Research Article Open Access

Radiological Risks Assessment of Ogun State Drinking Water

Justina Ada Achuka1, Usikalu Mojisola Rachael1 and Oyeyemi Kehinde David1
  • 1 Physics, Covenant University, Nigeria

Abstract

The presence of radionuclides in water constitute health risk to man. The consumption of such water increases the likelihood of incurring cancer. Analysis will enhance the detection of significant radionuclides causing harm to the populace and stimulate remediation. This inferred the radioactivity measurements of twenty (20) well water samples from three industrial cities of Ogun State using Hyper Pure Germanium detector (HPGe). The pH and other physiochemical parameters were also determined. The result showed that the mean activity concentrations of 40K, 210Pb, 224Ra, 232Th and 238U were found to be 1.86±1.70 Bql-1; 7.93±2.40 Bql-1; 3.60±1.25 Bql-1; 8.48±2.10 Bql-1; and 2.28±0.57 Bql-1 respectively. The corresponding mean total annual effective dose for ages 0-1 y; 1-2 y; 2-7 y; 7-12 y; 12-17 y and > 17 y are: 9.14 mSv y-1; 9.58 mSv y-1; 6.87 mSv y-1; 6.86 mSv y-1; 11.91 mSv y-1; and 5.68 mSv y-1 respectively. The mean cancer mortality and morbidity risks respectively are: {(3.16 and 5.00)10-5} for 40K; {(575.74 and 759.67)10-5} for 210Pb; {(43.25 and 71.05)10-5} for 224Ra; {(63.37 and 96.03)10-5} for 232Th; and {(10.70 and 16.40)10-5} for 238U. The activity concentrations of 210Pb, 224Ra and 232Th exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) guidance level in all samples but one. The corresponding total annual effective dose for all the six age groups exceeded the recommended WHO standard of 0.1 mSv y-1 in all samples. More importantly, there is high radiation risk in drinking the water from these wells and 210Pb contribution to risk was the highest.

American Journal of Applied Sciences
Volume 14 No. 5, 2017, 540-550

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2017.540.550

Submitted On: 24 October 2016 Published On: 18 May 2017

How to Cite: Achuka, J. A., Rachael, U. M. & David, O. K. (2017). Radiological Risks Assessment of Ogun State Drinking Water. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 14(5), 540-550. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2017.540.550

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Keywords

  • Radionuclides
  • Mortality
  • Risk
  • Drinking Water
  • Ogun State