Determination of natural radioactivity in drinking water in private dug wells in Akure, Southwestern Nigeria

Gamma spectrometry of well water was done to measure the activity concentrations of gamma-emitters (226)Ra and (228)Ra from (238)U and (232)Th series, respectively, and (40)K in their waters. Measurements were done using high-purity (HPGe) co-axial detectors (Canberra, GC 2018-7500 ) coupled to Canberra Multichannel Analyser system. Activity concentrations ranged from 0.57 to 26.86, 0.20 to 60.06 and 0.35 to 29.01 Bq 1(-1) for (226)Ra, (228)Ra and (40)K, respectively. Activity concentrations were compared with data from other parts of the world and used to estimate annual effective dose for three age groups. Total annual effective doses from the intake of these radionuclides in the waters ranged from 0.02 to 76.84, 0.02 to 38.80 and 0.05 to 481.60 mSv y(-1) for age group < 1, 2-7 and >= 17 y, respectively. These values are considerably higher than both the World Health Organisation and the International Commission on Radiological Protection limits.