Estimation of annual effective dose due to natural radioactive elements in ingestion of foodstuffs in tin mining area of Jos-Plateau, Nigeria

• Published in: Journal of environmental radioactivity Vol. 94; no. 1; pp. 31 - 40
• Main Authors: Jibiri, N.N., Farai, I.P., Alausa, S.K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-01-2007; Elsevier
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Biological effects of radiation; Crops, Agricultural - chemistry; Diet; Eating; Effective ingestion dose; Food Contamination, Radioactive; Food crops; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Mining; Nigeria; Potassium Radioisotopes - analysis; Radiation Dosage; Radiation Monitoring; Radioactivity; Radiocontamination; Radionuclide; Soil Pollutants, Radioactive - analysis; Spectrometry, Gamma; Thorium - analysis; Tin; Tissues, organs and organisms biophysics; Uranium - analysis; Nigeria; Africa; Mining; Radionuclide; Diet; Effective ingestion dose; Food crops; Nigeria; Radioactivity; Radioactive pollution; Radioactive contamination; Radioisotope; Soil pollution; Ingestion; Health and environment; Dosimetry; Cultivated plant; Mining industry; Food; Human; Natural origin pollution; Potassium 40; Natural radioactivity; Thorium 232; Uranium 238; Effective dose; Soil plant relation
• ISSN: 0265-931X; 1879-1700
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2006.12.011

Soils and food crops from a former tin mining location in a high background radiation area on the Jos-Plateau, Nigeria were collected and analyzed by gamma spectrometry to measure their contents of
40K,
238U and
232Th. As well as collecting samples, in situ dose rates on farms were measured using a precalibrated survey meter. Activity concentrations determined in food crops were compared with the local food derivatives or diets to investigate the possible removal or addition of radionuclides during food preparation by cooking or other means. Potassium-40 was found to contribute the highest activity in all the food products. The activity concentration of
40K,
238U and
232Th in local prepared diets ranged between 60 and 494
Bq
kg
−1, between BDL and 48
Bq
kg
−1 and between BDL and 17
Bq
kg
−1, respectively. The internal effective dose to individuals from the consumption of the food types was estimated on the basis of the measured radionuclide contents in the food crops. It ranged between 0.2
μSv
y
−1 (beans) and 2164
μSv
y
−1 (yam) while the annual external gamma effective dose in the farms due to soil radioactivity ranged between 228
μSv and 4065
μSv.