Gamma spectroscopy study of soil-plant transfer factor characteristics of 40K, 232Th and 226Ra in some crops cultivated in southwestern region of Nigeria.

Soil-plant transfer factor (TF) is one of the vital variables employed in assessing plants uptake of radionuclides and their transfer to food chain for predictive ingestion dose and risk evaluation. To further this goal, the TF characteristics of natural 40K, 232Th and 226Ra were thus investigated in some crops (yam, cassava, rice, maize, groundnut, cowpea, okra, pumpkin leaf, banana and pawpaw) cultivated in southwestern part of Nigeria using HPGe gamma spectroscopy. The obtained results of activity concentration (AC) of the radionuclides across all the cultivated soil samples indicated average values that are less than the global average, whereas in the crops, average values of 226Ra and 232Th, were higher than reference values for different crops group. The overall range of the calculated TF of 40K, 232Th and 226Ra across all the crops was 0.05 (in maize and cowpea) to 15.01 (in banana), 0.01 (in pumpkin leaf and groundnut) to 19.80 (in pawpaw), and 0.04 (in cassava) to 21.30 (in cowpea), respectively. Overall arithmetic mean and geometric mean were estimated as 2.66 and 1.60, 1.11 and 0.43, and 1.10 and 0.54 for 40K, 232Th and 226Ra, respectively. TFs mostly correlated negatively with soil radionuclides, while positive correlation was mostly noticeable in the case of crop. Log normal transform of the TFs data indicated a near normal distribution as against the calculated data. The derived results of this study is here presented as a baseline data suggested for possible radiological risk assessment of food chain of the local population.

Radiometric evaluation of indoor radon levels with influence of building characteristics in residential homes from southwestern Nigeria.

Indoor radon (222Rn) measurements were carried out using solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTD) in some dwellings from southwestern Nigeria. This was aimed at statistically assessing influence of building characteristics on the measured radon and estimating excess lifetime cancer risks (ELCR). The measured radon concentrations followed lognormal distribution and were significantly influenced by some building properties. The arithmetic mean (1.60 mSv) of annual effective doses (AEDs) due to indoor radon was observed to be higher than the world average level (1.15 mSv) but less than lower limit (3 mSv) of International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The evaluated excess lifetime cancer risk ranged from 1.5 to 28.1 (MPy)-1 with an average value of 6.3 (MPy)-1, indicating that after exposure to indoor radon for 70 years, 6 people in every 1000 are likely to suffer the risk of developing lung cancer. Adequate ventilation systems were recommended for houses with high level of radon to avoid unnecessary exposure to radon. However, the investigated data would form important component of the database required to set up guidelines and policy of controlling radon at home.

SURVEY OF INDOOR RADON LEVELS IN SOME UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIA.

Indoor radon investigation was carried out in offices of three university campuses located in South-Western part of Nigeria; Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Ekiti State University (EKSU) and Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) using CR39 detectors. The mean activity concentration of indoor radon for the investigated offices of all three university campuses was estimated to be 222 ± 44 Bq m-3, which was below the reference level of 300 Bq m-3 recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP 115). For the three institutions, the probability of lung cancer induction at age 70 years with respect to age of exposure (40, 50, and 60 years) ranged between 1.06 × 10-7 and 6.24 × 10-5. The expected mortality rate due to exposure to a radon activity concentration ranging from 7 to 1358 Bq m-3 was estimated to range from 0 to 44 deaths among a population of 10,000 persons.

Measurement of activity concentrations of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th for assessment of radiation hazards from soils of the southwestern region of Nigeria.

Activity concentrations of the selected radionuclides (40)K, (226)Ra and (232)Th were measured in surface soil samples collected from 38 cities in the southwest region of Nigeria by means of gamma spectroscopy with a high-purity germanium detector. Measured activity concentration values of (40)K varied from 34.9 +/- 4.4 to 1,358.6 +/- 28.5 Bq kg(-1) (given on a dry mass (DM) basis) with a mean value of 286.5 +/- 308.5 Bq kg(-1); that of (226)Ra varied from 9.3 +/- 3.7 to 198.1 +/- 13.8 Bq kg(-1) with a mean value of 54.5 Bq kg(-1) and a standard deviation of 38.7 Bq kg(-1), while that of (232)Th varied from 5.4 +/- 1.1 to 502.0 +/- 16.5 Bq kg(-1) with a mean value of 91.1 Bq kg(-1) and standard deviation of 100.9 Bq kg(-1). The mean activity concentration values obtained for (226)Ra and (232)Th are greater than the world average values reported by the United Nations Scientific Committee on Effects of Atomic Radiation for areas of normal background radiation. Radiological indices were estimated for the radiation/health hazards of the natural radioactivity of all soil samples. Estimated absorbed dose rates in air varied from 12.42 +/- 2.25 to 451.33 +/- 19.06 nGy h(-1), annual outdoor effective dose rates from 0.015 +/- 0.003 to 0.554 +/- 0.023 mSv year(-1), internal hazard index from 0.10 +/- 0.03 to 3.02 +/- 0.16, external hazard index from 0.07 +/- 0.01 to 2.60 +/- 0.11, representative level index from 0.19 +/- 0.03 to 6.84 +/- 0.29, activity index from 0.09 +/- 0.02 to 3.42 +/- 0.15, and radium equivalent activity from 26.95 +/- 5.04 to 963.15 +/- 41.87 Bq kg(-1). Only the mean value of the representative level index exceeds the limit for areas of normal background radiation. All other indices show mean values that are lower than the recommended limits.