Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T19:31:28.206Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Radionuclide contents and physico-chemical characterization of solid wasteand effluent samples of some selected industries in the city of Lagos, Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2008

N. N. Jibiri  and
G. O. Adewuyi
N. N. Jibiri
Affiliation:
Radiation and Health Physics Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
G. O. Adewuyi
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Get access

Abstract

The radionuclide contents in waste products and physico-chemical characterization of effluent samples from some selected industries in the city of Lagos were carried out. The radioactivity concentration levels due to 40K, 226Ra and 228Th in the solid wastes were determined using gamma-ray spectrometry while physico-chemical determination of parameters were based on standard methods of measurements. The average radioactivity levels obtained was between 104 ± 14 Bq kg-1 and 1276 ± 31 Bq kg-1 for 40K, 86 ± 18 Bq kg-1 and 122 ± 23 Bq kg-1 for 226Ra and while for 228Th it ranged between 14 ± 2 Bq kg-1 and 73 ± 10 Bq kg-1. No artificial radioactive elements were detected in any of the samples. The average outdoor effective dose rate due to gamma exposure from these waste materials in the city was calculated as 0.12 mSv y-1. This is far less than 1 mSv y-1 recommended limit for the member of the public by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The pH of the effluent samples was slightly alkaline, while the electrical conductivity ranged between 275 and 455 µS cm-1 and total suspended solids ranged from 104 to 5616 mg l-1. All these ranges and those of biochemical and chemical oxygen demand values were all higher than the prescribed limits. Presence of heavy metals in the effluent samples was however lower than prescribed with the exception of iron.

Keywords

industrial waste productsphysico-chemical parametersradioactivitynatural radionuclidesLagos
Type
Research Article
Information
Radioprotection , Volume 43 , Issue 2 , April 2008 , pp. 203 - 212
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbadey, A.G.E., El-Arabi, A.M. (2006) Naturally occurring radioactive material from the Aluminum industry: A case study: The Egyptian Aluminum Company Nag Hammady, Egypt. J. Radiol. Protect. 20, 415-422. CrossRef
Ademoroti C.M.A (1996) Standard method of measurements for water and effluent Samples, 1st edn. Foludex Press Ltd., Ibadan.
Adewuyi, G.O., Jibiri, N.N., Mabawonku, A.O., Badmus, O.R. (2002) Effect of industrial discharges on the water quality of Soderu river in Ewekoro, South western Nigeria, UNIQWA Res. Chron. 4, 206-222.
Beretka, J., Mathew, P.J. (1985) Natural Radioactivity of Australian building materials, industrial wastes and By-products, Health Phys. 48, 87-95. CrossRef
Bruzzi, L., Baroni, M., Mazzotti, G., Mele, R., Serena, R. (2000) Radioactivity in raw materials and end products in the Italian ceramics industry, J. Environm. Radioact. 47, 157-170.
Connel, D.W. (1974) Occurrence of Uranium in driking water in the USA, Health Phys. 50, 33-47.
Don-Pedro, K.N., Oyewo, E.O., Otitoloju, A.A. (2004) Trend of heavy metal concentrations in Lagos lagoon ecosystem, Nigeria, West Afr. J. Appl. Ecol. 5, 103-114.
Enville (1998) Enville Environmental consultants, Environmental Audit report on needle punch factory, a division of Dunlop Nigeria Plc Oregun Ikeja, Nigeria.
Farai, I.P., Ademola, J.A (2001) Population dose due to Building Materials in Ibadan, Nigeria, Radiat. Prot. Dosim. 95, 69-73. CrossRef
Farai, I.P., Jibiri, N.N. (2000) Baseline studies of terrestrial outdoor gamma dose rate levels in Nigeria, Radiat. Prot. Dosim. 88, 247-254. CrossRef
Farai, I.P., Sanni, A.O. (1992) Year long variability of Rn-222 in a ground water sytem in Nigeria, J. Afr. Earth Sci. 15, 399-403. CrossRef
FEPA (1991) Federal Environmental Protection Agency, National guidelines and Standards for industrial effluents, gaseous emissions and hazardous waste management in Nigeria, A Publication of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency of Nigeria.
Gibson J.A.B., Thompson I.M.G., Spiers F. (1993) A guide to the measurement of environmental gamma radiation. National Physical Laboratory, London.
IAEA (2006) International Atomic Energy Agency, Regulatory and management of approaches for the control of environmental residues containing naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). Proceedings of a technical meeting held in Vienna, 6-10 December 2004.
Ibrahim, W. (1999) Natural activities of 238U, 232Th and 40K in building materials, J. Environm. Radioact. 45, 255-258. CrossRef
Jibiri, N.N. (2001) Assessment of health risk levels associated with terrestrial gamma radiation dose rates in Nigeria, Environm. Internat. 27, 21-26. CrossRef
Jibiri, N.N., Farai, I.P. (1998) Assessment of dose rate and collective effective dose equivalent due to terrestrial γ-radiation in the city of Lagos, Nigeria, Radiat. Prot. Dosim. 75, 191-194. CrossRef
Jonnalagadda, S.B., Marthuthu, A.S., Odipo, R.W., Wandiga, S.O. (1991) River pollution in developing countries – A case study III- effect of industrial discharges on quality of Ngong river waters in Kenya, Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiopia 5, 49-64.
LASEPA (2001) Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, The Lagos Environment, Publ. LASEPA 2, 2-5.
Kolb, W., Schmier, H. (1978) Building materials induced radiation exposure of the population, Environm. Internat. 78, 69-75. CrossRef
Massey P. (1992) Study of hazardous wastes management in Nigeria. WASTEC final report (a draft).
Moeller, D.W., Sun, L.S.C. (2006) Comparison of natural background dose rates for residents of the Amargosa Valley, NV, to those in Leadville, CO, and the states of Colorado and Nevada, Health Phys. 91, 338-353. CrossRef
Mokobia, C.E., Adebiyi, F.M., Akpan, I., Olise, F.S., Tchnokossa, P. (2006) Radioassy of prominent Nigerian Fossil fuels using gamma and TXRF spectroscopy, Fuel 85, 1811-1814. CrossRef
NPC (2006) National Population Commission of Nigeria, Provisional census result of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Olomo, J.B., Akinloye, M.K., Balogun, F.A. (1994) Distribution of gamma – emitting radionuclides in soils and water around nuclear research establishments, Ile-Ife Nigeria, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. Phys. Res. A 353, 553-557. CrossRef
Oyewo, E.O., Don-Pedro, K.N. (2003) Estimated annual discharge rates of heavy metals from industrial sources around Lagos; a West African Coastal Metropolis, West Afr. J. Appl. Ecol. 4, 115-123.
UNSCEAR (2000) United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. Sources and effects of ionizing radiation, Report to the General Assembly, New York, United Nations.
USDOE (1992) Environmental measurement laboratory procedure manual, 27th edn (revised) HASL-300, Environmental measurement laboratory, United States Department of Energy, New York, p. 4.5.29.
Yener, G., Uysal, I. (1996) Low energy scintillation spectrometry for direct determination of 232U and 210Pb in coal and ash samples, Appl. Rad. Isotope 47, 93-96. CrossRef