their corresponding world reference values for continental soil. Gamma dose rate and activity concentration of the terrestrial radionuclides for each geological formation and soil type of the area are presented. Statistical relationships between gamma dose rate with the different geological formations and soil types of the area are established. Younger granites geological formation and Haplic acrisols soil type were found to contribute the highest to the natural background radioactivity and 232Th was found to be the highest contributor to the terrestrial gamma dose rate for the study area. Various groundwater samples were also measured for concentration of U and Th using inductive coupled plasma mass spectroscopy and the concentrations of U ranged from 1.4 to 35 ??g L-1 with a mean value of 13.15 ??g L-1 while for Th ranged from 0.10 to 11.1 ??g L-1 with a mean value of 1.85 ??g L-1. Few groundwater samples were found to have values exceeding the recommended limit of U provided by WHO and USEPA for drinking water. Radiological health impact parameters namely radium equivalent, external hazard index, annual effective dose, collective dose and excess lifetime cancer risk due to soil radioactivity and annual ingestion dose as well as radiotoxicity risks due to ingestion of groundwater were also evaluated. It is found that, an individual leaving in this area is most likely to incur a radiological health related risks due to natural radiation. Isodose maps for gamma rates and the spatial distribution pattern of activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K for the study area were produced using ArcGIS mapping software. The results revealed that Jos Plateau has above normal levels of natural background radiation. The data here presented will be useful for radio–geochemical investigation and as a reference data to asses possible changes in the environmental background radiation levels due to local and transnational releases of radioactive materials from artificial sources and also useful for preparing radiological map for Nigeria. 2018-01 Thesis http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/81008/ http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/81008/1/HabuTelaAbbaPFS2018.pdf application/pdf en public http://dms.library.utm.my:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:125204 phd doctoral Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Faculty of Science Faculty of Science
institution	Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
collection	UTM Institutional Repository
language	English
topic	QC Physics
spellingShingle	QC Physics Abba, Habu Tela Natural radiation and radioactivity in soil and groundwater of Jos Plateau, Nigeria
description	This study aimed to establish baseline data on the natural environmental gamma radiation and radioactivity levels as well as to evaluate the corresponding radiological health impacts for Jos plateau, Nigeria. It employed the use of portable NaI(Tl) survey meter and hyper pure germanium spectrometer to measure external gamma dose rate and to determine the specific activity concentration of terrestrial radionuclides, 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in soil samples, respectively. External gamma dose rates were measured at 811 locations while activity concentration were determined for 102 soil samples. The mean value for the measured gamma dose rate was found to be approximately four times the world average value while the mean values for the activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were found to distinctly exceed their corresponding world reference values for continental soil. Gamma dose rate and activity concentration of the terrestrial radionuclides for each geological formation and soil type of the area are presented. Statistical relationships between gamma dose rate with the different geological formations and soil types of the area are established. Younger granites geological formation and Haplic acrisols soil type were found to contribute the highest to the natural background radioactivity and 232Th was found to be the highest contributor to the terrestrial gamma dose rate for the study area. Various groundwater samples were also measured for concentration of U and Th using inductive coupled plasma mass spectroscopy and the concentrations of U ranged from 1.4 to 35 ??g L-1 with a mean value of 13.15 ??g L-1 while for Th ranged from 0.10 to 11.1 ??g L-1 with a mean value of 1.85 ??g L-1. Few groundwater samples were found to have values exceeding the recommended limit of U provided by WHO and USEPA for drinking water. Radiological health impact parameters namely radium equivalent, external hazard index, annual effective dose, collective dose and excess lifetime cancer risk due to soil radioactivity and annual ingestion dose as well as radiotoxicity risks due to ingestion of groundwater were also evaluated. It is found that, an individual leaving in this area is most likely to incur a radiological health related risks due to natural radiation. Isodose maps for gamma rates and the spatial distribution pattern of activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K for the study area were produced using ArcGIS mapping software. The results revealed that Jos Plateau has above normal levels of natural background radiation. The data here presented will be useful for radio–geochemical investigation and as a reference data to asses possible changes in the environmental background radiation levels due to local and transnational releases of radioactive materials from artificial sources and also useful for preparing radiological map for Nigeria.
format	Thesis
qualification_name	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.)
qualification_level	Doctorate
author	Abba, Habu Tela
author_facet	Abba, Habu Tela
author_sort	Abba, Habu Tela
title	Natural radiation and radioactivity in soil and groundwater of Jos Plateau, Nigeria
title_short	Natural radiation and radioactivity in soil and groundwater of Jos Plateau, Nigeria
title_full	Natural radiation and radioactivity in soil and groundwater of Jos Plateau, Nigeria
title_fullStr	Natural radiation and radioactivity in soil and groundwater of Jos Plateau, Nigeria
title_full_unstemmed	Natural radiation and radioactivity in soil and groundwater of Jos Plateau, Nigeria
title_sort	natural radiation and radioactivity in soil and groundwater of jos plateau, nigeria
granting_institution	Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Faculty of Science
granting_department	Faculty of Science
publishDate	2018
url	http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/81008/1/HabuTelaAbbaPFS2018.pdf
_version_	1747818291639877632

Natural radiation and radioactivity in soil and groundwater of Jos Plateau, Nigeria

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