Investigation of the Radiological Risk of Farmlands and the Transfer Factor from Soil to Crops in Jalingo and Wukari L.G.A of Taraba State, Nigeria
- 1 Department of Physics, Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria
- 2 Department of Pure and Applied Physics, Federal University Wukari, Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria
- 3 Department of Physics, Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria
- 4 Department of Physics, University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria
Abstract
The activity concentrations of radionuclides, absorbed dose rate, excess lifetime cancer risk, and soil-to-plant transfer factor have been evaluated in soil and crop samples from Jalingo and Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State, Nigeria. The activity concentrations were determined with the aid of High Purity Germanium detector. The absorbed dose and excess lifetime cancer risk were evaluated and forecasted for 60 years using the ResRad off-site model. The average activity concentration of 40 K, 232 Th, and 238 U in the soil samples were 633.13, 141.15, and 71.20 Bq·kg -1 respectively, for the Jalingo study area, and while that of the Wukari study area was; 199.21, 87.23, and 25.37 Bq·kg -1 respectively. The average soil-to-plant transfer factors for 40 K, 232 Th, and 238 U were 0.51, 0.10, and 0.27 respectively for the Jalingo study area while that of Wukari are 0.40, 0.57, and 0.74 respectively. The mean annual effective dose equivalent for the study area is higher than the world average of 0.07 mS·vy -1 . The excess lifetime cancer risk for the study areas has values that are higher than the safety limit. The ResRed model showed that direct radiation from the crops is the major contributor to excess cancer risk among other pathways. The radiological hazard indices reveal health risks to farmers, especially in the Jalingo area.
- Abdulaziz, A. and Taher, A. (2013) A Study on Transfer Factors of Radionuclides from Soil to Plant. Life Science Journals, 10, 532-539.
- Kolapo, A.A. and Omoboyede, J.O. (2018) Health Risk Assessment of Natural Radionuclide and Heavy Metals in Commonly Consumed Medicinal Plants in South-West Nigeria. Ife Journal of Science, 20, 529-537. https://doi.org/10.4314/ijs.v20i3.7
- Alausa, K.S., Odunaike, K. and Adeniji, I.A. (2017) Transfer Factor of Radionuclides from Soil-to-Palm Oil Produced from Elere Palm Tree Plantation Near Ibadan Oyo State, Nigeria. Nigeria Journal of Pure and Applied Physics, 7, 7-12.
- Alsaffar, M.S., Jaafar, M.S., Kabir, N.A. and Ahmad, N. (2015) Distribution of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in Rice Plant Components and Physicochemical Effects of Soil on Their Transportation to Grains. Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences, 8, 300-310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrras.2015.04.002
- Asaduzzaman, K., Khandaker, M.U., Amin, Y.M. and Mahat, R. (2015) Uptake and Distribution of Natural Radioactivity in Rice from Soil in North and West Part of Peninsular Malaysia for the Estimation of Ingestion Dose to Man. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 76, 85-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2014.09.036
- Beretka, J. and Mathew, P.J. (1985) Natural Radioactivity of Australian Building Materials, Industrial Wastes and By-Products. Health Physics, 48, 87-95. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004032-198501000-00007
- El-Adl, A.M., Abd El-Hadi, A.H., Horeya, M.F. and Abdein, M.A. (2012) Molecular Genetic Evaluation of Seven Varieties of Summer Squash. Journal of American Science, 8, 41-48.
- Ekhaguere, O.A., Alatise, O.O. and Oyeyemi, K.D. (2019) Assessment of Natural Radionuclides in a Fertilized Farmland in Abeokuta, Nigeria: Implications for Environmental Radioactivity Evaluation and Monitoring. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1299, Article ID: 012093. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1299/1/012093
- Harb, S., El-Kamel, A.H., Abd El-Mageed, A.I., Abbady, A. and Rashed, W. (2014) Radioactivity Levels and Soil-to-Plant Transfer Factor of Natural Radionuclides from Protectorate Area in Aswan, Egyptian. World Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 4, 4-15. http://www.scirp.org/journal/wjnst https://doi.org/10.4236/wjnst.2014.41002
- Marko, S. and Smodis, B. (2011) Soil-to-Plant Transfer Factors for Natural Radionuclides in the Grass in the Vicinity of a Former Uranium Mine. Proceedings of the International Conference Nuclear Energy for New Europe, Bovec, Slovenia, September 12-15, 2011, 703 p.