Evaluation of Radioactivity Levels in the Federal University Otuoke Laboratories, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

Abstract

The study of Background Ionizing Radiation (BIR) was carried out on the Laboratories in the Federal University Otuoke to ascertain the radiation dose levels and estimate its associated health hazards. The measurement was conducted indoor using Global Positioning System and Geiger Counter Nuclear Radiation Detector. The average radiation dose level was recorded in micro-sieverts per hour. The dose rate results obtained ranged from 0.113 μSv/h at physics laboratory 2 store to 0.250 μSv/h at chemistry laboratory 1 with an average value of 0.184±0.03 μSv/h. The dose rate values were used to compute the Annual Effective Dose Equivalent, Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk and Effective Dose to Different Body Organs. Hence, the computed AEDE value range from 0.792 mSv/y at physics laboratory 2 store to 1.752 mSv/y at chemistry laboratory 1 with average value of 1.289± 0.04 mSv/y. Also, the average value obtained from ELCR was 3.33±0.01 ×10^-3. The average values of AEDE and ELCR were slightly above the recommended limit of 1.0 mSv/y and 0.29 ×10^-3 respectively. The estimated average values of effective dose to different body organs were found to be 0.660±0.03, 0.598±0.01, 0.712±0.02, 0.846±0.02, 0.625±0.03, 0.474±0.01 and 0.704±0.04 mSv/y for lungs, ovary, bone marrow, testes, kidney, liver, whole body respectively. The results showed that testes are more sensitive than others while liver are less sensitive to radiation dose. The results were all below the permissible limit of 1.0 mSv/y indicating that workers and users of the laboratories are safe as it does not constitute any instant and excessive health risk.