Radon dynamics, activity concentration, and radiological risks associated with groundwater around tremor-prone Federal Capital Territory and environs, north-central Nigeria

• Published in: Arabian journal of geosciences Vol. 14; no. 23
• Main Authors: Arabi, Abdullahi Suleiman, Tukur, Zainab, Funtua, Idris Isa, Ali, Mohammed Abdullah, Kurowska, Ewa, Abdulhamid, Musa Suleiman, Murtala, Adamu Suleiman
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-12-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Carcinogens; Cigarette smoking; Contaminants; Contamination; Dissolved solids; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth movements; Earth science; Earth Sciences; Earthquake prediction; Earthquakes; Environmental protection; Groundwater; Groundwater quality; Health risks; Ingestion; Inhalation; Mitigation; Original Paper; Protection; Radon; Radon levels; Respiration; Seismic activity; Total dissolved solids; Water analysis; Water quality; Water sampling; Nigeria; Carcinogenic; Annual effective dose; Radon; Inhalation; Ingestion
• ISSN: 1866-7511; 1866-7538
• DOI: 10.1007/s12517-021-08861-y

Earth movement can affect groundwater quality through radon contamination; as such, continuous monitoring of radon in groundwater provides important clues to earthquake prediction. Radon is carcinogenic and is found in groundwater and the air. The United State Environmental Protection Agency reports indicate that radon is the highest cause of death after cigarette smoking. In this study, one hundred and thirty-five groundwater samples were sampled and analyzed in situ for radon concentration, so also health risks associated with the samples were calculated and presented. Radon activity concentration ranges from 609.00 ± 3.04 to 92,500.00 ± 63.4 Bqm
−3
with mean of 16,628.19 ± 60.0 Bqm
−3
. Annual effective dose due to ingestion and inhalation was found to be in the range from 0.13 to 19.43 mSv year
−1
and 0.002 to 0.23 mSv year
−1
with mean of 3.49 and 0.04 mSv year
−1
respectively. Total annual effective dose ranges from 0.13 to 19.66 mSv year
−1
with mean of 3.53 mSv year
−1
About 48.15% of the samples had radon greater than 11.1 BqL
−1
maximum contaminant limit recommended (MCL) by the United State Environmental Protection Agency. Compared to Nigeria standard, all samples had radon greater than MCL of 0.1 BqL
−1
. All the samples had total annual effective dose greater than 0.1 mSv year
−1
recommended by World Health Organization and European Commission. It was observed that radon in samples is closely related to temperature and total dissolved solids of samples. The findings suggest inhalation/ingestion of radon in samples has some radiological implications. It is recommended that the cause of high radon in some samples be investigated and mitigation measures suggested.