Current Volume 8
Assessment of 137Cs Soil Contamination Using Soil Samples Obtained from a Local Government in a State of Northern Nigeria
Abstract
Ionizing radiation is frequently released into the environment from a variety of sources which could be natural radionuclides such as Potassium isotope (40K), thorium (232Th) and its decay products (226Ra, 212Pb, etc.), and Uranium (238U) as well as artificial radionuclide such as137Cs, which eventually has a negative impact on the earth and health of the general public. The aim of this study is to determine the presence and level of 137Cs contamination in soil and computing the resulting radiation doses to the populace. With this regard, soil samples were collected to a depth of 75cm from twelve sample location in the local government area and 137Cs activity concentrations were measured using thallium-activated sodium iodide detector. The activity concentration of 137Cs was found to be in the range from 1.49±0.09Bq kg-1 to 4.46±0.26Bq kg-1 with an average value of 2.69±0.22Bq kg-1 across all twelve sample locations. The estimated external gamma-ray dose rate was calculated to be 0.21±0.02nSvh-1. The range of activity concentration of 137Cs measured was compared with other findings from around the world. The results attained for this research show that 137Cs concentration is of a lower level in some of the examine regions. The mean value calculated for external effective dose rate is seen to be below the 1.0 mSvy-1 recommended dose rate limit for the general public by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), as well as the 0.48 mSvy-1 external gamma radiation dose per head from the natural sources of radiation evaluated by UNSCEAR. Thus, it can be said that there are no radiation risks to the people living in the area under investigation as a result of 137Cs soil pollution.
Keywords
137Caesium, Nigeria, Radiation, Radionuclides, Soil
Citations
IRE Journals:
Isa Sambo , Abuh Rafiu A.
"Assessment of 137Cs Soil Contamination Using Soil Samples Obtained from a Local Government in a State of Northern Nigeria" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals Volume 6 Issue 11 2023 Page 793-800
IEEE:
Isa Sambo , Abuh Rafiu A.
"Assessment of 137Cs Soil Contamination Using Soil Samples Obtained from a Local Government in a State of Northern Nigeria" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, 6(11)
About IRE Journals
IRE Journals is an open access online journals established with an aim to publish high quality of research work in various diciplines. We have more than 6 years in publications. Over 2500+ papers already published.
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