Natural radionuclides pose a threat to the environment, because of the radioactivity they undergo. Water is said to be the sink of all pollutants including radionuclides and water pollution is a serious challenge due to the direct link between the adequacy of good quality water and the state of public health. The concentrations of uranium-238, thorium-232 and potassium-40 and ions in the selected water bodies around Ikirun Iron-smelting Industry were determined in wet and dry seasons to highlight possible radioactive pollution from the iron-smelting emissions. The radionuclides were analyzed using gamma spectroscopy. It was observed that 238U, 232Th, and 40K had their calculated annual effective dose (0.00004, 0.00003, and 0.010 mSvyr-1) to be below the WHO individual dose criterion of 0.1 mSvyr-1 and reference level of 1 mSvyr-1 in drinking water. The mean activity concentrations (AC) of U-238, Th-232 and K-40 in water were observed to be higher in the wet season (3.84±0.6, 2.37±0.5 and 15.83±1.3 Bqkg-1 respectively) than in the dry season (2.81±0.00, 0.92±0.00, and 10.2±0.00 Bqkg-1 respectively). The radionuclides, 238U, 232Th, and 40K also had their AC higher in sediment (40.50 ± 10.50, 66.24 ± 13.50 and 340.22 ± 9.00 BqL-1; Bqkg-1) than in water (1.28 ± 0.30, 0.26 ± 0.10 and 5.75 ± 0.70 Bqkg-1). The range of AC for 232Th, 238U, and 40K in water are 0.17 - 2.49 Bqkg-1, 1.01 - 4.04 Bqkg-1, and 3.98 - 17.48 Bqkg-1 respectively with 40K having the highest AC throughout the sampling locations. The result of anions in water samples for the sampling period are in the decreasing order of Cl- (3.55 - 106.95 mgL-1) < SO42- (0.25 - 15.82 mgL-1) < NO3- (0.01 - 0.49 mgL-1) while cations in water samples for the sampling period are in increasing order of Na+ (0.054 - 0.212 mgL-1) < Mg2+ (0.066 - 0.282mgL-1) < Ca2+ (0.077 -0.261mgL-1) < K+ (0.40-3.1 mgL-1), with potassium having the highest concentration range. The study observed no significant radionuclides pollution of water and sediment in the study area.
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