The presence of radionuclides in water constitute health risk to man. The consumption of such water increases the likelihood of incurring cancer. Analysis will enhance the detection of significant radionuclides causing harm to the populace and stimulate remediation. This inferred the radioactivity measurements of twenty (20)

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BACKGROUND: Evaluation of radiographic equipment performance is the recommended strategy for the verification of factors used in radiodiagnosis. Sometimes, the performance of the equipment is compromised due to the lack of adoption of the appropriate procedures and/or techniques. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the performance quality of the radiographic equipment in the study area in order to optimize the radiation dose delivered to the patients using these facilities and enhance their safety. METHODS: The performance characteristic of selected radiographic equipment was determined using MagicMax quality control kits and test object. Radiographic equipment in eight selected radiodiagnostic centers designated as C1-C8 was assessed. RESULTS: The results showed that all the radiography units in the studied centers passed the kVp reproducibility and mAs linearity tests with the exception of center C2. The kVp deviation for the centers varied between 2.0 and 7.7%, with the highest deviation in center C5 and lowest value in center C6. Center C7 has the highest deviation (–13%) of mAs, while the lowest value was obtained in center C6 (0%). The dose was lowest in center C1 and highest in center C3. The half-value layer, mAs, and filtration values had a stronger correlation with the incident air kerma dose compared to the other parameters. In addition, 50% of the equipment passed all the performance tests. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that the performance characteristics of radiographic equipment in the studied area require improvement. Periodic monitoring of the equipment performance is recommended for adoption and enforcement to enhance quality practices and radiation safety.

Background dose assessment has been carried out in and around a production company using Gamma Ray Spectrometer (Super Spec. 125 model). This was done to identify the zones that could pose health risks to workers. The geospatial maps for easy identification of radionuclides occurrence in the factory was determined using geospatial analysis. The highest exposure dose was found at the restaurant and factory areas whereas the lowest background dose was noted at the entrance of the company. The absorbed dose rate of 199.88nGry/h is 0.4 % higher than the world average value according to UNSCAER, 2000. The geospatial analysis revealed that the natural radionuclides in the region have a trend, NW-SE trending with significant re-deposition at the western part. This could be caused by the diffusion of chemical weathering and complexation of Dahomey (Benin) basin soil geology from human activities. The boxplot identified the radionuclides distributions which are in the order of magnitudes 40K>238U>232Th in the study area. Significantly, the geospatial analysis of the background gamma dose rate has revealed the hot spots in the area which may pose health risk to the workers if adequate measure is not taken to advise workers not to spend much time at the hot spot zone.