Preliminary assessment of natural radioactivity and associated radiation hazards in a phosphate mining site in southern area of Togo

Hazou, Eyakifama; Guembou Shouop, Cébastien Joel; Nguelem Mekongtso, Eric Jilbert; Ndontchueng Moyo, Maurice; Beyala Ateba, Jean Felix; Tchakpele

doi:10.1007/s41605-018-0091-x

Article (Scientific journals)

Preliminary assessment of natural radioactivity and associated radiation hazards in a phosphate mining site in southern area of Togo

Hazou, Eyakifama; Guembou Shouop, Cébastien Joel; Nguelem Mekongtso, Eric Jilbert et al.

2019 • In Radiation Detection Technology and Methods, 2019 (3) (3), p. 16

Peer reviewed

Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2268/231778

DOI
10.1007/s41605-018-0091-x

Files (1)Send to Details Statistics Bibliography Similar publications

Files

Full Text

Hazou2019_Article_PreliminaryAssessmentOfNatural.pdf

Publisher postprint (3.6 MB)

Request a copy

All documents in ORBi are protected by a user license.

Send to

RIS BibTex APA Chicago Permalink X Linkedin

Details

Keywords :

Phosphate; Gamma spectrometry; BEGe6530 detector; Soil; Radiation hazard

Abstract :

[en] Introduction: Because of the increasing use of phosphate in industries worldwide, especially in Togo, it is interesting to investigate the potential radioactivity exposure of phosphate ores, especially in the one being exploring in Togo nowadays. Material and methods: The contents of natural radionuclides (40K, 226Ra, 232Th, 235U and 238U) were assessed in phosphate soil samples from Kpogamé, Dagbati and Kpémé in the maritime region of Togo by using gamma spectrometry-based Broad Energy Germanium detector (BEGe6530). Since no study was made prior to the exploitation, the samples from the control area of Anfoin-Kpota far away from the three others were considered as reference. Results and discussion: The results are discussed and compared with the data from other countries. The activity concentration of 40K, 226Ra, 232Th, 235U and 238U are between (59.45 and 129.99), (20.19 and 779.93), (16.81 and 121.42), (2.26 and 52.03) and (16.66 and 841.14) Bq kg−1, respectively. The values obtained shows that the exploitation sites (Dagbati and Kpogamé) and treatment site (Kpémé) have a very high level of radioactivity than the control area (Anfoin-Kpota). The Kpogamé and Dagbati exploitation and Kpémé waste discharging phosphate deposit sites were found to have higher activity concentration than many others exploited phosphate sedimentary deposits around the world. The average annual effective dose of the above studied sites is 0.36, 0.24 and 0.48 mSv year−1, respectively. The value related to the discharge waste site is about 2% of the 1.0 mSv year−1 recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection as the maximum annual dose to the public. Conclusions: The obtained result of both radioactivity and radiological level in the studied areas will be considered as a pre-operational baseline to estimate the possible radiological impacts due to mining and processing phosphate industrial activities.

Disciplines :

Physics

Author, co-author :

Hazou, Eyakifama; Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Lomé, P.O. Box 1515, Lomé, Togo > Laboratoire de Physique des Matériaux et des Composants à Semi-conducteurs (LPMCS), University of Lomé, P.O. Box 1515, Lomé, Togo

Guembou Shouop, Cébastien Joel ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Doct. sc. (phys. - paysage)

Nguelem Mekongtso, Eric Jilbert; Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Douala, P.O. Box 24157, Douala, Cameroon

Ndontchueng Moyo, Maurice; National Radiation Protection Agency, P.O. Box 33732, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Beyala Ateba, Jean Felix; National Radiation Protection Agency, P.O. Box 33732, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Tchakpele; Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Lomé, P.O. Box 1515, Lomé, Togo

Language :

English

Title :

Preliminary assessment of natural radioactivity and associated radiation hazards in a phosphate mining site in southern area of Togo

Publication date :

12 January 2019

Journal title :

Radiation Detection Technology and Methods

ISSN :

2509-9930

eISSN :

2509-9949

Publisher :

Springer

Volume :

2019 (3)

Issue :

Pages :

Peer reviewed :

Peer reviewed

Additional URL :

https://doi.org/10.1007/s41605-018-0091-x

Available on ORBi :

since 18 January 2019

Statistics

Number of views

143 (5 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

0 (0 by ULiège)

More statistics

Scopus citations^®

Scopus citations^®
without self-citations

OpenCitations

OpenAlex citations

Bibliography

J.F. Beyala Ateba, Ateba P. Owono, G.H. Ben-Bolie, Abiama P. Ele, C.R. Abega, S. Mvondo, Natural background dose measurements in south Cameroon. Radiat. Prot. Dosim. 140(1), 81–88 (2010)
E.J.M. Nguelem, M.M. Ndontchueng, O. Motapon, S.C.J. Guembou, E. Darko, Radiological monitoring and statistical approach of primordial and anthropogenic radionuclides in surface soil of Mami-water site in the Western Cameroon. Environ. Earth Sci. 76, 612 (2017). 10.1007/s12665-017-6951-8
D.R. Rangaswamy, M.C. Srilatha, C. Ningappa, E. Srinivasa, J. Sannappa, Measurement of natural radioactivity and radiation hazards assessment in rock samples of Ramanagara and Tumkur districts, Karnataka, India. Environ. Earth Sci. 75, 373 (2016). 10.1007/s12665-015-5195-8
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effect of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). Report to the General Assembly. Annex B: Exposures from Natural Radiation Sources (2000)
M.M. Ndontchueng, E.J.M. Nguelem, O., Motapon, R.L. Njinga, A. Simo, J.C.S. Guembou, B. Yimele (2015) Radiological hazards in soil from the bauxite deposits sites in Dschang Region of Cameroon. Br. J. Appl. Sci. Technol. 5(4). ISSN: 2231-0843
M.M. Ndontchueng, E.J.M. Nguelem, R.L. Njinga, A. Simo, J.C.S. Guembou (2014) Gamma Emitting Radionuclides in Soils from Selected Areas in DOUALA-BASSA Zone, Littoral Region of Cameroon. Hindawi Publishing Corporation, vol. 2014. ISRN Spectroscopy. Article ID 245125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/245125
A. Baeza, J.A. Corbacho, J. Guillén, A. Salas, J.C. Mora, Analysis of the different source terms of natural radionuclides in a river affected by NORM (naturally occurring radioactive materials) activities. Chemosphere 83(7), 933–940 (2011). 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.02.042
IAEA TRS 419 (2003) Extent of Environmental Contamination by Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) and Technological Options for Mitigation. http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/TRS419_web.pdf
O. Rosskopfova, M. Galambos, P. Rajec, Determination of 63Ni in the low level solid radioactive waste. J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. 289, 251–256 (2011). 10.1007/s10967-011-1071-5
G. Xhixha, M. Baldoncini, I. Callegari, T. Colonna, F. Hasani, F. Mantovani, F. Shala, V. Strati, Kaceli M. Xhixha, A century of oil and gas exploration in Albania: assessment of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORMs). Chemosphere 139, 30–39 (2015). 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.05.018
E. Agbalagba, R. Onoja, Evaluation of natural radioactivity in soil, sediment and water samples of Niger Delta (Biseni) flood plain lakes, Nigeria. J. Environ. Radioact. 102(7), 667–671 (2011)
E.O. Agbalagba, G.O. Avwiri, Y.E. Chad-Umoreh, Gamma-spectroscopy measurement of natural radioactivity and assessment of radiation hazard indices in soil samples from oil fields environment of Delta State, Nigeria. J. Environ. Radioact. 109, 64–70 (2012). 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2011.10.012
European Council for Nuclear Research (ECNR), Safety Guide for Experiments at European Council for Nuclear Research. Part III-Advice 40, Ionizing Radiation (1995)
M.M. Ndontchueng, R.L. Njinga, E.J.M. Nguelem, A. Simo, Analysis of 238U, 235U, 137Cs, and 133Xe in soils from two campuses in university of douala-cameroon. Appl. Radiat. Isot. 86, 85–89 (2014)
E.J.M. Nguelem, M.M. Ndontchueng, O. Motapon, E.O. Darko, A. Simo, Determination of 226Ra. 232Th. 40K and 235U in soil samples from bauxite core deposits in western Cameroon. Radioprotection 51(3), 199–205 (2016). 10.1051/radiopro/2016029
Saïdou, Mesure de la Radioactivité naturelle environnementale par Spectrométries γ et β et calcul de la dose au publique: application à la région uranifère de poli. Thèse de doctorat; Université de Douala. Faculté des sciences. Centre de Physique Moléculaire Atomique Et Optique quantique (CEPAMOQ) (2008)
P. Manigandan, C.B. Shekar, Evaluation of radionuclides in the terrestrial environment of Western Ghats. J. Radiat. Res. Appl. Sci. 7(3), 310–316 (2014). 10.1016/j.jrras.2014.04.001
MERF, National Report on Cadmium and Lead Environment Directorate (Ministry of Environment and Forest Resources, Togo, 2005)
E. Bouka, P. Lawson-Evi, K. Eklu-Gadegbeku, K. Aklikokou, M. Gbeassor, Heavy metals concentration in soil, water, Manihot esculenta tuber and Oreochromis niloticus around phosphates exploitation area in Togo. Res. J. Environ. Toxicol. 7, 18–28 (2013). 10.3923/rjet.2013.18.28
