Evaluation Of Background Radiation Level At Shanu Village In Minna Niger State Nigeria.

ABSTRACT An evaluation of the level of background radiation was carried out at Shanu village in Minna Niger state Nigeria. A portable Geiger-Mueller tube-based environmental digital radiometer Digilert Nuclear Radiation Monitor S.E International Inc. USA calibrated by gamma 26947 rays from cesium Cs source was used for the measurement. A total of ten 10 points was surveyed across the village for level of background radiation. The radiation dose rate varies from 0.0268mRhr to 0.0311mRhr. In all ten points surveyed the mean dose rate was 0.0128mRhr with a standard deviation of 0.000879mRhr. This is about 17 deviation from the standard background radiation value of 0.011mRhr. This result could simply be attributed to natural sources cosmic and terrestrial and also the possibility of radionuclide sources in the environment. The average annual effective dose obtained from this study is 1.1213mSvy which is still less than the current average radiation dose to the worlds population from natural sources of radiation of 2.4mSvy as reported by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation UNSCEAR.