Assessment of Radiological Risks in Sections of Niger Delta University campus, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper presents an assessment of background radiation levels within the Niger Delta University campus, Bayelsa State Nigeria. A portable Geiger-Muller tube (Radiation Alert) was used to detect the background ionizing radiation within a temperature range of -100 ℃ to 500 ℃. Results of absorbed dose rate in air in the main campus, open field and new campus vary from 104.4 nGy/h to 278.4 nGy/h with an average of 156.6 nGy/h, 34.8 nGy/h to 174.0 nGy/h with an average of 95.7 nGy/h and 69.6 nGy/h to 174.0 nGy/h with an average of 113.1 nGy/h respectively. The annual effective dose estimates ranged from 0.160 mSv/y to 0.427 mSv/y with an average of 0.024 mSv/y, 0.053 to 0.267 mSv/y with an average of 0.147 mSv/y and 0.107 to 0.267 mSv/y with a mean of 0.173 mSv/y in the main campus, open field and new campus respectively. The excess lifetime cancer risks ranged from 0.442 to 01.174 x 10-3 with a mean of 0.663 x 10-3, 0.146 to 0.736 x 10-3 with an average of 0.405 x 10-3 and 0.295 to 0.736 x 10-3 with average 0.479 x 10-3 in main campus, open field and new campus respectively. The estimated averages of absorbed dose rates in the air within Niger Delta University were above the world average of 57 nGy/h. Annual Effective Dose Equivalent (AEDE) are below the safe limit of 1 mSv/y for humans. The results of this study provide baseline information on the background ionizing radiation and can be referenced for future works in the area.

Keywords

• background radiation level
• absorbed dose rate
• geiger muller counter