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Evaluation of Radionuclides Transfer Factors around Ghumchi Uranium Mining Site in North-Eastern, Nigeria. |
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PP: 67-73 |
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doi:10.18576/jrna/110109
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Author(s) |
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Soja Reuben Joseph,
Umar Ibrahim,
Abdullahi A. Mundi,
Abdullahi A. Mundi,
Idris M. Mustapha,
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Abstract |
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| Notwithstanding the importance of mining towards economic development and sustainability, uncontrolled activities could have detrimental effects on the host community and the general public, ranging from environmental degradation, radiation exposure, and the transfer of natural radionuclides from soil to plants, among others. The present study assessed the radionuclides transfer factors from soil to plants around Ghumchi Uranium Mining sites of North Eastern Nigeria, thereby determining the activity concentration levels of natural radionuclides (40K, 238U, 232Th) in soil and plant samples collected from the study area. The representatives soil and plant samples were collected using a systematic random sampling technique and analyzed using a Sodium Iodide NaI (Tl) detector at the Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. The mean activity concentrations of radionuclides in soil samples were 367.52 Bq kg⁻¹ for 40K, 42.67 Bq kg⁻¹ for 238U, and 55.34 Bq kg⁻¹ for 232Th, which are slightly above the United Nations Scientific Community on the effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR’s) world averages of 420 Bq kg⁻¹, 33 Bq kg⁻¹, and 45 Bq kg⁻¹ respectively. Soil-to-plant transfer factors were 0.614 for 40K, 0.600 for 238U, and 0.827 for 232Th, indicating moderate radionuclide uptake by plants grown near the mining sites. These results align with previous studies in Nigerian mining regions, confirming that geological formations and mining intensity influence radionuclide distribution. Overall, the findings underscore the need for continuous radiological surveillance, public health awareness, and environmental remediation measures to mitigate potential radiation exposure in uranium mining communities. Though high activity concentrations pose a significant hazard to the host communities around the mining sites that have extreme values, the competent Authority, saddled with the responsibility of ensuring compliance with radiation protection standards in Nigeria, needs to establish the safety reserves from these mining areas for proper guidelines that will ensure suitable protection of the host communities. |
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