ABSTRACT
Background: Human activities such as mining enhance the radioactivity levels above normal background which can lead to an incremental increase in the radiation risk to the population
Materials and Methods: 20 tailing enriched soil samples collected around Maiganga coal mine, Gombe, Northeast Nigeria were assessed for their[226]Ra,[232]Th and [40]K contents using HPGe gamma-ray detector
Results: The mean activity values of 11.9013.0, 17.72+/-3.6 and 70.44+/-20.4 Bq kg[-1] were obtained for [226]Ra, [232]Th and [40]K respectively. These values were below the world average values documented by UNSCEAR. The ratio of [232]Th:[226]Ra obtained was 1.5, which showed that [232]Th activity was higher than the activity of [226]Ra while [40]K recorded the highest activity concentration in the studied samples. Statistical analysis identified strong positive relationships among all radiological parameters and confirmed that [225]Ra,[232]Th and [40]K were the major contributors to radiation dose. Radium equivalent activity [Ra[eg]], absorbed gamma dose rate [D[r]], annual effective dose [AEDE], activity utilization index [AUI], external and internal hazard indices [H[ex]] and H[in], gamma representative index [l[vr]], annual gonadal dose [AGDE] and excess lifetime cancer risk [ELCR] were calculated to quantify the radiation risk to the public from exposure to[226]Ra, [232]Th and [40]K in the studied samples. The mean values of these hazard parameters were within the acceptable limits provided for human safety and environmental protection
Concfusfon: The use of the raffing enrfcnecf soff sampfes of Maiganga coaf mine for any purpose whatsoever does not therefore pose any immediate radiological risk to the coaf workers or the general pubfic