TITLE:
Gross Alpha and Beta Activities and Related Lifetime Risks Assessment Due to Ingestion of Drinking Water from Different Sources in the District of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
AUTHORS:
Ponaho Claude Kezo, Issa Konate, Dabo Salif Ignace Agba
KEYWORDS:
Gross Alpha and Beta Activities, Drinking Water, Effective Dose, Radiological Lifetime Risks
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology,
Vol.14 No.1,
January
29,
2024
ABSTRACT: Drinking good quality water is essential for better health. It is therefore essential to assess the radiological quality of all water consumed in the District of Abidjan in order to prevent related hazards. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the risk of cancer due to the ingestion of alpha and beta emitting radionuclides in the different types of water consumed in the region. A total of 63 water samples with 43 tap water samples, 5 bottled mineral water and 15 sachet water samples was collected and taken to GAEC laboratory for analysis. The low background Gas-less Automatic Alpha/Beta counting system (Canberra iMaticTM) was used to determine alpha and beta activity concentrations. Activity concentrations of both gross alpha and gross beta obtained in water sample were respectively lower than the WHO recommended limits of 0.1 Bq/l and 1 Bq/l. Also, the annual effective dose and total equivalent effective dose found in mineral bottled water samples were higher than in other types of water. The assessment of radiological lifetime risk has shown values of cancer risk due to ingestion alpha and beta emitters lower than recommended limit. These results indicate that there is no health hazard associated to consumption of water in the District of Abidjan.