Natural radioactivity measurement of water and sediment from the historic Ikogosi warm and cold spring, Nigeria

Natural radioactivity measurement and the resultant risk assessment in the water and sediments from the historic Ikogosi warm and cold spring were carried out. A total of 8 samples (4 water and 4 sediment samples) were collected from the Ikogosi spring resort. A sample each was collected from the warm spring, cold spring, meeting point and a sample outside the resort. The samples were thoroughly prepared following the IAEA recommended procedures and analyzed for 40K, 238U, and 232Th using NaI(Tl) detector. The activity concentrations of 40K, 238U and 232Th in water samples range from 40.14 ± 17.83 to 67.59 ± 19.87 Bq L-1, 8.15 ± 2.84 to 11.14 ± 3.78 Bq L-1 and 5.71 ± 1.32 to 8.24 ± 2.61 Bq L-1 respectively. The activity concentration of sediment samples range from 136.31 ± 17.01 to 246.21 ± 34.93 Bq kg-1, 17.98 ± 7.64 to 28.32 ± 5.98 Bq kg-1 and 9.57 ± 3.15 to 16.12 ± 3.41 Bq kg-1 respectively. These values compared reasonably well with the worldwide average concentrations of 400 Bq kg–1, 40 Bq kg–1, 40 Bq kg–1 for 40K, 238U, and 232Th respectively. The mean absorbed dose rate in air obtained for sediment was 40.33 nGy h–1, while the annual outdoor effective dose equivalent was 49.46 μSv y-1, which is lower than the world average of 70 μSv y-1 specified by UNSCEAR for an outdoor effective dose. The total annual effective dose due to ingestion of radionuclides in the water for 3 age groups range from 13.414.87 to 18.856.43 mSv y-1, 2.751.03 to 5.722.13 mSv y-1 and 2.621.01 to 4.951.43 mSv y-1 for infants (0 – 1 y), children (7 – 12 y) and adult (>17 y) respectively. These values were higher than 1 mSv y-1 recommended by ICRP.Keywords: Natural Radioactivity, Activity concentrations, Cold spring, Ikogosi, Nigeri

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries