Radioisotopes Burden in Ground Water of Ogun State, South-West, Nigeria

Access to safe drinking water is a means of poverty alleviation and socio-economic development of a nation. Interventions to improve the quality of drinking water will provide significant benefits to health. The activity concentration of 60Co, 134Cs, 137Cs, and 241Am measured in twenty (20) ground water sources from three industrial zones of Ogun State using gamma spectroscopy techniques. The mean activity concentrations were found to be 60Co (0.15§0.03Bq/l); 134Cs (0.15§0.04Bq/l);137Cs (0.17§0.05Bq/l) and 241Am (0.69§0.20Bq/l). Three samples (AB1, JB2 and ID1) recorded high activity of 241Am above the guidance level of 1 Bq/l recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The estimated mean total annual effective dose for three age groups, infant; children and adult are: 0.08 mSv y¡1; 0.06 mSvy¡1; and 0.11 mSv y¡1 respectively. The recommended WHO standard of 0.1 mSv y¡1 was exceeded for adult.This implies that other than nuclear accidents manmade radionuclides can be found in drinking water at a rate higher than the recommended permissible limit. Also, the tendency for higher dose to be recorded in the nearest future will be inevitable if the source of contamination is not controlled. Therefore, anthropogenic activities influencing the concentrations of radioisotopes in the study environment should be checkmate and remediation action implemented. This will promote tangible health benefits to the populace. Keywords. Radioisotopes; Water; Activity; Concentration; Dos

Activity Concentration of 222Rn Measured in Drilled and Dug Well Drinking Waters and Resulting Radiation Doses to Population of Ogun State, Nigeria.

Radon studies have been conducted in many countries of the world in indoor air but such studies in drinking waters are sparse. We present the results of 222Rn activity concentration measurements in drilled and dug well drinking waters from three large cities in Ogun State, southwestern Nigeria. The measurements were done suing high-resolution high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector (Canberra Industries Inc.). Measured 222Rn ranged from 0.26±0.01 to 0.88±0.09 Bq l-1 and 0.25±0.02 to 0.72±0.10 Bq l-1 in the drilled wells and dug wells respectively. The activity concentrations were used with ingested dose conversion factors to estimate annual effective dose rates due to ingestion of 222Rn as a result of the consumption of water from these wells. Estimated annual effective dose rates ranged from1.32±0.11 Sv y-1 (in a dug well) to 4.66±0.48 Sv y-1 (in a drilled well); 0.11±0.10 to 1.71±0.18 Sv y-1 and 0.64±0.05 to 2.25±0.23 Sv y-1 for infants (0 – 1y), children (2 – 7y) and adults ( 17 y) respectively. All these values fall below the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended limit of 0.1mSv y-1 for public exposure for all ages

Physiochemical Parameters and Trace elements of Soil Samples Collected from Ogun State, Nigeria

It is very important to characterize our environment, such as soil or body of water by measuring its pH and electrical conductivity (EC). Objective: To measure the pH, electrical conductivity and trace elements of soil samples collected from selected locations in Ogun State, Southwestern, Nigeria using pH meter, electrical conductivity meter and atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) respectively. Results: The pH measured range between 6.51 and 9.66 with a mean of 7.95 while the electrical conductivity ranges between 2.07 μSm-1 and 37.70 μSm-1 with a mean of 11.04 μSm-1. Elements detected are Fe, Ca, Mn, Cr, Cu, Zn and Ni with mean values 164.00, 44.39, 3.00, 0.29, 0.20, 2.58 and 0.0005 mg l-1 respectively. Conclusion: The concentrations of Fe in the soil samples were high when compared to the world reference level. The study concluded that the soil samples were considered alkaline, non-saline and has low concentration of Ni

