Title : Determination of radionuclides in borehole water in the Adenta Municipality of Ghana
Abstract:
This research work was carried out in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana mainly in the Adenta Municipality to study the baseline radioactivity levels of naturally occurring radioactive material of water in boreholes using gamma spectrometry in the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission in the Alpha and Gamma Laboratory. In Ghana, Water normally contains traces of radionuclide, according to Forte et al., freshwater and ground waters normally have variety of radionuclides with the freshwater usually exposed to radioactive. Water plays a vital role in the society but its scarcity has a serious global issue because of its use. The reliability of groundwater in Ghana as a source of water is vital for the economic development and environmental sustainability’s. Research have shown a number of studies shows that the boreholes have a higher level of radionuclides content than hand dug wells and surface water fall outs? The radionuclides composition in water vary depending on the source of the water due to the rock formation. The inhabitants in the Adenta Municipality do not get enough water supply so they depend on mainly on borehole water for drinking, agricultural and dosmestic purposes. The recommended limit of total committed annual effective dose according to WHO should be 100 uSv/yr for radioactive materials such as 40K, 226Ra and 232Th, which are the main radionuclides of interest in the borehole water in the Adenta Municipality. Due to the intake of borehole water, their average total committed annual effective dose was estimated to be 33.86 µSv/yr, respectively, which is far below the WHO recommended value. The average activity concentrations of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th in the fifth teen boreholes were measured as follows, 8.76 Bq/L ± to 1.28 Bq/L for 40K, 0.82 Bq/L ± to 0.15 Bq/L for 226Ra and 0.69 Bq/L ± to 0.11 Bq/L for 232Th respectively. From the study, the records shows that two of the borehole water exceeded the WHO recommended values for total committed annual effective dose. These are BW2 and BW7 with recording values of 138.41 and 131.21 respectively. However, lack of access to adequate water supply in the Adenta Municipality have resulted in drilling of hand-dug wells and boreholes which usually are usually used by the inhabitants. There is a risk involved in radionuclides exposure which have resulted in radiological health hazards.
Recently, increase in radionuclide content in drinking water has been attributed to human anthropogenic activities such as wrongful use of fertilizers such as phosphate and nitrates, improper disposal of radioactive waste material from industries and Hospitals, technological processes involving radioactive processing of mineral sands and mining, or limited control of sources including nuclear fuel cycles. These processes introduce radionuclides such as uranium and thorium series into underground water like borehole water The baseline results from this research work will serve as a data for further research in the Adenta Municipality. Subject Areas Analytical Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry
Keywords: Radionuclides, Boreholes, Annual Effective Dose, Norms and Exposure
