Estimation of annual effective dose due to natural radioactive elements in ingestion of foodstuffs in tin mining area of Jos-Plateau, Nigeria

Soils and food crops from a former tin mining location in a high background radiation area on the Jos-Plateau, Nigeria were collected and analyzed by gamma spectrometry to measure their contents of 40K, 238U and 232Th. As well as collecting samples, in situ dose rates on farms were measured using a precalibrated survey meter. Activity concentrations determined in food crops were compared with the local food derivatives or diets to investigate the possible removal or addition of radionuclides during food preparation by cooking or other means. Potassium-40 was found to contribute the highest activity in all the food products. The activity concentration of 40K, 238U and 232Th in local prepared diets ranged between 60 and 494 Bq kg−1, between BDL and 48 Bq kg−1 and between BDL and 17 Bq kg−1, respectively. The internal effective dose to individuals from the consumption of the food types was estimated on the basis of the measured radionuclide contents in the food crops. It ranged between 0.2 μSv y−1 (beans) and 2164 μSv y−1 (yam) while the annual external gamma effective dose in the farms due to soil radioactivity ranged between 228 μSv and 4065 μSv.