Determination of Radioactive Elements Concentrations in Soils of Selected Areas in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis

Abstract

A determination of radioactive elements concentrations in soils in selected parts of Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria were carried out by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) technique. The soil analysis was conducted at the Nigeria Nuclear Research Reactor (NIRR – 1) at center for Energy Research and Training (CERT), Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria. Twenty elements that include short lives, intermediate lives and long lives radioactive elements were detected in soil samples used for the analysis. The obtained radionuclides includes  Na, Ti, V, As K, Mn, Sb, Fe, Dy, Pa, Mg, Sc, Yb, Ce, Co, Sm etc. The results show that INAA of soil samples of the area under investigation gave concentration of 20.05+ 0.60ppm for K, 9.36+ 0.79ppm for Na, 5.73+ 0.50ppm for Fe, 5.38+ 0.62ppm for Cr, 4.24+ 0.25ppm for As and 3.65+ 0.32ppm for Sb, etc. Comparison of the result from this with other studies show difference in the number of elements obtained which is attributed to the difference in the geology of these areas.

Keywords: Soil, INAA, concentration, Radionuclides and NIRR-1