%0 Journal Article
%T Radiological Assessment Due to Natural Radioactivity in Rocks and Associated Health Impacts in Chetambe Hills, Kenya
%A Mukanda Kere Wanyama
%A Michael Nakitare Waswa
%A Felix Omonya Wanjala
%A Nadir Omar Hashim
%J Open Access Library Journal
%V 13
%N 2
%P 1-15
%@ 2333-9721
%D 2026
%I Open Access Library
%R 10.4236/oalib.1114863
%X A radiological assessment due to natural radioactivity in rocks and associat-ed health impacts in Chetambe hills, Kenya has been done using NaI (TI) de-tector employing gamma ray spectrometry technique. The activity concentrations of <sup>238</sup>U in the rock samples ranged from a minimum of 33 ¡À 1.65 Bq/Kg to a maximum of 119 ¡À 5.97 Bq/Kg with an average of 68 ¡À 3.23 Bq/Kg. The activity concentrations of <sup>232</sup>Th varied from a minimum 15 ¡À 0.75 Bq/Kg to a maximum of 167 ¡À 8.39 Bq/Kg with an average of 72 ¡À 3.48 Bq/Kg while the activity concentrations of 40K varied from a minimum of 50 ¡À 2.5 Bq/Kg to a maximum of 2042 ¡À 6.43 Bq/Kg with an average of 866 ¡À 5.78 Bq/Kg. The averages for the three radionuclides all exceeded 33 Bq/Kg, 45 Bq/Kg and 420 Bq/Kg for <sup>238</sup>U, <sup>232</sup>Th and <sup>40</sup>K respectively. The absorbed dose rate (D<sub>r</sub>) ranged from a minimum of 33 ¡À 1.67 nGy/h to a maximum of 230 ¡À 11.53 nGy/h with an average of 111 ¡À 7.32 nGy. The AEDR<sub>in</sub> ranged from a minimum of 0.1 ¡À 0 mSv/y to a maximum of 0.8 ¡À 0.04 mSv/y with an average of 0.4 ¡À 0.02 mSv/y. AEDR<sub>out</sub> ranged from a minimum of 0.2 ¡À 0.01 mSv/y to a maximum of 0.5 ¡À 0.02 mSv/y with a mean of 0.2 ¡À 0.01 mSv/y. The radium equivalent for the study area varied from a minimum of 74 ¡À 3.74 Bq/kg to a maximum of 492 ¡À 24.61 Bq/kg with a mean value of 238 ¡À 6.34 Bq/kg which was below the world average value of 370 Bq/kg. The internal hazard indices varied from a minimum of 0.2 ¡À 0.01 mSv/y to a maximum of 1.3 ¡À 0.06 mSv/y with mean of 0.6 ¡À 0.02 mSv/y while external hazard indices varied from a minimum of 0.3 ¡À 0.01 mSv/y to a maximum of 1.6 ¡À 0.08 mSv/y with an average of 0.8 ¡À 0.03 mSv/y. The mean values of Hin and Hex were both below the unity. The ELCR<sub>out</sub> values varied from 0.2 ¡À 0.09 to 1.9 ¡À 0.08 with a mean of 0.9 ¡À 0.06 that was below the acceptable limit of 2.9 ¡Á 10<sup>£¿4</sup>. The values for ELCR<sub>in</sub> ranged from 0.4 ¡À 0.03 to 2.9 ¡À 0.07 with a mean value of 1.4 ¡À 0.05 which was equally lower than the world average of 2.9 ¡Á 10<sup>£¿4</sup>. Thus radiation exposure from the rocks does not pose a health risk to the general public.<br />
%K Natural Radioactivity
%K Health Impact
%K Chetambe Hills
%U http://www.oalib.com/paper/6886499