Radioactivity and radiological hazards from a kaolin mining field in Ifonyintedo, Nigeria
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Elsevier
Abstract
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The concentrations of the radionuclides in the subsurface formation (soils and rocks) solely depend on their
geological origin, which enables its variation from point to point on the Crust. Construction materials can possess
elevated concentrations of radioactivity if their byproducts are mined from contaminated radionuclide sources. In
this article, results of in situ measurements of radioactivity concentrations of 40K, 232Th, and 238U as well as
gamma doses and radiological hazards from kaolin mining
field were presented and evaluated. Eleven stations
were randomly occupied in order to cover the upper axis of a kaolin mining
field in Ifonyintedo. The radiometric
survey was achieved using Super-Spec (RS-125), equipment capable of measuring activity concentrations and
gamma doses. For each location, measurements were taken four times, while its mean and standard deviation
values were estimated for better accuracy. The overall mean activity concentrations (for 40K, 232Th and 238U) and
gamma dose were estimated as 93.9 Bq kg�1, 65.1 Bq kg�1, 38.2 Bq kg�1, and 59.6 nGyh�1 respectively. The
estimated radiological hazards from the measured parameters showed that the overall mean concentrations of
Radium Equivalent, External and Internal Hazards, Annual Effective Dose, Gamma and Alpha Indices, and
Representative Level index are 138.5 Bq kg�1, 0.37 0.48, 0.29 mSvyr�1, 0.48, 0.19, and 0.97 respectively. By
comparing the mean values of the activity concentrations and their radiological risks with the several world
standards from the literature, kaolin deposits in Ifonyintedo are highly rich in thorium
Keywords
QC Physics