Measurement of activity concentrations in soil samples in Bitsichi area of Plateau State

Abstract

The activity of thirty (30) soil samples collected from the mines and mills were determined using gamma ray spectrometry. For ⁴⁰K the value lies between (93.3 ± 30.1) Bq/kg – (10231.7 ± 482.0) Bq/kg. The activity concentration for Uranium range from (81.1 ± 22.2) Bq/kg – (12025.0 ± 289.6) Bq/kg while that of Th fall between (171.1 ± 11.4) and (52588.9 ± 250.9Bq/kg). It may be deduced that the major source of the radioactivity is Th with a peak value recorded where monazite was mainly processed. The contributions to radiation dose that can be derived from these concentrations are seen to be high and pose serious detrimental health effect to the population in the area.