Abstract

This study assesses the level of natural radioactivity due to radionuclides, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K, in 28 tap water samples collected from 6 most populated townships of Abidjan by using gamma spectrometry method for analysis. The activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K varied from < AMD to 0.82 Bq/L, < AMD to 0.73 Bq/L and 0.82 to 5.91 Bq/L, respectively, with mean values of 0.36±0.06 Bq/L, 0.11±0.04 Bq/L and 2.08±0.69 Bq/L respectively, measured from all the water samples studied. The annual effective doses due to the ingestion of the natural radionuclides measured in the samples ranged from 8.06 to 127.41 μSv/y with an average value of 39.62±11.62 μSv/y. This average calculated annual effective dose was found to be much lower than the guideline doses of 100 μSv/y and 290 μSv/y respectively recommended by WHO and UNSCEAR. Therefore no harmful effect is expected directly to the population by drinking this water.

Keywords:

Activity concentration, annual effective dose and lifetime risk, drinking water, natural radioactivity, populated townships,

References

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

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The authors have no competing interests.