ASSESSMENT OF NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY IN MAIZE AND ESTIMATION OF CONCOMITANT DOSE TO NIGERIAN VIA INGESTION PATHWAY

2019 ◽  
Vol 184 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 359-362
Author(s):  
Mudassir H Yarima ◽  
M U Khandaker ◽  
A Nadhiya ◽  
M A Olatunji
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Risk ◽  
Natural Radioactivity ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Gamma Ray Spectrometry ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Dose Limit ◽  
Annual Dose ◽  
Lifetime Cancer Risk ◽  
Environmental Media ◽  
Naturally Occurring

Abstract Uranium, thorium and potassium are the most abundant naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs) found in soils and other environmental media including foodstuffs. Since the human exposures to NORMs is an unavoidable phenomenon, in such a way that they can easily find their way to human being via food chain, detailed knowledge on their presence in foodstuffs is necessary to assess the radiation dose to the population. Thus, the present study concerns the assessment of natural radioactivity in maize, a staple foodstuff for Nigerian, via HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry. Activity concentrations (Bq/kg) in the maize samples were found to be in the range of 6.1 ± 0.6–8.2 ± 1.3, 2.2 ± 0.4–5.1 ± 0.7 and 288 ± 16–401 ± 24 for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K, respectively. Measured data for 226Ra and 232Th show below the world average values of 67 Bq/kg and 82 Bq/kg, respectively, while the activity of 40K exceeds the global average of 310 Bq/kg. The annual effective dose via the maize consumption was found to be far below the UNSCEAR recommended ingestion dose limit of 290 μSv/y, and the estimated lifetime cancer risk show lower than the ICRP (1991) cancer risk factor of 2.5 × 10−3 based on the additional annual dose limit of 1 mSv for general public, thus pose no adverse health risk to the Nigerian populace.

scholarly journals VZTAH MEZI PŘIROZENOU RADIOAKTIVITOU HORNIN A PŮD NA NICH VYTVOŘENÝCH – ZÁKLADNÍ PROBLÉM INTERPRETACE DAT ZÍSKANÝCH LETECKOU A TERÉNNÍ GAMASPEKTROMETRIÍ

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiří Zimák
Keyword(s):  
Natural Radioactivity ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Natural Radionuclides ◽  
Size Fraction ◽  
Mineralogical Composition ◽  
Gamma Ray Spectrometry ◽  
Spectrometric Analysis ◽  
Radiation Dose Rate ◽  
Parent Rocks ◽  
Mass Activity

The objective of this study was to assess the amount of natural radionuclides in fresh parent rocks and their effect on natural radioactivity of soils developed from them. Forty-five fresh rocks consisting mainly of granitoids, syenitoids, acid to basic metavolcanites, mica schists, gneisses, quartzites, serpentinites, sandstones, graywackes, and limestones and their corresponding overlying soils were sampled for laboratory gamma-ray spectrometric analysis. Contents of potassium, uranium and thorium were converted to mass activity of 226Ra equivalent (am) and terrestrial gamma radiation dose rate (D). Data are tabled and discussed. The highest am values occured in syenitoids (386–441 Bq·kg-1) followed by granitoids, mica schists, greywackes and gneisses, whereas the lowest am values were found in quartzose sandstones (15–36 Bq·kg-1) followed by limestones (less than 15 Bq·kg-1) and serpentinites (less than 6 Bq·kg-1). The natural radioactivity of soils is usually slightly lower than that of parent rocks due to the lower content of potassium, uranium and thorium in soils. This is typical for granitoids, syenitoids and rocks of similar mineralogical composition. In soils developed on granitoids and syenitoids were found increased concentrations of all three elements in the grain size fraction below 0.063 mm. Soils developed on rocks with low natural radioactivity (such as limestones and serpentinites) tend to have significantly higher natural radioactivity than their parent rocks. This may complicate the interpretation of data obtained by airborne gamma-ray spectrometry.

scholarly journals Natural Radioactivity, Radiological Hazard and Petrographical Studies on Aswan Granites Used as Building Materials in Egypt

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 6471
Author(s):  
Nasser M. Moghazy ◽  
Amira M. El-Tohamy ◽  
Mona M. Fawzy ◽  
Hamdy A. Awad ◽  
Hesham M. H. Zakaly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Radioactivity ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Natural Radionuclides ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Mineralogical Composition ◽  
Eastern Desert ◽  
Granitic Rocks ◽  
Gamma Ray Spectrometry

The present study was carried out on commercial types of Aswan granite used as building and decorative materials. Nearly 29 granitic rocks samples from 11 classes (black Aswan, red Aswan, dark Rosa, light Rosa, yellow Verdi, grey Shirka, Gandolla, Forsan, red Nefertiti, Royal, and white Halayeb) were collected from three stations near Aswan city for petrographical description and assessment of natural radioactivity. The petrographical study of granites was conducted by polarized-light microscope in order to determine their mineralogical composition and investigate their texture; the activity of the natural radionuclides 238U, Ra226, 232Th, and 40K was measured by gamma-ray spectrometry with a NaI(Tl) detector. The average values of the activities, 52.2 Bq kg−1, 57.8 Bq kg−1, 31.2 Bq kg−1, and 1055.7 Bq kg−1 of U-238, Th-232, Ra-226, and K-40, respectively, were higher than that the world average values of 35 Bq kg−1, 30 Bq kg−1 and 400 Bq kg−1 for 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K, respectively, according to the recommended levels from UNSCEAR reports. The minimum and maximum values obtained were compared with the value ranges from other locations in the Eastern Desert, highlighting the fact that that the maximum values obtained in this work are higher than those in other areas. According to the radiological hazards indices results, most samples lie in the permissible level ranges, suggesting their favorability for use as building materials. In contrast to that, some samples have some environmental parameters higher than the international levels, indicating their unsuitability as building materials.

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