Public Effective Dose Assessment Using Gross Alpha and Beta Radioactivity Levels of Tap Drinking Water in the District of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

Abstract

In order to assess public effective dose due to gross alpha and beta in water, 43 tap water samples were collected from different areas in the District of Abidjan. Using the low background Gas-less Automatic Alpha/Beta counting system (Canberra iMatic TM ) for analysis, the gross alpha and beta concentrations found varied from 0.001 ± 0.002 to 0.063 ± 0.050 Bq/l with an average of 0.013 ± 0.012 Bq/l and from 0.067 ± 0.080 to 0.320 ± 0.120 Bq/l with an average of 0.174 ± 0.076 Bq/l, respectively in samples. The public effective dose assessment showed values of dose to ingestion of alpha and beta emitter radionuclides lower than the recommended value of dose for drinking water 0.1 mSv/y, except in 30% of the samples. These results show the need for additional studies to be conducted in order to clarify the hazardousness of these water samples. However, this study still remains important because it has provided necessary data for future tap water quality monitoring studies in the District of Abidjan.

Gross Alpha and Beta Activities and Related Lifetime Risks Assessment Due to Ingestion of Drinking Water from Different Sources in the District of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

“…Unfortunately, very few works concerning the radiological quality of water have been carried out in the District of Abidjan [8] [9] [10] [11]. Meanwhile, human activities continue to degrade water resources [12] [13].…”