Natural Radionuclide Cocentration Radiological Impact Assessment of Soil Water From Dadinkowa Dam, Northeast Nigeria

Abstract

Radioactivity measurement of water and sediment sample from Dadinkowa dam, Gombe, Nigeria was carried out using a lead shield &6mm x 76mm, Sodium iodide [NaI(Ti)]/detector connected to ORTEC456 amplifier. The obtained gamma result was used to estimate some radiological parameters in order to effectively ascertain the level of radiological health hazard to humankind by the use of such material in the study area. The mean absorbed dosed rate for the sediment and water samples were 66.09 and 39.02 nGyh-1, respectively, while the mean Annual Effective Dose (AED) for the ingested radionuclide in water samples for the area in infants, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, 15 years and adults were, 0.00276, 0.00313, 0.00197, 0.00135, 0.00117, and 0.00187 SW/y, respectively. The mean AEDoutdoor for the sediment was 0.0809 mSw/y and mean AEDindoor was 0.324 mSw/y. Similarly, the mean Radium Equivalent Activity Index (Raeq) for the sediment and water sample was139.83 RqKg-1 and 30.84 Bq/l respectively while the mean estimated internal and external hazard indices for the sediment sample were 0.13 and 0.09, respectively. Furthermore, the estimated mean value for the annual Gonadal equivalent dose (AGED) in the sediment and water werre 458.49 and 104.60 uSv/y respectively while the estimated mean gamma index (Iy) for the sediment and water samples was 1.030 and 0.229 mSv/y, respectively. Conclusively, the estimated mean of the Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) for the sediment sample was 0.280 x 10-3 while that of water sample were 9.66, 10.96, 6.90, 4.73, 4.10 and 6.58 x 10-3 for 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, 15 years and adults respectively. The results showed trends that were generally low for most of the radiological impact parameters calculated except for few indices whose values were above the UNSCEAR recommended thresholds. Therefore, there may be no serious immediate radiological effects to the populace and the environment in this area.