RADIOLOGICAL HEALTH HAZARDS ANALYSIS IN GROUNDWATER BY GROSS ALPHA AND GROSS BETA MEASUREMENTS

Gross alpha and gross beta in 25 groundwater samples from Lapai and Agaie areas in Niger State, Nigeria were determined using Alpha/Beta counting system (Canberra iMaticTM). The average activity concentrations of gross alpha and gross beta were 0.038484±0.005630 Bq/L and 0.527270±0.292830 Bq/L in the well, streams and boreholes water samples respectively. The results obtained are below the guideline levels of gross alpha (0.5 Bq/L) and gross beta (1.0 Bq/L) in drinking water established by the World Health Organization. These results show that consumption of groundwater for the study areas may not pose any significant radiological health hazards through ingestion to the population.