Radioassay of Geregu Soil North-Central Nigeria

Geregu Area in North Central Nigeria has been selected as a potential site for the location of Nigeria’s first proposed nuclear power plant. Siting of a nuclear power plant is a complex process that involves a lot of site survey and characterization. The objective of this study is to evaluate the radiological effects of soil samples from this Geregu Area. Ten soil samples were collected at different locations within the area. The radionuclide concentrations of the soil samples were measured using gamma spectroscopy method. The average values of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K obtained are 15.45Bqkg-1, 10.64Bqkg-1 and 105.60Bqkg-1 respectively.The hazard indices and excess lifetime cancer risk were estimated using standard analytical method. The average values obtained for annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE) (Outdoor), annual effective dose equivalent (indoor) and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) for the Geregu Area are 22.26μSv/yr, 89.04μSv/yr and 0.078×10-3μSv/yr respectively. Others are annual gonadal equivalent dose (AGED), representative gamma indices (Iγ), external hazard indices (Hex) and internal hazard indices (Hin) obtained for the same area are 125.35mSv/yr, 0.28, 0.11 and 0.15 respectively. All the values obtained when compared with their corresponding world permissible standard values were found to be below the standard limits and as such radiation exposure in the study area will pose no significant health threat to the workers and inhabitants of the place.