Assessment of Natural Radioactivity in Spring, Borehole and Well Water in Hong Local Government Area, Adamawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Radionuclides are source of radiation known to have adverse health effects in individuals living in areas with high background radiation. This study investigated naturally occurring radionuclide levels of 238U, 232Th, and 40K respectively, were assessed in drinking water sources at some districts of Hong, Adamawa State, Nigeria. Nineteen (19) water Samples from three different sources (spring, borehole, and well), were collected and analyzed using a thallium-doped sodium iodide [NaI (TI)] detector at LAUTECH, Obgomosho. The results show that the mean activity concentration for, 238U, 232Th, and 40K are 2.91, 1.63, and 55.31 BqL-1 for spring samples, 2.70, 1.63, and 69.12 for borehole samples and 2.82, 1.48 and 66.25 for well samples. These values are higher than the control value of activity concentration set by (UNSCEAR 2000). The mean absorbed dose rate (D) for spring, borehole, and well water samples were found to be 4.21, 5.11, and 4.81 nGyh-1 respectively. All the water samples were lower than the maximum accepted value of 59 nGyh-1 as recommended by (UNSCEAR, 2000). The mean values of the total annual effective dose for spring, borehole, and well water samples were 0.00574, 0.00694, and 0.0065 respectively. These values are below 0.12, 0.1, and 1.0 mSvy-1 as recommended by UNSCEAR, WHO, and ICRP. Also, the mean values of Radium Equivalent Activity were 8.72, 10.35, and 9.76 BqL-1 for spring, borehole, and well water samples respectively. All the values of Raeq were below the maximum recommended value of 370 BqL-1. The mean value of total cancer risk is 3.22 x 10-9, 3.90 x 10-9, and 3.66 x 10-9 for spring, borehole, and well water samples respectively. All the mean values were below the acceptable range of 1 x 10-6 to 1 x 10-4. Based on our findings, the water sources in this area are safe for domestic use...