Cancer risks from head radiography procedures

The goal of this study is to evaluate the risk of cancer induction in head radiography procedures with a view to promote dose optimization and enhance patient safety. Thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD 100) was used to determine the entrance surface dose (ESD) of 20 patients presented for head radiography in two tertiary healthcare institutions in Southwest Nigeria. The corresponding effective dose and doses to the brain, oral mucosa and salivary gland were evaluated using PCXMC software. Incidence cancer risks were evaluated using BEIR VII model. The total entrance surface dose (ESDT) for mandible, paranasal sinuses and skull radiography ranged between 3.01-19.12 mGy with a mean of 7.52 mGy. The resulting effective dose, brain dose, oral mucosa dose and salivary gland dose has a mean of 0.25 mGy, 2.84 mGy, 3.06 mGy, and 4.97 mGy respectively. The least incidence of cancer risk obtained in this study is 1: 7000. Failure in the adoption of complete optimization technique was responsible for the increased risk. Periodic dose audit and enforcement of radiation protection policy will help to checkmate the lapses and alleviate patient risk

Investigation of Radiation Levels in Soil Samples Collected from Selected Locations in Ogun State, Nigeria

Present study measured the terrestrial radiation and evaluated absorbed dose rates from primordial radionuclides 238U, 40K and 232Th in sixty soil samples collected from north, west, east and south of Ewekoro cement factory premises, Owowo village situated adjacent to the factory and Covenant University, Ogun State using the gamma ray spectrometry method. The gamma absorbed rate and annual effective dose equivalent were calculated so as to estimate the hazard index of the primordial radionuclides. Measured concentrations of radionuclides in Ewekoro cement factory soils were as follow: [238U {1.60±1.60 Bqk

Investigation of Radiation Levels in Soil Samples Collected from Selected Locations in Ogun State, Nigeria

AbstractPresent study measured the terrestrial radiation and evaluated absorbed dose rates from primordial radionuclides 238U, 40K and 232Th in sixty soil samples collected from north, west, east and south of Ewekoro cement factory premises, Owowo village situated adjacent to the factory and Covenant University, Ogun State using the gamma ray spectrometry method. The gamma absorbed rate and annual effective dose equivalent were calculated so as to estimate the hazard index of the primordial radionuclides. Measured concentrations of radionuclides in Ewekoro cement factory soils were as follow: [232U {1.60±1.60 Bqkg−1 (east) - 2.56±0.08 Bqkg−1 (north)}, 232Th {44.78±1.83 Bqkg−1 (east) - 56.62±1.96 Bqkg−1 (north)}, 40K {261.54±12.67 Bqkg−1 (south) - 342.08±14.17 Bqkg−1 (east)}] and Owowo village [232U {1.78±0.09 Bqkg−1 (east) - 2.62±0.08 Bqkg−1 (north)}, 232Th {50.07±1.93 Bqkg−1 (west) - 61.69±1.89 Bqkg−1 (north)}, 40K {244.11±13.38 Bqkg−1 (north) - 296.40±14.90 Bqkg−1 (south)}]. These locations have higher concentration of all radionuclides than that of Covenant University soils, which are as follows: [232U {0.62±0.07 Bqkg−1 (south) - 1.07±0.06 Bqkg−1 (north)}, 232Th {30.23±1.87 Bqkg−1 (south) - 38.87±1.78 Bqkg−1 (east)}, 40K {243.35±12.57 Bqkg−1 (south) - 301.15±13.55 Bqkg−1 (north)}]. The mean absorbed dose and annual equivalent effective dose is 40.88 nGyr-1 and 0.05 mSv respectively. The study found that the activity concentrations and radiological hazard index from samples from Ewekoro and the neighbourhood are consistently higher than those from Covenant University however; the values are less than the recommended safe levels

Smart Grids and The Renewable Energy Component

A twentieth- first century grid cannot be built on a twentieth century electric grid. Smart grid has undertaken the promise of incredible advances in innovation, provision of jobs, wealth creation, cleaner environment and, consumer empowerment. Smart grid can be defined as the sum of concerted efforts to advance existing technologies; Integrating operations and IT to achieve higher utility, better environment and society. A real smart modern grid would involve concepts of sustainability ; development that meets the needs of present generations yet uncompromising future generations ability to meet their own needs, that influence cost effective and confirmed cleaner technology. This smart grid involves integration of communication and electrical infrastructures with unconventional information and computerization in an already existing grid. This is an enquiry into introduction of solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind energy into the existing Covenant University grid, for the purpose of serving CU community and to serve as a case study for developing wind energy systems in Lagos

Radiological Risks Assessment of Ogun State Drinking Water

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} for232Th; 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 highes