Background Radiation from 238U, 232Th, and 40K in Bells Area and Canaan City, Ota, Nigeria

Natural radionuclides are present in every constituent of the environment. Monitoring of environmental radionuclides is very vital to avoid exposure above the threshold limit. Due to this, the background radiation from 238U, 232Th, and 40K of Bell University of Technology and Canaan Land City was determined from 20 sample points each in the two areas using RS230 Gamma Spectrometer. The mean activity concentration of 40K, 238U, and 232Th for Bells University of Technology was 442.66 Bq/kg, 41.98 Bq/kg, and 48.35 Bq/Kg, respectively. In Canaan City, mean activity concentration of 40K, 238U, and 232Th was 373.65 Bq/kg, 18.85 Bq/kg, and 67.22 Bq/kg, respectively. The mean absorbed dose rates recorded by the spectrometer directly were 70.03 nGy/h and 66.65 nGy/h, while that estimated from the activity concentration were 67.06 and 64.89 nGy/h for Bells University and Canaan City, respectively. The measured and estimated absorbed dose rates were higher than the safe limit of 57 nGy/h. The mean values of other radiological parameters estimated, except that of the gamma index and excess lifetime cancer risk were lower when compared to the recommended limit. It could be concluded that the possibility of suffering any radiation risk is low in these two areas, but there is possibility of cancer risk for someone that has stayed in the area for 70 years and above

Development of a solar charged laboratory bench power supply

This product is an improvement on available DC laboratory bench power supply. It is capable of delivering low voltage Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC) to carry out basic laboratory experiment for both secondary schools and also at higher education institutions. The power supply is capable of delivering fixed DC voltages of 5V, 9V, 12V, the variable voltage of between 1.25–30V and a 12V AC voltage. Also Incorporated is a USB port that allows for charging cell phones and other mobile devices, and a dedicated 12V DC output to power 5-7 Watt LED bulb to provide illumination in the laboratory for the instructor who may need to work at night in the absence of utility power

Short-duration exposure to 2.45 GHz microwave radiation induces DNA damage in Sprague Dawley rat's reproductive systems

The genotoxic effects of 2.45 GHz microwave (MW) radiation on the testis and ovary of Sprague Dawley rats was investigated. The animals were exposed to varying levels of specific absorption rat

measurement of radon concentration in selected houses in ibadan nigeria

Radon is a natural radioactive gas without colour or odour and tasteless. The World Health Organization (WHO) grouped radon as a human lung carcinogen. For this reason, there has been a lot of interest on the effects of radon exposure to people all over the world and Nigeria is no exception. The aim of this study is to investigate the radon concentration in selected houses in three local government areas of Ibadan. The indoor radon was measured in both mud and brick houses. Fifty houses were considered from the three Local government areas. A calibrated portable continuous radon monitor type (RAD7) manufactured by Durridge company was used for the measurement. A distance of 100 to 200 m was maintained between houses in all the locations. The living room was kept closed during the measurements. The mean radon concentration measured in Egbeda is 10.54 ±1.30 Bqm -3; Lagelu is 16.90 ± 6.31 Bqm -3 and Ona-Ara is 17.95 ± 1.72 Bqm -3. The mean value of the annual absorbed dose and annual effective dose for the locations in the three local government areas was 0.19 mSvy-1 and 0.48 mSvy-1 respectively. The radon concentration for location 10 in Ono-Ara local government exceeded the recommended limit. However, the overall average indoor radon concentration of the three local governments was found to be lower than the world average value of 40 Bqm -3. Hence, there is need for proper awareness about the danger of radon accumulation in dwelling places

Investigation and Comparison of Heat Generated by Coloured Metallic Plates in Response to the Emissive and Absobtion Power of the Surfaces of the Coloured Plate

A colour test was carried out to determine the rates of absorption and emission of infrared radiation by coloured hollowed metallic plates which result in increase in temprature of the holllowed plates at maximum radiation of 750 Wm-2 at Abeokuta 7.198305 and Longitude 3.439533 during the month of March 2013. Five hollow metallic plates of different paint colours (black, green, red, blue and white) were exposed to sunlight simultaneously and the temperature generated in each plate was recorded using a data logger. A wooden box that was divided into five cavities was constructed and lagged with wood shavings to provide insulation and the five coloured hollowed metallic plates of dimension d=4h were inserted in it. The choice dimension d=4h is to minimise shading of the inside of the plate (d is the diameter of each of the plates and h is the height) the top of the plates were covered with a 5 mm thick glass. The top cover plates were securely laid tightly to both the wooden box and the tip of the plates to prevent heat loss to the surrounding and also from crossing from one plate to another.  This arraignment is similar to that of a flat plate collector and calorimeter experiment. The centre of each of the plate was connected to five probes of a data logger and the temperature of changes inside the plates are logged and recorded

Assessment of Natural Radionuclide Contents in Water and Sediments from Asa-Dam, Ilorin, Nigeria

Natural radionuclides content of 238U, 232Th and 40Kfor water and sediment samples collected from Asa-dam Ilorin, Nigeria weremeasured using NaI(TI) detector.The mean activity concentration in the water samples were 6.05, 3.23 and 9.65 Bql-1for 238U, 232Th and 40Krespectively. The mean activity concentration of 238U, 232Th and 40Kmeasured in the sediment samples were 7.57, 8.19 and 73.48 Bqkg-1respectively. Theactivity concentration of 40Kwas higher than that of 238U and 232Thfor the water and sediment samples. All measured activity concentration and estimated radiological parameters were below world permissible limit values. Therefore, there may be no serious immediate radiological health burden on the environment and the people using the dam