Determination of Radioactivity Levels in Borehole Water at Adenta Municipality in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

Activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in twenty selected borehole water samples randomly collected from the Adenta municipality in the greater Accra region of Ghana were measured. The analysis was carried out in the Gamma Spectrometry Laboratory at Radiation Protection Center of Ghana Atomic Energy Commission by using gamma spectrometry system to quantify the radionuclides of interest in the water samples. The investigation revealed a recorded measured activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K ranged from 0.27 0.05Bqkg-1to 1.83 0.55Bqkg-1, 0.110.06Bqkg-1 to 4.290.27Bqkg-1 and 1.24 0.16Bqkg-1 to 28.75 4.82Bqkg-1 respectively. The average activity concentration values were 0.770.42Bqkg-1, 0.930.62Bqkg-1 and 9.77 4.55 Bqkg-1 for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K respectively. The committed annual effective due to intake of natural radionuclides in the borehole water was calculated to be 40.2910.45 Svy-1. The total annual effective is far below the World Health Organization recommended limit of 100 Svy-1 as well as the average injection dose of 0.29 mSvy-1. The results indicate that the inhabitants in the Adenta municipality are not exposed to any significant radiological health hazard due to drinking water from boreholes in the municipality. The data from this will serve as baseline data for future studies in the study area. This research will provide some useful data (base line radiometric values) to be used by the regulatory authority to evaluate possible changes in the future. Introduction: Water is essential for the survival of all organisms, including humans; hence the need for adequate safe water cannot be overemphasize. [1] The rise of human internal exposure through inhalation and ingestion are link to the existence of radionuclides in the water bodies. [2]The measurement of radioactivity in borehole water allows the determination of population exposure to radiation due to the habitual consumption of water. The increasing fear on radiological status from borehole drinking water from Adenta in Accra has necessitated the need to evaluate the potential radiological risk. The public is unaware of the potential hazards associated with drinking water contaminated with natural radioactivity. Hence, the need for this study; to evaluate the natural radioactivity levels in borehole water is necessary to ensure radiological quality of drinking watercould serve as preliminary and baseline report, for ensuring public protection from radiation exposure. subject to further investigations. Method: The study employed experimental research design to address the statement of the problem and achieve the aim and objectives of the study. A total number of twenty (20) water samples were randomly taken from boreholes in the Adenta Municipality where the water sources are used for domestic purposes, prepared and counted for 36000secs using a high pure germanium detector to acquire spectral data. Appropriate mathematical modeling/equations were used to obtain reliable data sets. The analytical expression used in the calculation of the activity concentrations in Bql-1 and committed annual effective dosein (SvBq-1).