Geological influence on the activity concentration of terrestrial radionuclides ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in the Jos Plateau, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

The Jos Plateau has been reported to have elevated levels of natural background radiation. A few earlier studies have measured the levels of natural radioactivity for specific locations in the area. Our interest is to investigate how geology of the study area influences the activity concentrations of natural radionuclides. Thus, the activity concentrations of terrestrial radionuclides in soil samples collected across the geological formations of the Jos Plateau were determined by gamma spectrometry technique. The mean activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were found to exceed their corresponding world reference values of 35, 40 and 400 Bq kg⁻¹, respectively. Data were compared using statistical methods, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc tests. The results revealed in some instances significant influences of geological types on the activity concentrations in the area. The spatial distribution maps of activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were geostatistically interpolated by ordinary Kriging method using ArcGIS software.

KEYWORDS:

• Activity concentration
• ANOVA
• geological formation
• geostatistical analysis
• Jos Plateau
• natural radioactivity
• Nigeria
• radioactive nuclides

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Malaysia, (Grant No. R. J130000.7926.4S109), for providing financial support in carrying out this research. The authors are also grateful to the Department of Physics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, for granting access to its facilities. We also acknowledge the assistance rendered by the technical staff of the Nuclear Science laboratory.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors are grateful to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Malaysia [grant number R. J130000.7926.4S109], for providing financial support in carrying out this research.