G.H. McClellan, S.J.V. Van Kauwenbergh (1990) Mineralogy of sedimentary apatite, in Phosphorite research and development, ed. by A.J.G. Notholt, I. Jarvis, Geological Society of London Special Publication, vol. 52, pp. 23–31. 10.1144/GSL.SP.1990.052.01.03
C.J. Guembou Shouop, M. Ndontchueng Moyo, G. Chene, E.J. Nguelem Mekongtso, O. Motapon, D. Strivay, Assessment of natural radioactivity and associated radiation hazards in sand building material used in Douala Littoral-Region of Cameroon, using gamma spectrometry. Environ. Earth Sci. 76, 164 (2017). 10.1007/s12665-017-6474-3
K. Dabayneh, Radioactivity measurements in different types of fabricated building materials used in Palestine. Arab. J. Nucl. Sci. Appl. 40(3), 207 (2007)
G.S.C. Joel, S. Penabei, M.M. Ndontchueng, G. Chene, E.J.N. Mekontso, A.N. Ebongue, M. Ousmanou, S. David, Precision measurement of radioactivity in gamma-rays spectrometry using two HPGe detectors (BEGe-6530 and GC0818-7600SL models) comparison techniques: application to the soil measurement. MethodsX 4, 42–54 (2017). 10.1016/j.mex.2016.12.003
S.C.J. Guembou, M.N. Moyo, E.J.N. Mekongtso, O. Motapon, D. Strivay, Monte Carlo method for Gamma spectrometry based on GEANT4 toolkit: efficiency calibration of BE6530 detector”. J. Environ. Radioact. 189, 109–119 (2018). 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2018.03.015
R. Venkataraman, F. Bronson, V. Atrashkevich, M. Field, B. M. Young (2003) Improved detector response characterization method in ISOCS and LabSOCS, in Methods and Applications of Radioanalytical Chemistry (MARC VI) Conference
A.M. Ababneh, M.M. Eyadeh, Coincidence summing corrections in HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry for Marinelli-beakers geometry using peak to total (P/T) calibration. J. Radiat. Res. Appl. Sci. 8(3), 323–327 (2015). 10.1016/j.jrras.2015.05.003
M. Aoun, O. El Samad, Khozam R. Bou, R. Lobinski, Assessment of committed effective dose due to the ingestion of 210Po and 210Pb in consumed Lebanese fish affected by a phosphate fertilizer plant. J. Environ. Radioact. 140, 25–29 (2015)
J. Beretka, P.J. Mathew, Natural radioactivity of Australian building materials industrial wastes and by-products. Health Phys. 48, 87–95 (1985)
A.G.E. Abbady, M.A. Uosif, A. El-Taher, Natural radioactivity and dose rate assessment of phosphate rocks from Wadi El-Mashash and El-Mahamid mines. Egypt. J. Environ. Radioact. 84(1), 65–78 (2005). 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2005.04.003
A. Abbady, A.M. El-Arabi, A.G.E. Abbady, S. Taha, Gamma ray measurements of natural radioactivity in cultivated and reclaimed soil, Upper Egypt, in International Conference on Radioecology and Environmental Radioactivity, Norway, 15–20 June 2008. https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/38/092/38092971.pdf
R.J. Guimond (1990) Radium in fertilizers. The Environmental Behavior of Radium. Technical (Vienna: International Atomic Energy Agency) Report, vol 310, pp. 113–128
M. Ivanovich, R.S. Harmon, Uranium-Series Disequilibrium: Applications to Earth, Marine, and Environmental Sciences, 2nd edn. (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1982)
A.E. Khater, R.H. Higgy, M. Pimpl, Radiological impacts of natural radioactivity in Abu-Tartor phosphate deposit, Egypt. J. Environ. Radioact. 55, 255–267 (2001). 10.1016/S0265-931X(00)00193-4
M.A.M. Uosif, A. El-Taher, Radiological assessment of abu-tartur phosphate, Western Desert Egypt. Radiat. Prot. Dosimetry. 130(2), 228–235 (2008)
K. Khan, H.M. Khan, M. Tufail, A.J.A.H. Khatibeh, N. Ahmad, Radiometric analysis of Hazara phosphate rock and fertilizers in Pakistan. J. Environ. Radioact. 35(1), 7–84 (1998)
M. Olszewska-Wasiolek, Estimates of the occupational radiological hazards in phosphate fertilizers industry in Poland. Radiat. Prot. Dosim. 58, 269–276 (1995). 10.1093/oxfordjournals.rpd.a082624
A.K. Sam, M.M.O. Ahmad, F.A. El Khngi, Y.O. El Nigumi, E. Holm, Radiological and assessment of Uro and Kurun rock phosphates. J. Environ. Radioact. 24, 65–75 (1999)
M.M. Makweba, E. Holm, The natural radioactivity of the rock phosphates, phosphatic products and their environmental implications. Sci. Total Environ. 133, 99–110 (1993)
J.P. Bolivar, R. García-Tenorio, M. García León, Fluxes and distribution of Natural Radionuclides in the Production and Use of Fertilizers. Appl. Radiat. Isot. 46, 717–718 (1995)
J.P. Bolívar, R. García-Tenorio, J.L. Mas, Radioactivity of phosphogypsum in the south–west of Spain. Radiat. Prot. Dosim. 76, 185–189 (1998)
C. Dueñas, M.C. Fernández, S. Cañete, M. Pérez, Radiological impacts of natural radioactivity from phosphogypsum piles in Huelva (Spain). Radiat. Meas. 45(2), 242–246 (2010)
ICRP PUBLICATION 60, Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Ann. ICRP 21(1–3) (1991)