Investigation of Gross alpha and Gross Beta activity Concentrations in Groundwater and Committed Effective Dose in Pankshin LGA, Plateau State.

Abstract

The study evaluate gross activities of alpha and beta emitting radionuclides present in naturally occurring water bodies in Pankshin area of Plateau state covered by 9° 20’ 0”North, 9° 27’ 0” East. Ten groundwater samples comprising five well water and five borehole water were drawn randomly. The samples were analyzed and counted for gross alpha and beta activities using Gas filled proportional Counter (MPC 2000 Dual Phosphor). The results showed that the mean value for gross alpha and beta in well water are 0.01662 ± 0.004 and 5.8584 ± 0.1994 Bg/l, respectively. For borehole water, the mean value for gross alpha and beta activity are 0.00514 ±0.003 and 2.1358 ± 0.212Bq/l. Most of the samples show lower values than the WHO guide line value of 0.5 Bq/l for alpha activity and higher activities above the guideline value of 1.0 Bq/l for beta activity. The annual committed effective dose (CED) to infants, children, and adults were estimated. The mean CED due to intake of well water are 0.00666, 0.01334, 0.26668, 2.3534, 2.27312, and 9.4056 mSv/year and the mean CED due to intake of borehole are 0.00204, 0.10414, 0.0026, 0.85752, 1.71504, and 3.4301 mSv/year, respectively, for all peer groups. The results shared elevated values for beta activity in most of the location above the International commission for Radiological Protection acceptable standard of 0.l mSv/year. It can be concluded that there is a significant radiological hazards to the general public in these locations which may be attributed to the geology and the direct contact with water by the radionuclides in the study area. ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 10 May 2019 Received in revised form XX Accepted 01 August 2019 Published XX Available online XX