Article

Radionuclide content of, and radiological hazards associated with, samples from the different streams of metal recycling facilities

¹ Physics Department, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
² National Institute of Radiation Protection and Research, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.

^* rapuluchi@yahoo.com

Received: 16 July 2014
Accepted: 17 September 2014

Abstract

Radioactive materials in scrap metals are a radiation protection problem and can become a serious concern when melted in metal recycling facilities. In this study, gamma spectroscopic measurements were carried out on waste from a major metal recycling facility. The activity concentrations (Bq.kg^-1) of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs in the samples ranged from 3.60 ± 0.71−38.05 ± 2.29, 7.07 ± 2.16−80.42 ± 10.67, 6.89 ± 1.98−179.22 ± 6.00 and 1.69 ± 0.22−2477.76 ± 9.58, respectively. The dose rate and annual effective dose ranged from 2.34−134.75 nGy.h^-1 and 3.28−188.64 μSv, respectively. The calculated radium equivalent index values were less than 370 Bq. The implications of these results are discussed.