Natural Radioactivity and Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk Associated With Soil in Kargi Area, Marsabit - Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47604/ajps.1751Keywords:
Kargi-Marsabit, Nuclear science, Gamma-ray Spectrometry, Lifetime cancer risk, Activity.Abstract
Purpose: The main aim of investigating activity concentrations together with distribution of radionuclides naturally in soil from Kargi was to evaluate radiological health hazard together with environmental radioactivity. Research shows radionuclides as one source of exposure due to radiation with detrimental effects health wise for populations found in areas considered high background radiation.
Methodology: After collecting 117 soil samples from the area, analysis was done in order to measure their natural radioactivities due to 40K, 232Th and 226Ra radionuclides. Measurements method of gamma spectrometry employing a high purity germanium (HPGe) detector was employed basically to evaluate the radiological hazard of radioactivities. For 40K, 232Th and 226Ra, mean calculated activities were 353.19±110.07, 7.98±3.98 and 7.37±2.60 Bqkg-1 respectively. Mean values of absorbed and effective dose rates, external and internal hazard indices together with radium equivalent activity were 23.82±6.59 nGyh-1 and 0.14±0.04 mSvy-1, 0.12±0.03 and 0.14±0.04 and 45.90±12.65 Bqkg-1 respectively. Comparing with approved global values, the values were found to be below the given global limits.
Findings: Evidence of involvement of metasomatic activity of the radioelements or fractionation during weathering is seen as calculations give a higher value Th/U. Excess cancer risk, calculated from the samples showed lower values as compared to global standard values hence minimal chance of getting cancer disease. The area is safe from cancer causing radionuclides.
Unique Contribution to theory, Practice and Policy: It is recommended that High Background Radiation Area (HBRA) are healthy and good for human settlement.
Downloads
References
Abdulla, A. R., Nada, F. K. & Nadhim, K. I. (2016). Natural Radioactivity and Associated Dose Rates in Soil Samples in the Destroyed Fuel Fabrication Facility, Iraq. International Journal of Physics, 4 (3), 50 - 54.
Aguko, W., Kinyua, R. & Ongeri, R. (2013). Assessment of radiation exposure levels associated with gold mining in Sakwa Wagusu, Bondo district, Kenya. Proceedings of the 8th JKUAT Scientific, Technological and Industrialization Conference, Juja - Kenya, 221-228.
Avwiri, G.O., Ononugbo, C.P., & Egieya, J. M. (2013). Evaluation of natural radionuclide content in surface and ground water and excess lifetime cancer risk due to gamma radioactivity. Academic Research International, 4 (6), 636.
Aziz Ahmed Qureshi, Shahina Tariq, Kamal Ud Din, Shahid Manzoor, Chiara Calligaris & Abdul Waheed (2014) Evaluation of excessive lifetime cancer risk due to natural radioactivity in the rivers sediments of Northern Pakistan. Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences, 7(4), 438-447, DOI: 10.1016/j.jrras.2014.07.008
Beretka, J., & Matthew, P. J. (1985). Natural radioactivity of Australian building materials, industrial wastes and by-products. Health physics, 48 (1), 87-95.
Cember, H. (1996). Introduction to Health Physics, 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill, New York.
EPA (1995). Representative Sampling Guidance, Vol. 1: Soil, EPA/540/R-95/141, EPA, Washington, DC.
European Commission. (1995). Radon in indoor air: Indoor air quality and its impacts on man. Luxembourg: Bochicchio, F., Mc Laughing, J.P. and S. Piermattei. Report no. 15.
Hassan, S. F., Mahmoud, M. A. M., & El-Rahman, M. A. (2016). Effect of radioactive minerals potentiality and primordial nuclei distribution on radiation exposure levels within muscovite granite, Wadi Nugrus, Southeastern Desert, Egypt. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 4 (3), 62.
IAEA-TECDOC-1363. (2003). Guidelines for radioelement mapping using gamma ray spectrometry data. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna.
IAEA -TECDOC-486 (2019). Guidelines On Soil and Vegetation Sampling for Radiological Monitoring. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna.
ICRP, 1990. Radiation Protection. 1990 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. ICRP Publication 60. Oxford: Pergamon.
ICRP, 2000. Protection of the public in situations of prolonged radiation exposure; ICRP Publication 82; Pergamon, Oxford. Ann. ICRP, 29 (1 - 2).
Krieger, V.R. (1981). Radioactivity of construction materials. Betonwerk Fertigteil Technology, 47, 468-473.
Lu Xinwei, Zhang Xiaolan, 2006. Measurement of natural radioactivity in sand samples collected from the Baoji Weihe Sands Park, China. Environmental Geology, 50: 977-982.
Monika, S., Leszek, P. & Marcin, Z. Natural Radioactivity of Soil and Sediment Samples collected from Postindustrial Area, Poland. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 19 (5), 1095-1099.
Mustafa A.O., 1999. Assessment of human exposures to natural sources of radiation in Kenya. Ph. Thesis, University of Nairobi.
Obed, R. I., Farai, I. P., & Jibiri, N. N. (2005). Population dose distribution due to soil radioactivity concentration levels in 18 cities across Nigeria. Journal of Radiological Protection, 25 (3), 305.
Raghu, Y., Ravisankar, A., Chandrasekaran, P., Vijayagopal, B., & Venkatraman, B. (2017). Assessment of natural radioactivity and radiological hazards in building materials used in the Tiruvannamalai District, Tamilnadu, India, using statistical approach. Journal of Taiban University for Science, 11, 523-533.
Singh, S., Mehra, R., & Singh, K. (2005). Seasonal variation of indoor radon in dwellings of Malwa region, Punjab. Atmospheric Environment, 39 (40), 7761-7767.
Survey of Kenya, 2017, modified. https://lands.go.ke
Taskin, H., Karavus, M., Ay, P., Topuzoglu, A., Hidiroglu, S., & Karahan, G. (2009). Radionuclide concentrations in soil and lifetime cancer risk due to gamma radioactivity in Kirklareli, Turkey. Journal of environmental radioactivity, 100 (1), 49-53.
Tzortzis, M. and Tsertos, H. (2004). Determination of thorium, uranium and potassium elemental cocentrations in surface soils in Cyprus. Journal of environmental radioactivity, 77 (3), 325-338.
UNSCEAR. (1993). Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation. United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation., Report to the General Assembly, with Scientific Annexes. United Nations publication, New York.
UNSCEAR. (2000). Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation. United Nation Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation Sources to the General Assembly with Annexes, Effects and Risks of Ionizing Radiation. United Nations publication, New York.
UNSCEAR. (2008). Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation. United Nation Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation Sources to the General Assembly with Annexes, Report to the General Assembly, with Scientific Annexes. United Nations publication, New York.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Aguko W. O, Kinyua R, Githiri J. G
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
