Radionuclide contents and physico-chemical characterization of solid waste and effluent samples of some selected industries in the city of Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

The radionuclide contents in waste products and physico-chemical characterization of effluent samples from some selected industries in the city of Lagos were carried out. The radioactivity concentration levels due to 40 228 Th it ranged between 14 ± 2 Bq kg -1 and 73 ± 10 Bq kg -1 . No artificial radioactive elements were detected in any of the samples. The average outdoor effective dose rate due to gamma exposure from these waste materials in the city was calculated as 0.12 mSv y -1 . This is far less than 1 mSv y -1 recommended limit for the member of the public by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The pH of the effluent samples was slightly alkaline, while the electrical conductivity ranged between 275 and 455 µS cm -1 and total suspended solids ranged from 104 to 5616 mg l -1 . All these ranges and those of biochemical and chemical oxygen demand values were all higher than the prescribed limits. Presence of heavy metals in the effluent samples was however lower than prescribed with the exception of iron. Keywords

Natural Radioactivity Levels and Estimation of Radiation Exposure in Environmental Soil Samples from Tulkarem Province-Palestine

“…Soil from waste dump sites may contain naturally occurring radionuclides in significant amounts and the resulting external radiation exposure pathway to the population has been subjects for study [7]. Many studies worldwide have measured the activity concentration of natural radionuclides in soil to ascertain the levels of contamination [3,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

Natural Radioactivity Assessment and Radiological Hazards in Soils from Qarun Lake and Wadi El Rayan in Faiyum, Egypt

“…Natural environmental radioactivity and the associated external exposure due to gamma radiation depend primarily on the geological and geographical conditions, and appear at different levels in the soils of each region in the world [1][2][3][4]. Study of the level of radionuclides distribution in the environment provides essential radiological information [5][6][7][8]. The radiological hazard implication of these radionuclides is due to the internal exposure originating from radionuclides in diet and from inhaled radon gas as well as external exposure generated by cosmic ray and gamma-rays emitted by radioactive element.…”

Radionuclide contents and radiological risk to the population due to raw minerals and soil samples from the mining sites of quality ceramic and pottery industries in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria

“…To estimate the annual effective dose rates, the conversion coefficient from the absorbed dose in air to the effective dose (0.7 Sv.Gy -1 ) and the outdoor occupancy factor (0.2) proposed by UNSCEAR (2000) are used. Therefore, the annual effective dose rate (mSv.yr -1 ) was calculated using the formula (Jibiri and Adewuyi, 2008;Jibiri and Emelue, 2008)…”

“…In Nigeria there is a concerted effort towards determining the radionuclide concentration levels in different raw mineral and building materials (Farai and Ademola, 2001;Ademola, 2005;Ademola et al, 2008;Obed et al, 2005) and industrial wastes and by-products from some industries (Jibiri and Adewuyi, 2008;Farai et al, 2009). It has not been possible to carry out a nationwide survey of these materials because of logistics and financial set-backs.…”